| City bird flu alert was false alarm
A woman of Asian origin suspected of being infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu was on Thursday admitted to an isolation ward at a Pretoria hospital. But an initial evaluation conducted by doctors at the Mediforum Medi-Clinic who liaised with specialists at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) found the case to be negative. Hospital manager Joey le Roux said the patient was admitted to the hospital on Thursday morning. "The hospital responded according to the Medi-Clinic avian flu policy. "The patient was admitted to an isolation ward and all the processes in terms of the policy were followed. Specific gloves, clothing and masks are worn when dealing with cases of avian flu," she said. .
Task force accelerates mitigating measures to keep Region 8 avian ...
Tacloban City (January 8) -- The Regional Avian Influenza Task Force continues to accelerate mitigating measures in line with the national thrust of keeping the Philippines avian flu free. This is the assurance given by Department of Agriculture Regional Executive Director Leo Caeda in the face of the news that another Avian Flu victim died in Indonesia recently. There is no letting up in the vigilance of the all the concerned agencies, he said, during an interview with the Philippine Information Agency. The taskforce continues to meet regularly and each of the agencies involved in the Taskforce knows its respective assignments and responsibilities, he added. The taskforce wants to be proactive and to be always ready in the event of any possible outbreak, Director Caeda said.
Jabs for poultry workers to beat bird flu
Thousands of people working with poultry are being offered winter flu vaccinations in an attempt to avoid a pandemic strain taking hold, it emerged yesterday. The £500,000 initiative has identified 60,000 people who work with flocks, on egg or chicken farms as well as those who slaughter birds, or clean or handle dead birds in the meat production industry. The move is designed to reduce the risk of a human suffering from winter flu coming into contact with a bird with H5N1 avian flu. .
China reports first human bird flu case of 2007
A Chinese farmer who contracted the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu has "fully recovered" from the virus and has been released from hospital, state media reported Wednesday. The report from the China News Service said the country's 22nd human case of avian influenza afflicted a 37-year-old farmer from the eastern province of Anhui, who fell ill in December. It had been six months since the previous known case of bird flu infecting a person in China. The farmer reportedly kept poultry flocks in his backyard. Poultry and migratory birds have been linked to the H5N1 virus. The Chinese case comes after Indonesia's Health Ministry reported Wednesday that a 14-year-old boy had died from the virus, the country's first bird flu fatality of 2007.
Risk management expert summarizes bird flu issues
Most migratory birds have now flown south, but they havent taken with them rising public awareness of the dreaded avian influenza, or simply bird flu, of which such birds can be carriers.
With the flu season here, residents receiving flu shots have no illusions that the vaccine theyre getting will protect them should bird flu reach the western hemisphere, and even New Canaan, as part of a worldwide pandemic.
The Bird or Avian Flu also known as Influenza A:H5N1 has now been found in more than 50 countries in Asia, the East Indies, Europe and northern Africa. As of October 31 of 2006, the World Health Organization says there have been 256 cases of bird flu among humans in ten countries with 152 deaths in nine of these nations, a death rate of 59 percent.
Bird Flu Kills Indonesian, May Have Returned to Japan (Update3)
Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu killed a 37-year-old woman in Indonesia and may have infected hundreds of poultry in Japan as the lethal virus resurfaces across Asia. The woman's death late yesterday brings to 59 the number of fatalities from the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Indonesia, Runizar Ruesin, a Health Ministry official, said in a mobile phone text message today. Japan's farm ministry suspects the virus killed poultry on a farm on the southern island of Kyushu. The new infections provide chances for H5N1 to mutate into a form more dangerous to people. Millions could die if it mutates and begins spreading easily between people, sparking a pandemic. South Korea, Vietnam and Nigeria had fresh poultry outbreaks last month, while China and Egypt found human cases.
Alarm at Indonesia bird flu ads
Indonesian bird flu chiefs have hit back at a wave of adverts featuring air conditioners which manufacturers say can tackle the virus. Several world-renowned manufacturers claim their products can kill bird flu using new technologies including a substance derived from a Korean pickle. Indonesia is the country worst hit by bird flu. Scientists here say their main concern is with the claims being made in newspaper and television adverts. .
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