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Thu Nov 1, 12:09 PM ET A laying hen is seen under a lamp at a poultry farm. Animal health experts said bird flu outbreaks have been reported in two other provinces of Vietnam and warned a high risk of recurrence of the H5N1 virus in the country.(AFP/DDP/File/Volker Hartmann) (VIETNAM) |
Fri Nov 2, 3:58 AM ET A Bangladeshi vendor sorts chickens at a market in Dhaka May 3, 2007. Bangladesh culled some 6,000 chickens after bird flu infected three more farms in the northern part of the country, officials said on Friday. (Rafiqur Rahman/Reuters) (BANGLADESH) |
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Fri Nov 2, 5:06 AM ET A North Wales Police officer is considering sueing the force after being sent to guard a bird flu protection zone and becoming ill. A 1km exclusion zone was set up around the farm (UK)
North Wales Police Force sued for 'bird flu failing' |
AFP/File - Fri Nov 2, 5:01 AM ET World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan, seen here in Geneva, August 2007, has sid she was impressed with China's efforts to tackle its health problems but cautioned much work still needed to be done.(AFP/File/Fabrice Coffrini) (CHINA) (WHO) |
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Fri Nov 2, 5:14 AM ET World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan listens to journalists' questions near the WHO logo at the organization's office in Beijing, Friday, Nov. 2, 2007. China has improved in its fight against bird flu but it is too early to ease up on the battle, the head of the U.N.'s health agency said Friday. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan) (CHINA) (WHO) |
Sun Nov 4, 1:01 PM ET Nakhon Ratchasima Zoo has stopped receiving donated birds due to the possible spread of avian flu, zoo director Banyat Insuwan said yesterday. (ZOOS) (THAILAND)
Korat Zoo wary of bird flu - Thailand |
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Mon Nov 5, 1:04 AM ET An Indonesian woman has died of bird flu, taking the country's death toll from the disease to 90, an official at the health ministry's bird flu centre said on Monday. (INDONESIA)
Indonesian woman dies of bird flu: health official
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Reuters - Wed Nov 7, 7:27 AM ET Ducks are seen at a market in Hanoi in this March 9, 2007 file photo. Bird flu has killed 590 ducks in a northern Vietnam province, the fifth to have reported outbreaks among poultry within about a month, the government said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad (VIETNAM) |
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Wed Nov 7, 1:04 PM ET A report on Europe's readiness for a pandemic will show progress has been made but more work is needed, a top European Commission official said on Wednesday. (ECDC)
EU not yet ready for possible pandemic
The report, following visits to about 30 countries by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), will be released imminently, said Robert Madelin, director-general for health and consumer protection at the European Commission. "We are perhaps the best-prepared continent in the world but we are not prepared enough. So we are making progress but we need to do more," Madelin told reporters following a tour of the ECDC's crisis management centre, set up to help member countries work together in the event of a major health risk. |
Wed Nov 7, 2:00 PM ET With the help of 14 satellites currently in orbit and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Applied Sciences Program, scientists have been able to observe the Earth's environment to help predict and prevent infectious disease outbreaks around the world. (Avian Flu Pandemic)
Predicting And Preventing Future Pandemic Outbreaks Aided By NASA TechnologyRemote sensing technology not only helps monitor infectious disease outbreaks in highly affected areas, but also provides information about possible plague-carrying vectors -- such as insects or rodents -- globally and within the U.S. The Four Corners region, which includes Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, is a highly susceptible area for plague and Hanta virus outbreaks, and by understanding the mixture of vegetation, rainfall and slope of the area, scientists can predict the food supply of disease transmitting vectors within the region and the threat they cause to humans. Because plague is also considered a bioterrorism agent, NASA surveillance systems enable scientists to decipher if an outbreak was caused by natural circumstances or was an act of bioterrorism. |
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Thu Nov 8, 4:00 AM ET The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced yesterday they would continue to support Viet Nam in its fight against bird flu. (VIETNAM)
USAID and health department pledge support in bird flu fight
The two offices will provide an additional US$10.5 million to combat the disease and reduce the risk of it spreading among humans. With the co-ordination of the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development as well as NGOs, the grant will support surveillance mechanisms and operational research, and boost veterinary laboratory facilities. As much as $1.5 million will come via the World Health Organisation to help Viet Nam develop human vaccines against the disease and a further $1 million will be provided by Centres for Disease Control and Prevention to provide technical support to the Ministry of Health's National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Viet Nam Administration on Preventive Medicine. Since 2005, the US Government has given Viet Nam over $22 million to fight bird flu. |
Bird flu pandemic mantra: prepare, stockpile
Thu, 08 Nov 2007 11:12 AM PST
KEARNEY - The 1918 influenza pandemic killed about 600,000 people in the United States and 40 million worldwide. In central Nebraska, Ravenna and Gibbon particularly suffered. People died, schools opened and closed with the waves of influenza, and quarantine signs were posted outside towns. Today, Hub Territory schools, communities and individuals are preparing for any new pandemic. The University of Nebraska at Kearney and Two Rivers Public Health Department conducted a town hall meeting Wednesday to detail how individuals and groups could plan for a pandemic. "A lot of people don't really think it will happen," said Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy, "but the potential for a pandemic flu outbreak exists. The question is not if but when, so we need to focus on preparation." Sheehy, who serves as Nebraska's director of homeland security, said because of international travel, avian flu could end up in central Nebraska. "I'm not trying to scare anyone. I'm just giving the facts," he said. Avian flu, or bird flu, was discovered in 1997 in Hong Kong and has spread. |
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Thursday, November 8, 2007 Rest Day for poultry outlets. A department spokesman said that on the Rest Day, operators of market stalls and fresh provision shops had to slaughter all live poultry remaining on their premises before noon, and suspend business in the afternoon and evening to carry out thorough cleaning and disinfection (HONG KONG)
November 10 is Rest Day for poultry outlets HONG KONG
"Our staff will inspect the poultry outlets on the Rest Day. Failure to comply with the Rest Day conditions will lead to immediate cancellation of fresh provision shop licences or termination of market stall tenancies," |
Fri Nov 9, 12:31 PM ET A man keeps eye on chicken and duck at Ha Vi Market in Ha Tay Province, Vietnam, in this Sept. 11, 2007 file photo. Government report said Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, bird flu has struck poultry in a southern Vietnamese province, marking the second this week and the latest in a string of outbreaks reported recently across the country. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki, File) (VIETNAM) |
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AP - Sat Nov 10, 5:50 AM ET David Nabarro, the U.N. coordinator for avian flu and influenza, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, Nov. 9, 2007. Asia and Europe must keep watch for a sharp rise in bird flu outbreaks as winter approaches, the top U.N. influenza official said Friday, calling illnesses from animals 'one of the greatest threats to the survival of the human race.' (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa) (UN) |
Sat Nov 10, 2:21 PM ET Ducks are displayed in a local market in Jakarta April 7, 2007. Indonesia confirmed Saturday that a 31-year-old man from Sumatra island who died last week was infected with bird flu, raising the toll in the worst-hit nation to 91. (AFP/File/Jewel Samad) (INDONESIA) |
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Sun Nov 11, 10:29 PM ET Scientist Robert Krug, with UT graduate student Tina Hsiang, says the U.S. is playing catch-up with its flu antiviral program. 'It's going to take five years, if we're lucky but we've got to try,' Krug says. (FLU PANDEMIC) |
Mon, 12 Nov 2007 7:07 PM PST Mobile Production Facilities for Biological Agents, aiming to boost their capabilities to respond to a potential global flu pandemic or other catastrophic biological events. Image is for illustration purposes only. A conference in Abu Dhabi opening Monday will examine the preparedness of Middle Eastern nations to deal with biosecurity threats, aiming to boost their capabilities to respond to a potential global flu pandemic or other catastrophic biological events. (Avian Flu Pandemic)
Analysis: Biothreats in the Middle East |
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Tue Nov 13, 6:03 AM ET A worker gathers turkeys after avian flu was confirmed on Redgrave Park Farm in Diss, eastern England, November 13, 2007. An outbreak of bird flu has been confirmed at the turkey farm in eastern England although the exact strain is not yet known, Britain's farm ministry said on Monday. REUTERS/Darren Staples (UK) |
Tue Nov 13, 2:53 AM ET New Zealand health authorities briefly quarantined 223 people in a Korean Air plane at Auckland Airport on Tuesday after a South Korean passenger displayed bird flu symptoms, officials said. (New Zealand)
New Zealand quarantines 223 over bird flu on Korean Air plane
The woman was later deemed to be "no risk" and suffering from suspected gastroenteritis, airport police Inspector Richard Middleton said, congratulating the flight crew for notifying authorities about the potential problem. The 223 people aboard the Boeing 747 were held for about an hour under "full quarantine procedure" while a paramedic in protective clothing examined the woman, Upjohn said. |
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Thu, 15 Nov 2007 5:53 AM PST The Times claims that Gressingham Foods, which is supplied by the affected farm, received regular supplies of ducklings delivered by a Dutch exporter. (UK)
H5N1 avian flu: Affected farm claims no link with Dutch duckling imports
The focus of inquiries is on the vehicle and driver, whether there are any links with previous outbreaks of the virus in mainland Europe and whether there was any opportunity for the disease to be spread through the Gressingham company via vehicles, equipment or staff. |
Thu, 15 Nov 2007 6:27 AM PST A Bangladeshi veterinary officer removes chicken from a poultry farm for slaughter March 23, 2007. Avian flu has re-emerged in Bangladesh after four months, with five reported new outbreaks in poultry farms across the country since October. (BANGLADESH) |
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AFP/File - Fri Nov 16, 3:55 PM ET Chicken sit in a farm in April 2007. Saudia Arabia's agriculture ministry confirmed Friday that the entire stock of three poultry farms outside the capital had been culled due to an outbreak of bird flu, the official SPA news agency said.(AFP/File/Khaled Desouki) (Saudi Arabia) |
AFP/File - Sun Nov 18, 10:49 AM ET Geese in a field close to the site of a bird flu outbreak in Suffolk. The enevironment ministry has confirmed that it has completed a cull aimed at stopping a bird flu outbreak in eastern England from spreading.(AFP/File/Ben Stansall) (UK) |
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Fri, 16 Nov 2007 6:22 PM PST Poultry carcasses are loaded onto a lorry for transportation at Redgrave Park Farm in Suffolk. Poultry on four more sites in Suffolk were being culled in a bid to stop an outbreak of the potentially lethal H5N1 Asian strain of bird flu from spreading.(AFP/Ben Stansall) (UK) |
Sun Nov 18, 1:49 PM ET BOCA RATON - Project Checkmate, the IBM/Scripps Florida project aimed at predicting the spread of a deadly pandemic such as bird flu, has shifted to Florida Atlantic University - at least when it comes to the search for state and county government incentives.
Pandemic project shifts to FAU's Boca campus |
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AFP/File - Mon Nov 19, 12:15 PM ET Poultry carcasses are loaded onto a lorry for transportation at Redgrave Park Farm in Suffolk, 14 November 2007. Britain confirmed a second outbreak of potentially lethal bird flu, after a farm in eastern England was found to be infected last week.(AFP/File/Ben Stansall) (UK) |
AFP/File - Tue Nov 20, 10:28 AM ET Indonesian agricultural officials spray disinfectant on chicken cages at a bird market in Denpasar. The World Health Organisation (WHO) called on its 193 member countries to share information about strains of the deadly bird flu virus, warning a pandemic could go worldwide "within months".(AFP/File/Sonny Tumbelaka) (INDONESIA) |
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AFP/File - Wed Nov 21, 4:06 PM ET Free range geese on a field close to Redgrave Park Farm in Suffolk. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said Wednesday that authorities have culled poultry on another farm in eastern England after a new suspected outbreak of bird flu.(AFP/File/Ben Stansall ) (UK)
Govt announces poultry cull after new suspected flu outbreak |
Fri Nov 22, 6:08:38 PM ET BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - A rare vulture set free in northern Thailand is believed to have been shot dead in Myanmar, bringing an end to a haphazard campaign to return the bird to its homeland in Mongolia, a conservationist said Thursday. (RARE BIRDS) |
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Fri Nov 16, 1:43 AM ET Poultry traders wait for customers at a market in Ha Tay province near Hanoi, Vientam on Wednesday Feb. 28, 2007. Over 50,000 chickens raised in more than 10 farms in Cho Gao district died after suddenly stopping eating, according to local official on Friday. (VIETNAM) |
Fri Nov 23,7:09:45 AM ET More than 1,000 poultry workers are now being vaccinated against influenza to help their defences against bird flu, it emerged yesterday. (SAUDI ARABIA)
Bird flu jabs for poultry workers |
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Reuters - Fri Nov 23, 2:43 PM ET A duck crosses the road close to the scene where avian flu was confirmed in turkeys, in Diss, eastern England, November 13, 2007. Health officials have failed to reach agreement on a new system to ensure developing countries benefit more from sharing avian influenza viruses used to develop vaccines, the World Health Organization said on Friday. REUTERS/Darren Staples (WHO) |
Fri Nov 23, 6:35 PM ET Chickens are displayed for sale at a chicken store in Seoul November 26, 2006. South Korea's agriculture ministry said on Saturday it had discovered less virulent strain of bird flu at a poultry farm in the south west of the country. REUTERS/You Sung-Ho (SOUTH KOREA) |
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Fri Nov 23, 7:20:35 PM ET A bird flu outbreak led to the slaughter of thousands of birds. A national ban on bird shows and pigeon races due to bird flu has been lifted. (Defra) (UK)
Bird flu restrictions are lifted UK |
Sat Nov 24, 1:05:45 PM ET A sick egret found in Hong Kong last week has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, agricultural officials said here Saturday. (HONG KONG)
New bird flu case in Hong Kong
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department warned in a statement of personal contact with wild birds and live poultry. |
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Sat Nov 24, 2:20:01 PM ET Psychiatric Side Effects Warning. The FDA staff announced their recommendations today - they say the warning should be directed at patients of all ages, not just children. (FDA) (Medical News)
Tamiflu And Relenza Should Have Psychiatric Side Effects Warning, Say Regulators
After receiving reports of patients experiencing delirium, psychosis and hallucinations, US FDA staff recommend that flu drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza should carry warnings about possible side-effects.
Tamiflu is more commonly used in Japan than in the USA.
Worldwide, approximately 48 million people have taken Tamiflu since 1999, of which 21 million are children. |
Sat Nov 24, 9:45 PM ET Myanmar has reported an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus at a chicken farm in the northeast, state media and an international livestock health agency said Saturday. (MYANMAR) |
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AP - Sat Nov 24, 7:17 PM ET World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director Shigeru Omi speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at a Tokyo hotel, Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007. Countries in Asia should remain alert for possible outbreaks of bird flu and a comprehensive approach is important to tackle the problem, a senior health official said Saturday. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye) . WHO official says Asia needs to remain alert for bird flu |
Mon Nov 26, 1:10 AM ET Over 50,000 chickens in southern Vietnam's Tien Giang province have been dying en mass, probably from Marek's disease. (VIETNAM)
Chickens die en mass in Southern Vietnam, bird flu ruled out |
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Mon Nov 26, 1:22 AM ET Bhutan Agriculture and Food Regulatory Authority (BAFRA) has lifted the ban on the import of poultry products from India. The revised terms and conditions said that imported poultry meat should exclude head, feet, visceral organs and must be packed in plastic, labelled with processing date, expiry date and net weight (BAFRA) (Agencies)
Bhutan lifts ban on Indian poultry products |
Mon Nov 26, 1:53 AM ET Beth Travis, a research microbiologist with Tyson Foods Inc., tests poultry samples at a lab near the Tyson headquarters in Springdale, Ark., Tuesday, May 9, 2006. The USDA has given Tyson a temporary stay of 45 days from Nov. 6 to submit a new label and new arguments, to change its feed formula, or to stop using the label. (USFDA)
USDA revokes OK for Tyson chicken labels |
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Mon Nov 26, 11:19 PM ET Residents display poultry, which will be culled, after collecting them from a residential area in central Jakarta, Indonesia January 29, 2007. Indonesia will not share bird flu virus samples unless there is a guarantee developing nations will have control over their use and have access to cheap vaccines, a health ministry spokeswoman said on Monday. (Dadang Tri/Reuters) (INDONESIA) Indonesia says no to bird flu virus sharing |
Mon Nov 26, 11:21:38 PM ET Preparedness in some developing parts of Asia remains inadequate, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, Western Pacific director of the World Health Organization. (Global Flu Pandemic)
Asia needs bird flu readiness boost: WHO
Some parts of Asia have yet to devise a plan on how to respond to a bird flu outbreak, a disease that continues to be a threat for the whole region, according to a World Health Organization health official.
Preparedness in some developing parts of Asia remains inadequate, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, Western Pacific director of the World Health Organization.
Most human cases of H5N1 have so far been traced to contact with infected birds, but experts fear the strain could mutate into a form that spreads easily between people and trigger a global flu pandemic. |
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Tue Nov 27, 12:16:57 AM ET Japan has temporarily halted poultry imports from South Korea following a bird flu outbreak among ducks in that country, the Japanese Agriculture Ministry said Monday. (SOUTH KOREA)
Japan halts SKorean poultry imports over bird flu outbreak
The ministry said the measure was taken as a precaution to protect domestic birds. |
Wed Nov 28, 11:15 AM ET U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agricultural agents Gina Collins, left, and Ken Adkins, search a refrigerated U.S.-bound trailer at the truck crossing in Blaine earlier this month. The agents were looking for foreign bugs and plants in the trailer. (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) (USFDA) Border agents target pests, plants that threaten U.S. agriculture |
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Wed Nov 28, 10:36 AM ET The feathers are hand-plucked from geese which are given a special diet, raised for longer than most competitors, bathed in summer and kept sufficiently cold in winter to develop big feathers, a Hungarian producer says. (HUNGARY)
Bird shortage leaves pillow makers flat |
Wed Nov 28, 6:16 PM ET A Bulgarian veterinary worker prepares poultry for culling in the village of Slanchogled, Bulgaria some 300 kms. (187 miles) south-east of the capital Sofia, Friday July 21, 2006. Bulgaria on Wednesday closed poultry markets in the northeast of the country after bird flu was detected in a village over the border in southeast Romania, the Agriculture Ministry said.(AFP/DDP/File/Volker Hartmann) (BULGARIA)
Bulgaria shuts markets after Romanian bird flu outbreak |
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Wed Nov 28, 7:15 PM ET Experts found handwashing and wearing masks were even more effective when combined. (FLU PANDEMIC)
Handwashing 'could help curb flu pandemic' |
Wed Nov 28, 8:09 PM ET Birds are seen on a pond in front of Mecca's Grand Mosque. Saudi Arabia's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that 216,000 birds have been culled or are in the process of being destroyed following the discovery of a new outbreak of bird flu.(AFP/File/Karim Sahib) (SAUDI ARABIA) |
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Thu Nov 29, 12:43:28 AM ET Sanitary workers put a culled chicken in a plastic bag in Brasov city, 180 kmS northeast from Bucharest, May 2006. The H5N1 virus killed 31 poultry on a farm in eastern Romania two days ago, the national veterinary and food safety authority in Bucharest said in a report yesterday to the World Organization for Animal Health. An additional 49 birds were destroyed to control the outbreak on the farm in Tulcea, near the border with Ukraine, the report said. (ROMANIA) Romania Reports Fresh Bird Flu Outbreak, Joining U.K., Germany |
Reuters - Thu Nov 29, 9:48 AM ET Culled turkeys are put into a truck after avian flu was confirmed on Redgrave Park Farm in Diss, eastern England, November 13, 2007. REUTERS/Darren Staples (UK)
Wild birds not ruled out as UK bird flu source |
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Thu Nov 29, 9:48:28 AM ET Abbeville Area Medical Center representatives plan treatment locations for patients once the hospital is full during the South Carolina Region 1 Public Health Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise on Wednesday at Greenwood Civic Center. (Staff photo by Jennifer Colton) Counties practice responses to deadly flu - Greenwood South Carolina |
Thu Nov 29, 11:13 AM ET A relative of a Balinese man suspected to have been infected by avian flu wears a surgical mask while at Sanglah hospital in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. The Indonesian Health Ministry has sent a sample of the flu virus from Bali to the World Health Organization. (VACCINES)
Improvements in Flu Surveillance Network Goal of Geneva Meeting |
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Thu Nov 29, 5:47 PM ET The cause of two bird flu outbreaks that led to the slaughter of thousands of turkeys, ducks and geese in eastern England earlier this month remains unknown, Britain's environmental authority said Thursday. (UK)
Source of Britain bird flu remains unknown
"It has not been possible, at this stage, to categorically identify the source of the outbreak," DEFRA said in a statement.
"Further surveillance, testing and epidemiological work on this outbreak is ongoing."
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Thu Nov 29, 8:58 PM ET The world remains unprepared to cope with a pandemic in humans arising from bird flu, a UN and World Bank report released Thursday found. (UN)
Flu pandemic would catch world unprepared: UN report
"Although a massive global effort to control highly pathogenic Avian Influenza (or severe bird flu) has led to improved responses to outbreaks in poultry in many countries during the last year, there is a continuing risk of a virus mutation which results in severe and easily transmitted influenza in humans, potentially precipitating an influenza pandemic," said the report by the UN System Influenza Coordinator, Briton David Nabarro, and the World Bank. |
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Reuters - Thu Nov 29, 1:26 PM ET A rooster looks out of a cage at a whole-sale poultry market in Hatay province, outside Hanoi, Vietnam, June 21, 2007. (Kham/Reuters) (Bird Flu Plan) |
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 11:04 PM PST A local biotechnology company has received more federal funding to develop vaccines to combat not only seasonal flu, but a deadly strain of Avian flu. (VACCINES)
DynPort gets extra U.S. muscle to battle deadly Avian flu |
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AFP/File - Fri Nov 30, 12:31 PM ET A sanitary veterinary worker collects throat samples from a turkey as a farmer holds it in Bucharest, 29 November 2007. Samples from a farm in south-eastern Romania have revealed no new cases of bird flu, but tests were to determine if a cat found dead at the farm was infected, veterinary health officials said Friday.(AFP/File/Daniel Mihailescu) (ROMANIA) |
Fri Nov 30, 7:53:45 PM ET A duck dealer who bought 900 birds on the China-Myanmar border introduced avian flu into Myanmar's north-east Shan State, an official report said Friday. (MYANMAR)
Authorities discover bird-flu outbreak in Myanmar
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