Bird flu update: 19 March 2007

Below is a round-up of the key developments on the spread of the bird flu virus (H5N1) and the threat it poses to human health. Each title is a link to the full article.

Click here to see the latest World Health Organization (WHO) figures of confirmed human cases.

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Monday 19 March 2007
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Egyptian boy tests positive for bird flu
A two-year-old boy from city of Aswan in Egypt has become the country’s 26th human case, after testing positive for bird flu (Source: Reuters).

Bird flu reappears in northern Thailand
The H5N1 virus has been found in chickens, ducks, and turkeys at a government training centre near the border with Laos. It is the country’s fourth outbreak this year (Source: Reuters).

Asian nations to stockpile anti-flu drug in Singapore
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has chosen Singapore as a regional centre for stockpiling the bird flu drug oseltamivir, on the basis that the H5N1 strain of the virus has not been found there (Source: Bangkok Post).

China needs better rural healthcare to stop bird flu
Bird flu could spread fast in rural areas in the case of an outbreak because of loopholes and a lack of resources in the public health system, the Chinese Health Minister has warned (Source: China Daily).

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Sunday 18 March 2007
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Bird flu spreads in northern Nigeria’s main city
The H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading among poultry farms around northern Nigeria’s largest city, according to a senior veterinary official. There has been one human case in Nigeria (Source: Agence France-Presse).

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Saturday 17 March 2007
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Bird flu summit calls for more aggressive campaigns
Participants in the 4th International Bird Flu Summit in Washington DC, United States, have urged more aggressive campaigns to prepare for a pandemic, reinforced by strong alliances between all sectors involved (Source: Vietnam News Agency).

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Friday 16 March 2007
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Indonesian man dies of bird flu
A 32-year-old man from east Jakarta has died of bird flu, bringing the total number of human deaths in Indonesia to 65 (Source: Reuters).

WHO confirms 2nd human case of bird flu in Laos
A 42-year-old woman from the Vientiane province was Laos’ second human case of H5N1 bird flu, tests by the World Health Organization confirmed (Source: Xinhua).

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Thursday 15 March 2007
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Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria lack good bird flu controls, says UN vet
Detection of bird flu has improved greatly over the last three years, but three countries — Egypt, Nigeria and especially Indonesia — still lack sufficient controls, says the chief veterinary officer of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (Source: Reuters).

Laos authorities heed the public complaints over poultry cull
District and village authorities will review a proposal to cull all poultry in 211 villages of Vientiane, Laos following complaints that authorities were conducting inspections at night and examining meat in people’s refrigerators (Source: Vientiane Times).

Thailand’s 2006 outbreak of H5N1 was new strain, say scientists
Scientists from Thailand’s National Institute of Animal Health say the H5N1 virus that caused the country’s 2006 bird flu outbreak was a new strain, raising concern about the development of new candidate vaccines (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

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Wednesday 14 March 2007
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Egypt reports 25th human bird flu case
The World Health Organization confirmed that a 10-year-old girl from the southern city of Aswan is infected with the H5N1 virus, bringing the number of human cases of bird flu in the country to 25 (Source: Reuters).

Village ways fuel bird flu spread in rural Egypt
The practice of keeping birds at home, often in secret, is aiding the spread of bird flu in Egypt (Source: Reuters).

Indonesia demands global sharing mechanism
Indonesia will resume sending bird flu virus samples to the World Health Organization only after a global mechanism on virus sharing is in place and made legally binding (Source: Reuters).

Myanmar needs more help to fight bird flu, says FAO
Myanmar has responded quickly to its latest bird flu outbreaks but needs more international help to fight the disease over the long term, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (Source: Reuters).

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Tuesday 13 March 2007
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Bird flu detected in vaccinated flocks in Egypt
Egypt has detected H5N1 bird flu in chickens and ducks from reportedly vaccinated flocks, indicating that inoculation procedures are inadequate (Source: Reuters).

Asian nations practice bird flu preparedness
Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam took part in a simulation to test preparations for a possible bird flu pandemic (Source: Associated Press).

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Monday 12 March 2007
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Local radio raises bird flu awareness in Nigeria
Local radio has become the latest weapon in the battle against the spread of bird flu in Nigeria (Source: UNICEF).