Bird flu update: 10 April 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.

———————————————–
Tuesday 10 April 2007
———————————————–

Cambodia trains 4,700 vets in fight against bird flu
The Cambodian agriculture ministry and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have jointly trained about 4,700 vets to teach people about preventing bird flu (Source: Xinhua).

———————————————–
Monday 9 April 2007
———————————————–

Cambodia launches bird flu campaign
Cambodia kicked off a week-long bird flu awareness blitz that will include marches and programmes conducted by government officials and bird flu specialists from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (Source: Associated Foreign Press).

Fight flu pandemics by keeping people apart, say scientists
During a flu pandemic, simply keeping people apart until they are vaccinated can significantly reduce the number of deaths, according to a new study (Source: New Scientist). [Link to article in PNAS]

Cambodia’s seventh bird flu death ‘isolated case’
The death of a 13-year-old girl in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham province this week was an isolated case, says a health official (Source: Xinhua).

China, Japan and Korea to fight bird flu together
China, Japan and Korea have agreed to collaborate on bird flu inspections, monitoring, investigations and treatment, and will set up a committee to spearhead their cooperation (Source: Arirang News).

———————————————–
Sunday 8 April 2007
———————————————–

Egyptian girl tests positive for bird flu
The Middle East News Agency reported Egypt’s health ministry saying a 15-year-old girl from Cairo’s Shubra district has tested positive for bird flu (Source: Reuters).

Beijing to boost disease control for Olympics
Beijing will set aside thousands of hospital beds for emergency use during the 2008 Olympic Games in case of infectious disease outbreaks, state media reported (Source: Reuters).

———————————————–
Friday 6 April 2007
———————————————–

Indonesian man dies from bird flu
A 29-year-old Indonesian man from the town of Solo died of bird flu following nearly a week in hospital in Central Java after coming into contact with infected chickens, a health official said (Source: Associated Press).

Cambodia confirms 13-year-old’s death from bird flu
The Cambodian health ministry confirmed that a 13-year-old girl from Ponhea Kreak district in Kampong Cham province died of bird flu on Thursday (Source: Xinhua).

WHO urges Vietnam to step up bird flu fight
Vietnam should accelerate poultry vaccinations and target more ducks in its anti-bird flu campaign, a World Health Organization official said (Source: Reuters).

———————————————–
Thursday 5 April 2007
———————————————–

Egyptian child tests positive for bird flu
A health ministry spokesman said a two-year-old Egyptian girl from central Egypt has tested positive for bird flu, reported the official Middle East News Agency (Source: Reuters).

Indonesia confirms 15-year-old-girl has bird flu
An Indonesian health ministry official said a 15-year-old girl from central Jakarta has tested positive for bird flu (Source: Xinhua).

———————————————–
Wednesday 4 April 2007
———————————————–

Indonesia and Egypt to develop bird flu vaccine
Egyptian vaccine maker Vacsera is looking to team up with an Indonesian company to develop a bird flu vaccine for humans, said an Egyptian minister and a company official (Source: Reuters).

Indonesian woman dies of bird flu
A 23-year-old housemaid from south Jakarta who had looked after a pet eagle has died from bird flu, a health ministry official said (Source: Reuters).

Human transmission ruled out in Egyptian bird flu case
Egyptian health authorities have ruled out human-to-human transmission in the case of a four-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister from Egypt’s Qena province, the World Health Organization said (Source: Reuters).

Laos to compensate farmers by mid April
The Lao government, supported by the World Bank, has approved a compensation package worth US$350,000 for farmers and households affected by cullings to prevent bird flu (Source: VOA News).

New study tracks bird flu between farms
Scientists have found a measure for how fast different influenza virus strains spread, which can be used to determine whether an outbreak will turn into a self-sustaining epidemic and assess the effectiveness of control measures for poultry farms (Source: PhysOrg.com).

———————————————–
Tuesday 3 April 2007
———————————————–

Some flus may become resistant to antiviral drugs
Flu viruses can develop resistance to the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza and less susceptible viruses can also spread from person to person, say scientists (Source: Canadian Press).

Saudi Arabian poultry producers focus on increasing bird flu awareness
Saudi Arabia’s Cooperative Poultry Producers Association held a symposium in Jeddah to inform people about bird flu and discuss the best techniques for controlling the disease (Source: Arab News).

———————————————–
Monday 2 April 2007
———————————————–

WHO confirms three bird flu cases in Egypt
The World Health Organization confirmed that three Egyptian children were being treated in hospital for bird flu (Source: Reuters).

FAO say bird flu ‘may spread’ from Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria
The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu may spread from Egypt, Indonesia and Nigeria to other countries as it continues to circulate in Africa and Asia, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization warned (Source: Reuters).