Bird Flu

[fee]

I am the only one beginning to get a little concerned about bird flu reaching Gran Can now that it has reached West Africa?

[fee]

I am the only one beginning to get a little concerned about bird flu reaching Gran Can now that it has reached West Africa?

.....sorry, meant "am I ?" not "I am" !!

[Stephen]

i am not but i suppose that the canaries are next after Turkey

for the islands sake i hope it doesnt as if bird flu goes onto any of the islands it will be catastrophic for the locals and also the tourists trade , things all ready are bad for the tourism trade due to one thing or another IMHO bird flu will mark the end of tourism for quite a while

[fee]

I agree - it would be catastrophic. I know that the West Africans come over to sell their wares but being unable to sell their chickens in Africa are they likely to be able to smuggle them in to GC? I may sound over dramatic but many people are reliant on chickens for their livelihood and smuggling infected chickens is happening already - poverty is a terrible thing and people are driven to desperate measures.

[Stephen]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/world/05/bird_flu_map/html/1.stm this may help it shows the migratory areas of birds it isnt necessary from chickens only you can get the diease

Q&A: Bird flu
.

Q: What is bird flu?

Like humans and other species, birds are susceptible to flu.

There are 15 types of bird, or avian, flu.

The most contagious strains, which are usually fatal in birds, are H5 and H7.

The type currently causing concern is the deadly strain H5N1, which can prove fatal to humans.

Migratory wildfowl, notably wild ducks, are natural carriers of the viruses, but are unlikely to actually develop an infection.

The risk is that they pass it on to domestic birds, who are much more suscpetible to the virus.

Q: How do humans catch bird flu?

Bird flu was thought only to infect birds until the first human cases were seen in Hong Kong in 1997.

Humans catch the disease through close contact with live infected birds.

Birds excrete the virus in their faeces, which dry and become pulverised, and are then inhaled.

Symptoms are similar to other types of flu - fever, malaise, sore throats and coughs. People can also develop conjunctivitis.

Researchers are now concerned because scientists studying a case in Vietnam found the virus can affect all parts of the body, not just the lungs.

This could mean that many illnesses, and even deaths, thought to have been caused by something else, may have been due to the bird flu virus.

Q: Is it possible to stop bird flu coming into a country?

Because it is carried by birds, there is no way of preventing its spread.

But that does not mean it will be passed to domestic flocks. Experts say proper poultry controls - such as preventing wild birds getting in to poultry houses - which are present in the UK, should prevent that happening.

In addition, they say monitoring of the migratory patterns of wild birds should provide early alerts of the arrival of infected flocks - meaning they could be targeted on arrival.

Q: How many people have been affected?

As of 9 January, 2006, the World Health Organisation had confirmed 146 cases of H5N1 in humans in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China and Turkey, leading to 76 deaths.

Click here to find the latest information from the WHO on the numbers infected and killed by avian flu.

Q: Fourteen cases have been reported in Turkey since the start of this year. Why this sudden cluster?

The WHO has yet to confirm all these cases, but even if it does, there may well be a simple explanation.

For instance, increased media coverage means that individuals are more aware of the disease and are simply more willing to come forward and be tested.

There is also the possibility that the infection among domestic poultry had not been properly identified in Turkey.

But the most worrying explanation is that H5N1 has mutated into a form that can jump more easily between chickens and humans.

If this is the case then it also increases the chances of the virus mutating into a form that can pass easily between humans - as it is more likely to mix with human influenza viruses.

This is the real fear. Experts believe the virus could exchange genes with a human flu virus if a person was simultaneously infected with both.

The more this double infection happens, the higher the chance a new virus could be created and be passed from person to person, they say.

Concern has also been raised by research which showed that the virus which caused the 1918 pandemic was an avian flu virus.

Q: But it can't yet be passed from person to person?

For the most part, humans have contracted the virus following very close contact with sick birds.

There may have been examples of human-to-human transmission, but so far not in the form which could fuel a pandemic.

A case in Thailand indicated the probable transmission of the virus from a girl who had the disease to her mother, who also died.

The girl's aunt, who was also infected, survived the virus.

UK virology expert Professor John Oxford said these cases indicated the basic virus could be passed between humans, and predicted similar small clusters of cases would be seen again.

It is not the only instance where it has been thought bird flu has been passed between humans.

In 2004, two sisters died in Vietnam after possibly contracting bird flu from their brother who had died from an unidentified respiratory illness.

In a similar case in Hong Kong in 1997, a doctor possibly caught the disease from a patient with the H5N1 virus - but it was never conclusively proved.

Q: What would the consequences of a mass outbreak be?

Once the virus gained the ability to pass easily between humans the results could be catastrophic.

Worldwide, experts predict anything between two million and 50 million deaths.

However the mortality rate - which presently stands at around 50% of confirmed cases - could decline as it mutates, they say.

Q: Is there a vaccine?

There is not yet a definitive vaccine, but prototypes which offer protection against the H5N1 strain are being produced.

But antiviral drugs, such as Tamiflu which are already available and being stockpiled by countries such as the UK, may help limit symptoms and reduce the chances the disease will spread.

Concerns have been prompted by news that patients in Vietnam have become partially resistant to the Tamiflu, the drug that doctors plan to use to tackle a human bird flu outbreak.

Scientists say it may be helpful to have stocks of other drugs from the same family such as Relenza (zanamivir).

Q: Can I continue to eat chicken?

Yes. Experts say avian flu is not a food-borne virus, so eating chicken is safe.

The only people thought to be at risk are those involved in the slaughter and preparation of meat that may be infected.

However, the World Health Organisation recommends, to be absolutely safe all meat should be cooked to a temperature of at least 70C. Eggs should also be thoroughly cooked.

Professor Hugh Pennington of Aberdeen University underlined the negligible risk to consumers: "The virus is carried in the chicken's gut.

"A person would have to dry out the chicken meat and would have to sniff the carcass to be at any risk. But even then, it would be very hard to become infected."

Q: What is being done to contain the virus in the countries affected?

Millions of birds have been culled in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease among birds, which would in turn stop it being passed on to humans.

[Stephen]

i am getting a bit worried now , it has spread to Scilly and Greece , one one hand that MAY be good for canary tourism due to Greece, Italy and Turkey all having cases but the way it spreading means that no where is safe , but think there is more chance in the uk tahn on the canaries

[fee]

It's good for canary tourism that other resorts have it and it may put people off and they'll be looking for alternatives that don't have it - on the other hand, canaries are pretty close (if you're a bird !) to Africa - personally my main concern is that it comes to the UK and mutates into a form transferrable by humans - my next main concern is that it comes to the canaries and I don't get my holiday in April ! Selfish, selfish, selfish - I know !

[ROB.P]

hi i have friends ho work with animals and bio chemist friends , who say it is scare mungering as thousands of people in the uk die from yhe common cold and influenza every year , it was the same with the aids epidemic years ago they was saying britain couldbe wiped out etc etc yes it is bad in africa but i live in london and i and all my friends and family have never known anyone that they have known to have aids or have died from it ,i think it over reacting
rob

[fee]

I think we have to listen to what the experts are telling us and it's certainly not scaremongering - incidentally, I don't think anyone in history has ever died of the common cold !!

[Stephen]

i agree with Fee sorry Rob P , but this seems to be a lot worse the AIDS epidemic was contracted by unprotected sex , between two people when one of them had the HIV strain , this Bird flu is unfortunetely a lot different its ok to say scaremoungering but when the first ever cases where found in Asia and Canada a lot of people disregarded the problem NOW cases have been found in Turkey, Italy, Nigeria, bulgaria and the Ukraine oh and sorry there was a case near London as well in a quarantine holding area its getting closer to home and when someone says exactly how the HN51 is caused conclusivley yes its worrying




and my BUDGIE IS ****TING HIMSELF

[ROB.P]

hi fee you say no one has died of a common cold , yes you are probably right medicaly but people die of pnemonia and other respertary illnesses , in fact just the same illneses that the people died of from the bird flu , i dont know if you know but there is a more dangerous disease at that has been a bout which you can catch of parots and bugies which will kill you ut there isnt a scare about that , i still thinkit is over reacting in my opinion:dry:

[BlonDane]

Well, I think it is better to be too careful than being too laid back/relaxed about it - whether we are talking about bird flu or any other threat to our health.

You can still live happily and have lots of fun, even though your careful and sensible.:banana: :banana: :banana:

[fee]

I'm with you BlonDane on this one - if we show apathy and don't listen to what the experts have said then we might (if we're one of the lucky ones) live to regret it. I don't think we can imagine the scale of tragedy if this bird flu does mutate into a human form. I do hope you're right Rob and we are over-reacting but I agree with the better safe than sorry motto.

[BlonDane]

Now it's in northern Germany.. Danish farmers are told to keep their birds inside. That is very close to the UK!!:ohmy:

[Ghoulie]

Reported in Austria greece & Italy too

[yflood]

and iran as well today soon its going to be in every country

[swifty]

a few countries now finding the bird flu in swans that they are finding dead.

[Stephen]

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e346/21spark12/birdflu2.jpg

[BlonDane]

Now A LOT of dead swans IN Denmark:cry:

Of course they are lying on the beach two streets from where I live...

:ohmy:

[fee]

Time for you to move out quick BlonDale and move to GC now !!

[Stephen]

Slovenia finds bird flu in swan

Slovenia has confirmed that a swan found dead in the north of the country had the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

The swan was sent for testing in Italy after it was found last week near the city of Maribor, close to the Austrian border. It is Slovenia's first case.

It comes two days after Austria confirmed its first cases of bird flu.

The H5N1 strain of the virus, which can kill humans through contact with infected animals, has also been found in Italy, Germany, Greece and Bulgaria.

Slovenia's government has already set up a protection zone within a 3km (two-mile) radius of where the swan was found and a 10km surveillance zone beyond that.

QUICK GUIDE


Bird flu


Nearly 200 birds were culled at a nearby farm and farmers across Slovenia have been ordered to keep their poultry away from wild birds and report any suspicious illness.

The Slovenian health ministry has said there "is no immediate danger for people" but has warned them to avoid contact with birds.


BIRD FLU IN EUROPE


Aug 2005: Avian virus reported in Siberia
Oct 2005: H5N1 kills thousands of birds in Turkey
Cases in Croatia and Romania
UK quarantines bird
Dec 2005: Ukraine cases
Jan 2006: Four people die in Turkey
Virus found in Cyprus
Feb 2006: H5N1 confirmed in Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria and Slovenia



Germany, which confirmed the H5N1 in two swans found on the island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea, is bringing forward to next week a ban on keeping poultry outdoors, originally scheduled to come into effect at the beginning of March.

Sweden and Denmark have already ordered poultry to be kept indoors as a precaution.

Earlier this week the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), while urging calm, warned the virus could spread further into Europe as migrating birds return after spending the winter in Africa.

Further investigations are being carried out on three swans found in southern Hungary to see if they died from H5N1. They have tested positive for an H5 subtype of the virus.

A spokeswoman for the UK's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds told the BBC News website it was probable the swans had shifted further westwards than normal in search of food, following particularly cold weather in countries like Ukraine.

EU veterinary experts meeting in Brussels have backed plans to increase surveillance of wild birds and stricter bans on imports - particularly of untreated feathers from all non-EU countries.

The virus can infect humans in close contact with birds. There is still no evidence that it can be passed from human to human.


http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41340000/gif/_41340484_definitive_birdflu9_416.gif

[Stephen]

its getting closer:sad: :sad: :sad:








French test wild birds for virus


Vets are carrying out tests for bird flu on a dead swan and two dead ducks found in France.

Initial results are expected later on Friday, officials said.

The tests follow the confirmation of the deadly H5N1 virus in dead swans in Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Greece and Italy in the last week.

French poultry farmers have been told to keep birds indoors and the EU has approved other measures to try to halt the spread of the virus across Europe.

The dead swan was found in the central-eastern city of Lyon, while the dead ducks were found north of Paris, in a wildlife reservation in the Somme region.

"We are aware of the French finding, but swans do die, and we have to wait to see whether this is bird flu or not," a European Commission spokesman said.



"Checks are being carried out and we will be informed if this is another outbreak of the disease."

EU Health Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said that all necessary measures were being taken and the public should not be "unduly alarmed".

Buffer

Steps approved at the EU meeting of health officials this week included the automatic creation of 3km (two-mile) protection zones and 10km surveillance zones around outbreaks in wild birds.

If the virus were to transfer from wild birds to poultry, "buffer zones" that could cover an entire region would be established and the transport of poultry restricted within them.

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed at least 90 people around the world, mainly in South-East Asia, since it emerged in 2003.

It can infect humans in close contact with infected birds, but there is no evidence that it can be passed from human to human.

[K T]

Think I've got that bird flu

I'm feeling a bit peckish

:grin: :grin: :grin:

[Stephen]

Think I've got that bird flu

I'me feeling a bit peckish

:grin: :grin:


just thouht you were cuckoo :grin: :grin:

[fee]

no need to flap !:D

[stevo preston uk]

I Think i have caught the first stage off bird flu my doctor called it

EGG FLU

:banana: :p :banana:

[Mharie]

Not all birds need to worry,though. I've just heard on the radio that small c ocks are most likely to be affected.

[HandyMan]

With comments like that Mharie , you'll be UP before the BEAK :grin:

[K T]

just thouht you were cuckoo

Nah Bluemoon....I'm like all those Chelski fans....

Sick as a parrot :grin: :grin: :grin:

[swifty]

got up this morning did not feel too good.
was moaning on all the time.
could not decide what to wear.:confused:
then could not reverse car in to parking place.
definateley got bird flu.:cry:

[Mharie]

But did you put the toilet seat down and load the washing machine and dishwasher before you went to work?

[swifty]

yes, no and i am the dishwasher...................

[Stephen]

Deadly bird flu kills German cat


A domestic cat in Germany has become Europe's first mammal to die of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.

The cat was found dead at the weekend on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, where dozens of H5N1-infected birds have been found.

Sweden has detected "aggressive" bird flu in two wild ducks in the south and is testing to confirm H5N1.

Meanwhile, vets from 50 countries have been meeting in Paris for a second day to discuss ways to combat the virus.

The H5N1 infection in the German cat was confirmed by officials at the national laboratory, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, but tests are continuing to determine if it is the exact strain that has been found in birds.



Laboratory chief Thomas Mettenleiter said pet owners on the island should keep cats inside for the time being.

Cats have been known to contract the virus from eating infected birds. Three rare civet cats in Vietnam died of bird flu last August. In October 2004, dozens of tigers died at a private zoo in Thailand after a bird flu outbreak.

There are no recorded cases of cat-to-human infection, but the German finding will raise concerns of further cross-species transmission.

'Pandemic'

In Sweden, the agriculture ministry said the virus detected in the ducks in the Oskarshamn region, 150 miles (250km) south of Stockholm, was a "highly pathogenic" version of the H5 virus that kills only birds.

The ministry said it suspected it would turn out to be H5N1, which can kill humans.

"This means that we have bird flu in Sweden. It's serious, but not unexpected," agriculture minister Ann-Christin Nykvist said.



Further tests are being carried out on the samples at the EU's laboratory in the UK.

At the Paris headquarters of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), chief veterinary officers from Europe, Iran, Kuwait and Azerbaijan have met to discuss how to co-ordinate their response to the spread of the disease.

OIE director-general Bernard Vallat told France's Le Monde newspaper that bird flu was transforming from "epidemic to pandemic".

"With the exception of Australia and New Zealand, which are not hit by bird migrations from affected areas, the rest of the world is directly exposed," he said.

On Tuesday, German government officials said H5N1 had been found in the southern state of Bavaria, the fifth German state to report cases.

And in Romania, samples of domestic fowl found to have the H5 virus were being tested for the H5N1 strain, the agriculture ministry confirmed.

H5N1 does not yet pose a large-scale threat to humans. However, experts fear the virus could mutate and trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.

[Stephen]

http://www.office-humour.co.uk/includes/images/items/2006/02/3832.jpg



THANK GOD FOR THAT :D :D

[Stephen]

Austrian H5N1 bird flu cases rise to 22; poultry meat sales down 10-15 pct

VIENNA (AFX) - Twenty-two cases of the potentially deadly H5N1 bird flu
virus have now been found in Austria, after the Health and Food Safety Agency
announced eight new confirmed cases of the disease.
The eight new cases were all found in security zones near the southern town
of Graz, the Austria Press Agency reported.
Yesterday the Austrian agricultural commodity market said sales of poultry
meat have gone down 10 to 15 percent since the beginning of the year.
newsdesk@afxnews.com
afp/ks



ALSO


LONDON (Reuters) - Iraq, Serbia and Germany reported the latest cases in the spread of bird flu on Thursday and health officials and researchers around the world prepared to fight a possible deadly avian flu pandemic among humans.

Iraq said a woman had died in a suspected case of the H5N1 bird flu virus and Serbia said it had detected its first case of bird flu in a dead swan that was being tested to see if it had the deadly strain.

A cat in Germany became the first mammal in Europe to test positive for the Asian strain of H5N1 causing some concern in pet-loving nations, despite the World Health Organisation saying it did not increase the risk to humans.

The latest cases in Europe and the Middle East came hours after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt said it was "just a matter of time" before wild birds and possibly poultry flocks in America contracted H5N1.

U.S. officials said they bought more than 14 million courses of antiviral treatments from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Roche Holding AG to prepare for a possible human bird flu pandemic.

The United States plans to have enough medication to treat 25 percent of its population in the event of an outbreak.

In Tokyo, Japanese researchers said they had developed a new way of producing the anti-flu drug Tamiflu, considered one of the best defences against bird flu in humans, that does not rely on natural ingredients and may help ensure more stable supplies.

The H5N1 avian flu virus has killed 94 people in seven countries -- Turkey, Iraq, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Cambodia. It has infected 174, giving it a more than 50 percent fatality rate, but experts are unsure if some people may have had less serious infections that went undetected. Since 2003, H5N1 bird flu has been found in more than 30 countries.

Experts fear that H5N1 will mutate just enough to allow it to pass easily from person to person. If it does so, it could cause a catastrophic pandemic, killing tens of millions of people, because humans lack immunity to the virus.

Iraq said the woman who died of the suspected case of H5N1 lived in the province around the town of Nassiriya in southern Iraq and more tests were being carried out in Baghdad and Cairo.

Two fatal cases of human bird flu, in a teenage girl and her uncle last month, were previously confirmed in the northern Iraqi province of Sulaimaniya, close to the border with Turkey.

SERBIA FINDS BIRD FLU IN SWAN

Serbia said on Thursday it had detected its first case of bird flu in a swan found dead in the region of Sombor, close to the Croatian border.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Belgrade said in a statement the bird tested positive for the H5 strain of avian influenza and samples would be sent to a British laboratory to determine whether the more dangerous H5N1 strain was present.

In Africa, where the H5N1 virus has been detected in Niger and Nigeria leaving African governments worried, Zimbabwe's health ministry warned people in rural areas against keeping poultry in residential houses.

The southern Africa country has been on alert since the H5N2 strain of avian flu, which is not dangerous to humans but can kill birds, was detected among ostriches last December.

The Greek government said on Thursday that it would help poultry farmers hit by bird flu fears with state-backed loans.

Greece has yet to find a single case of bird flu in farmed poultry but chicken consumption has dropped by up to 80 percent since the virus was discovered in the country in February. To date, 19 cases of bird flu have been found in migratory birds.

The Bahamas government said a mystery spate of bird deaths in the Bahamas involved only five birds, not the 21 initially reported, reducing the likelihood of a bird flu outbreak.

The H5N1 virus has been detected in birds in around 20 new countries over the past month alone, crossing into Europe and Africa. The spread is blamed on migratory birds, although some people argue that the poultry trade might play a role.

France, Europe's largest poultry producer, last week became the first country in the European Union to report an outbreak of bird flu on a farm. As many as 43 countries outside the European Union have since banned or restricted French poultry imports.

Dutch farmers have not decided yet whether to vaccinate free range chickens against flu, fearing that vaccination could damage exports, industry groups said on Thursday.

The farm ministry said last week Japan planned to ban Dutch imports when the country starts vaccinating as consumers shun meat from vaccinated animals because of possible health risks.

Dutch farmers fear other countries will ban imports from the Netherlands, a top world poultry exporter and Europe's second biggest producer after France.



AND ALSO


France has announced in the last 3 mins that 11 more cases have been confirmed in France and the Bahamas are also concerned that it has gone across the pond as there are reports of a few mysterious deaths in brids over there

[Stephen]

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,70131-1214045,00.html?f=rss

[stu1]

well my personal feeling is that this country(specially the media) will not be happy until we have got the bird flu over here and its twice as bad as anywhere else in the world............just thought id get that off me chest, thanks

[stu1]

and thats a great picture that blue moon of orville lol
:nodding:

[Stephen]

Saw a place the other day that had taken Coq au Vin off its menu due to the french bird flu breakout



he put it back on the next day when someone admitted it was a windup and told him how ****ing stupid he was

[Stephen]

seems the yanks are going OVER THE TOP AGAIN



Bird flu's potential dims 9/11, health expert says
U.S. is unprepared
By Samara Kalk Derby

Not only does bird flu pose a potential global health catastrophe, its threat to national security could dwarf Sept. 11, a public health expert told a Madison audience.

"I don't say that lightly," said Laurie Garrett, who lives next to the World Trade Center site in New York and witnessed the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Garrett, former a medical and science writer for Newsday, is the only journalist to have ever been awarded the three big P prizes - the Pulitzer, the Polk and the Peabody. She spoke as part of the UW-Madison's Distinguished Lecture Series to an audience of about 200 at the Union Theater.

The virulent strain of H5N1 avian flu has been transmitted from birds to humans and has killed dozens of people from China to Turkey. In human beings, it kills 55 percent of the people it infects, Garrett said.

If the virus mutates so that it can be easily transmitted human-to-human, H5N1 is potentially deadlier than the 1918 "Spanish flu," which killed between 50 million and 100 million people worldwide, she said.

Garrett, a senior fellow on global health policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, has written two best-selling books, "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance" and "Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health."

Southern China is the birthplace of all influenza and H5N1 first emerged in Guangdong, China, a decade ago.

The virus starts with aquatic birds - ducks and geese - and transfers to other birds as they migrate long distances, Garrett said.

H5N1 surfaced in Hong Kong in 1997. Chickens were infected and dying in huge numbers. Twenty-four people were infected with H5N1 and six people died.

Acting heroically, Hong Kong slaughtered 1.5 million chickens, Garrett said. "We owe them a huge debt of gratitude for slaughtering all their chickens," she said.

Still, the virus has spread to Indonesia, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Chad, Bulgaria, Italy, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and other countries.

The tipping point came last spring at Lake Qinghai, in central China, where more than 6,000 dead birds of various species were found around the lake. Some of the infected bird species continued their northern migration to Siberia, where they mingled with birds from southern Europe.

In the past two weeks, there has been a real explosion across Europe and strict measures have been put in place, Garrett said.

With increasing globalization, containment is not possible, she said.

A problem with H5N1 is its incubation time, which can be as long as 16 days. There is no form of rapid diagnostic test for the virus.

Governments all over the world are frantically trying to purchase the drug Tamiflu but a month ago the medical journal The Lancet concluded that the drug does not work, Garrett said.

If there were to be a big outbreak and people were using a drug like Tamiflu it could make the situation worse because those on the drug would go back to work and school and spread the virus, she said.

After Garrett spent an hour detailing the global spread of avian flu, an audience member asked her what people can do.

"Think globally, act locally," Garrett advised. "Ask, 'What would Madison do?' and come up with a plan."

"As Americans we have a real failure of imagination," Garrett said. The collapse of levees in New Orleans was predicted, yet no action was taken before Hurricane Katrina, she said.

Politicians are always thinking about more immediate issues, and when it comes to bird flu "There is no coordinated federal response. Don't let anybody fool you."

People working in public health need to speak in "a loud voice, but a sane voice, in the halls of government right now," she added.

Luxme Hariharan, a second-year UW medical student, just took an exam on infectious disease after studying Asian influenza for two weeks.

"She put it in a global context. I wish our entire class were here," Hariharan said.

"I hope I don't get this virus," Vasu Sunkara, a fellow medical student, joked.

[Stephen]

BIRD FLU IS 21 MILES AWAY

TEN seagulls have died of bird flu at a Channel port just 21 MILES from Britain, it emerged yesterday.

Their bodies were discovered close to Boulogne — France’s biggest port.

The French agriculture ministry confirmed all the birds had the H5 strain of bird flu. Unlike the H5N1 strain, it is not potentially lethal to humans. But the UK Government is still desperate to keep it out of Britain. The gulls’ bodies were discovered last Thursday.

The news comes amid growing fears that bitter weather in northern France will force disease- ridden birds across the Channel.

France, which is Europe’s biggest poultry producer, last week confirmed an outbreak of the H5N1 virus at a turkey farm in Ain — the first in the European Union. More than 43 countries imposed curbs on French poultry products, including foie gras.

After the outbreak in Ain, French officials launched a mass vaccination programme.

Targets included an ornithological park next to the infected turkey farm, which contains over 400 species of protected birds, including pelicans.

The H5N1 virus has killed more than 90 people and millions of birds after it spread from Asia to Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Poland yesterday announced its first case of bird flu as Switzerland and Romania joined France in reporting further cases.

Two swans found dead on the banks of the River Vistula in Poland tested positive.

Further tests were being carried out at a British laboratory last night to see if it was the deadly H5N1 strain. In an attempt to protect the poultry industry, Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said he would have chicken for dinner.

Romania began culling birds as a precaution against the virus after it found new suspected cases in a village by the River Danube.

[BlonDane]

In Denmark they have signs up with warnings about the bird flu by the roads and certain rules about not transporting birds. It has seriously broken out there. Pets and zoo animals are getting vaccination (thought they didn't have one yet????) and are kept inside. Also, specialized fencing is being built for the birds that can only be sold if they have been outside (ecological).
I think it is only a question of when it is going to hit our beloved canary islands too. :cry:

[Welho]

I've read that as long as the virus doesnt mutate to catch from human to human, people who are not in touch with birds or with birds poo are safe. At the moment, it is very important to keep pigs away from the virus. Pigs are very close to humans (what comes to size of organs egc.) and it is assumed, that the transformation would most likely happen if a pig catches the virus. If a human gets the virus from a pig, that will most likely to start the pandemia.

[Stephen]

Bird flu virus 'now in two forms'


The H5N1 virus responsible for the current virulent strain of bird flu has evolved into two genetically distinct strains, US scientists have confirmed.

They fear this could increase the risk to humans - and complicate the search for an effective vaccine.

The US team analysed more than 300 H5N1 samples taken from infected birds and people between 2003 and summer 2005.

Details were presented to the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta.


Prior to 2005 every known human case of bird flu had been caused by a particular subtype of the H5N1 virus, which infected people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

But the latest analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention identified a genetically distinct variant which appears to have emerged last year, infecting people in Indonesia.

Researcher Dr Rebecca Garten said: "As the virus continues its geographic expansion, it is also undergoing genetic diversity expansion

"Back in 2003 we only had one genetically distinct population of H5N1 with the potential to cause a human pandemic. Now we have two."

Pandemic concern

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia and killed nearly 100 people worldwide and infected about 180 since it re-emerged in 2003.

Scientists fear it could evolve to gain the ability to jump easily from human to human, at which point it could trigger a pandemic, resulting in millions of deaths world-wide.

All influenza viruses mutate easily, and H5N1 appears to be no exception.

Dr Nancy Cox, chief of the CDC's influenza branch, stressed that neither of the two genetic subtypes of H5N1 had the ability to pass easily from human to human.

US authorities are now working on vaccines to combat both subtypes. However, the development of a definitive vaccine can only take place once the exact form of a pandemic virus is known.

Despite this researchers are confident that a vaccine that could protect against one subtype of H5N1 would also offer at least partial protection against the other.

Professor Hugh Pennington, a microbiologist at Aberdeen University, said flu viruses were expert at evolving rapidly to exploit new opportunities.

He said it was possible that either of the two subtypes could gain the ability to jump from person to person.

Science may have under-estimated the ability of H5N1 to spread across large areas of the world in the way that it has already done, he said.

"But no need to panic. The virus is still a bird virus, it is not yet a human virus, and it may never be a human virus.

"As long as we manage to keep it reasonably under control in the birds I think we can breathe relatively easily for at least a year or two."

[Stephen]

UK awaits bird flu test results

Health experts are carrying out more tests on a swan found dead in Scotland that tested positive for bird flu.

The EU's bird flu laboratory in Surrey is expected to confirm if the UK has its first case in a wild bird of the H5N1 strain, blamed for human deaths.

A 1.8-mile protection zone to prevent poultry being moved is in place around Cellardyke in Fife, where the bird was found eight days ago.

The government's national emergency committee has met to discuss the issue.

The Scottish Executive said further restrictions may be put in place if the strain is found to be H5N1, but officials stressed there was no reason for public health concern.



Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne told a news conference the bird - thought to be a mute swan, a native UK breed - was collected the day after it was reported.

But he defended the programme set up to deal with bird flu several months ago.

"The timelines could not have been tighter in my opinion," he said. "We got the results at the earliest possible opportunity and the appropriate measures were put in place."


Initial tests show the swan was carrying a form of the H5 avian flu virus - but the exact virus strain is not known.

The H5N1 virus does not at present pose a large-scale threat to humans, as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.

But experts fear the virus could mutate to gain this ability, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic, potentially putting millions of human lives at risk.

Quarantine

The H5N1 virus has appeared in birds held in quarantine in the UK.

The virus was found in Taiwanese finches at a secure animal unit in Essex in October.

The decomposed body of the swan was taken away for tests on 30 March after being found on the slipway of the village's harbour.


Locals reportedly spotted the dead bird floating around in the water for several days with one women saying she had seen seagulls pecking at it.

The resident who found the dead swan washed on the shore at the pier told BBC Scotland she was concerned over an apparent lack of urgency shown by the authorities.

"When I found the dead bird, I called the police, who told me to phone the SSPCA, who in turn told me to phone Defra," said Tina Briscow, 68.

"It was over 12 hours later when someone came to collect the bird."

Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer said the dead swan was decomposed and appeared to have been partially eaten.

Amid concern the flu could spread to pets, Mr Milne said there is no evidence that the "predation" was by domestic animals.



He said the public should report any sightings of dead wild birds.

However, Mr Milne said the countryside "remained open".

BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh said the case could mean a potential crisis for the poultry industry, but not for humans.

Microbiologist Professor Hugh Pennington told the BBC there was no health risk from eating properly cooked poultry or eggs.

He said: "It's not eating the flesh or eating eggs that is the problem.

"It's contact with sick or dying or recently dead birds that's the issue - so the public is not at risk; the birds are."

The nearest poultry farm was on the boundary of the surveillance zone and much of the birds in Fife were indoors, the Scottish Farmers Union said.

European cases

In Europe, the H5N1 strain has already been found in countries including Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia-Montenegro and Switzerland and measures have been taken to try to prevent its spread from wild birds to poultry.



Dr David Nabarro, the United Nations' bird flu co-ordinator said until the strain of bird flu had been identified, the advice to governments was to behave as though it was H5N1.

"I can't tell you at this stage how likely this is to be H5N1, but I think it's prudent for the government to be behaving as though it is, and therefore to be introducing the necessary precautions," he said.

Representatives from Defra, the Scottish Executive, the Department of Health, the Cabinet Office and 10 Downing Street attended the meeting of the government's national emergency committee, Cobra.

"The meeting reviewed the contingency plans that are already in place and concluded that all relevant steps are being taken," the Cabinet Office said.



KT IS THIS NEAR YOU ???????

[K T]

No Bluemoonsteve, it right up north in an isolated area....lets hope everything is under control...which I think it will be...although I am feeling a bit peckish right now.
:D

[Stephen]

No Bluemoonsteve, it right up north in an isolated area....lets hope everything is under control...which I think it will be...although I am feeling a bit peckish right now.
:D



cant eat it mate only royalty can eat swans


they have just announced on talksport that the swan did have HN51 strain so its just got worse:ohmy:

[K T]

Just been reading about this dead swan and it's not as far north as I had first thought. It's near Anstruther in Fife, a beautiful part of our country.
Watch out Rab, it's in your neck of the woods, 9 miles from St Andrews.

[Stephen]

Hers the map on the BBC website

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41529000/gif/_41529144_fife_anstruther2_203.gif


the swans on the moor pool looked ok this morning but if they died most people would think the sewage plant had failed again and gone into the pool

[Stephen]

they are saying taht this swan lay uncollected for 20 hours after it was reported and that the authorites ahve had the swan a week before telling anyone how bloody slack is that

[rab_c.]

yes as the craw flies its 8 mile from my doorstep the big worry is that the authorities are out my back at the moment on the loch also lochgelly 1 mile away and the meadows country estate which i can also see from my back door big worry here im afraid as the swans geese ducks all go between all these lochs and there are hundreds here including loch leven
rab_c.:ohmy:

[Stephen]

hope you dont get in the exclusion zone , will they let you travel if you are in it ??????

[swifty]

if it becomes an exclusion zone, nobody can go in or out of the area.
how do they stop the ducks and birds.???????????
do they shoot them????????
if so, why not shoot them as they come into the country over the sea???????
read a good article on the bird flu vacine the other day, will try post it on here.
stuart fielden the bradford bulls and great britain r.l. player has been taking it for a while.
no harm done to him.

[Stephen]

this is being reported on sky news maybe scarmongering as obviuosly every dead swan will have the virus but might not be

Two Swans May Have Virus
Updated: 13:23, Thursday April 06, 2006

Two dead swans found in Glasgow are being tested for killer bird flu.

The discovery in Richmond Park followed reports that another bird found in Scotland had the deadly H5N1 strain.

The Government is yet to officially reveal test results on the latter but should make a statement within a few hours.

Anyone who finds a dead swan, duck or goose, or three or more dead wild or garden birds together, are advised to contact the DEFRA helpline, which is 08459 335 577.

But a single, dead small bird should be left alone and the department need not be contacted.

Earlier on, the Scottish Executive confirmed the bird - discovered in the Cellardyke area of Fife eight days ago- had "highly pathogenic H5 avian flu".

The dead swan was found eight days ago

Scientists worked though the night to discover if it had the potentially fatal H5N1 strain.

The executive, in a statement, said: "In accordance with a recent EU decision the Scottish Executive is putting in place a protection zone of a minimum of 3km radius and a surveillance zone of 10km."

Keepers of birds inside the protection zone must take them indoors where they can to prevent them coming into contact with wild birds.

The movement of poultry, eggs and related products from the area is now being restricted.

If the virus is officially confirmed as H5N1, further controls may be put in place.

The Executive's statement added: "There is no reason for public health concern.

Police have thrown up a 3km cordon in Fife

"Avian influenza is a disease of birds and whilst it can pass very rarely and with difficulty to humans this requires extremely close contact with infected birds."

Scotland's Chief Veterinary Officer Charles Milne defended the time it took to confirm the infection in the swan.

He said: "The procedures were followed fully and the timeline could not have been tighter."

Researcher Dan Brown, who first reported the swan to the authorities, said it appeared to have been "pecked at or eaten by something. It was torn open".

The H5N1 strain has killed more than 100 people worldwide.

Experts fear, if it mutates into a form that can pass between people, millions could die across the globe.

[rab_c.]

Earlier on, the Scottish Executive confirmed the bird - discovered in the Cellardyke area of Fife eight days ago- had "highly pathogenic H5 avian flu".
8 days ago a joke that it is just being tested now someone has fallen asleep somewhere and should be sacked
rab_c.

[Stephen]

LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE GETTING WORRIED IN IRELAND AS WELL

Dead swans tested in Antrim
06/04/2006 - 13:54:41


Six dead swans were today reported to authorities in the North in the wake of a confirmed case of bird flu in Scotland.

The British government said four carcasses were recovered in Portglenone, Co Antrim, and two in Moira, Co Down, this morning.

The remains will be tested at the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development’s headquarters in Belfast in a move that has been standard practice for some time.

Bert Houston, chief veterinary officer for DARD, confirmed officials were working closely with their Scottish counterparts following the positive test in Fife.

But he forecast the North would be able to cope if the virus crosses the Irish Sea.

Mr Houston said: “We have good contingency plans in place and have implemented all the EU requirements.”


He added: “I am confident that if avian influenza did come to Northern Ireland we would be able to handle it.”

Mr Houston confirmed that the department’s helpline had been very busy this morning but said that was to be expected in light of the media coverage.

He said the worst case scenario would be an outbreak which would affect the commercial poultry industry.

But he said the position in the North was completely different to that in the Far East, where the industry was less advanced.

Liam McKibben, DARD’s director of animal health and welfare, said 350 dead and live-bird samples were tested between October and December last year.

This year, 25 wild bird carcasses have been submitted for tests.

All the results have come back negative.

[Stephen]

http://www.office-humour.co.uk/includes/images/items/2005/11/3509.jpg

[Stephen]

its hit france now










http://www.office-humour.co.uk/includes/images/items/2005/10/3474.jpg

[Stephen]

http://www.office-humour.co.uk/includes/images/items/2005/10/3476.jpg

[Stephen]

AT LAST























http://www.office-humour.co.uk/includes/images/items/2005/11/3480.jpg


:) :)

[Stephen]

Or Maybe This One Which Is A Better Formula










http://img93.imageshack.us/img93/9670/att000290fd.jpg

[Stephen]

Mourinho more worried about bird flu than title race

Fri Apr 7, 2006 4:33 PM BST



COBHAM, England, April 7 (Reuters) - Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was more concerned on Friday about the first case of bird flu to hit Britain than the pressure building up on his team to secure their second successive Premier League title.

"Pressure? No. For me, pressure is bird flu," the Portuguese joked during a news conference.

"I'm serious. I'm feeling a lot of pressure with the swan in Scotland. You are laughing but I'm serious, it's not far. I am more scared of the swan than football. What is football compared to life?

On Thursday it was confirmed that a wild swan found dead in Scotland had the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu. The discovery of the virulent strain in the swan made Britain the 14th country in the European Union to find the disease on its territory.

Bird flu has been blamed for more than 100 human deaths elsewhere since 2003.

"If we win our matches at home we are champions so our situation is a very good situation," said Mourinho.

"For me the swan is the drama of the last two days. Maybe I have to buy some masks or something."

Chelsea led second-placed Manchester United by 15 points a month ago, albeit having played one game more, but the champions are now only seven clear.

His team dropped five points over the last few weeks after losing to Fulham and drawing at Birmingham.

He was also determined to clear up rumours about a supposed move to Italy at the end of the season.

Mourinho has been linked with a switch to Inter Milan amid suggestions he has fallen out with chief executive Peter Kenyon and the Chelsea board.

"I think this is a good opportunity to say again - again - that I have a contract until 2010," the Portuguese told reporters at the club's Cobham training ground.

"We are preparing the next season, I don't believe the club is preparing the next season with me if they think I am not here next season.

"I want to stay, they want me to stay and I don't want to leave.

"What I realise sometimes is I have to be careful what I say. For example when I said two years ago that after Chelsea I would like to go to Italy, they reported this as if I said it last week.

"When I said I wanted to be Portuguese manager one day, then maybe when (Luiz Felipe) Scolari leaves people will say it's me. But it's not for me. It's for me in 20 years time, it's not for me now."

[Stephen]

Firm slammed over bird flu response

A leading supermarket chain has been criticised as irresponsible by the Scottish environment minister over its response to the bird flu alert.

Ross Finnie said he was very concerned about the British public being scared off eating Scottish chickens and eggs after Waitrose stated that it did not stock poultry items from north of the border.

The supermarket, part of the John Lewis Partnership, said it was simply responding to a request about the sourcing of its goods and in no way meant to imply that the illness was food-borne.

But Mr Finnie took the opportunity to reiterate that it is completely safe to eat Scottish poultry products.

Responding to an interview question, he told Scottish Television's Scotland Today: "I'm very concerned about that ... for a supermarket to imply that there was a risk from buying Scottish produce was, in my view, irresponsible."

Waitrose, which has 174 stores in England and Wales, said its response to media questioning had been misinterpreted.

"Bird flu is not a food-borne illness and our customers understand this," said a spokeswoman for the chain.

The company is planning to open its first Scottish stores in the summer and said that it would be sourcing products locally, as it does for branches in the south.

The spokeswoman said: "Regional and local sourcing is at the heart of our offer and we are actively looking to source from Scotland in the run-up to opening two branches in Edinburgh in June and in fact have already sourced an egg supplier in Scotland."

Waitrose said all its fresh poultry came from UK farms and it was in a "strong position" to respond to any precautionary advice from Defra.

[Stephen]

Dead ducks in La Laguna-TENERIFE



Experts have moved to allay any possible fears about the arrival of bird flu to the islands following the death of 11 ducks in the pond in the plaza de la Catedral in La Laguna.



La Laguna -

The ducks have lived in the pond for years but were found dead yesterday by agricultural officials who have, following procedures, taken all the corpses away to be tested for the virus, but according to spokesperson the most likely reason for the death is poison. According to La Laguna environment councillor Plácido Mejías “following an initial examination by vets from the regional Animal health department it is practically impossible that they died of an illness..the most probably cause is that they were poisoned”.

[Stephen]

Will Britain Choke The Chicken?


It’s official: Bird flu has hit Britain. No no, don’t panic, your missus hasn’t set up camp on your couch, taken over your telly and you won’t have to wait on her hand and foot while she slouches around, sniffling and crying over all the soppy bits in Love Actually that she has already watched 20 times but won’t watch anything else because “its the only thing that makes me feel better”.

No, it’s the other kind of bird flu. That scary one that you have read about in the papers. Murderous Magpies, Deadly Doves and Killer Kestrels are coming to a town near you. They found a dead swan in Scotland. It had the deadly strain of bird flu HN51 (sounds sexy doesn’t it). But hang on, it’s a swan...

The tabloids have kept us on the edge of our seats about bird flu for months now. Bird flu hits Singapore, bird flu comes to Europe, bird flu does Dallas – it's all the rage right now. However, currently more people in the world have died from falling vending machines than from bird flu.

And this is where the problem lies...

In my opinion - a phrase I only use when I write something that people may get angry at - bird flu is no more a threat to you or I than dying of a heart attack from standing up too quickly. There we go, I said it.

The reason bird flu is such a popular topic right now is because it sells newspapers. They say it could be an epidemic, a 21st century ‘black plague’. It won’t. Fear is one of the biggest tools for selling a newspaper. An ordinary bird being the cause of the death of hundreds of thousands of people. Most people come across birds every day of their lives. To think that they could kill you is a pretty scary thought.

I am not saying it doesn’t exist. I wouldn’t advise anyone to find a dead bird and rub it's carcus up and down yourself whilst sucking it's blood, but don’t believe everything you read in your newspaper.

Flu or no flu, the only birds I’m interested in are the ones that can help me choke a chicken of my own...

[debbieduck]

Sorry to be a smart **** Fee, but people in history have very much died from the common cold.I'm a paediatric Nurse and kids contract a spin off from the cold called respiratory syncytial virus which if bad enough causes them to undergo a respiratory arrest, so it is very much a killer, especially as we can't treat it with antibiotics- it being a virus. END OF LECTURE!!!!

I agree partly that there is a bit of scaremongering as at present (as everyone has said) it is only individuals in close contact with infected birds and their faeces who are at risk, however who knows how this disease can mutate so awareness and knowledge is power, as they say.

lots of love to all........

[rab_c.]

Further test results are expected to reveal more about a strain of bird flu found at a poultry farm in Norfolk.
All of the 35,000 chickens at the farm near Dereham will be slaughtered after a number of dead chickens tested positive for the virus.
Preliminary test results showed the virus was likely to be the H7 strain rather than H5N1, which has been responsible for the deaths of more than 100 people, mainly in Asia.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said further tests were being carried out to establish the strain of the virus.
"Preliminary tests have this evening indicated that the avian influenza virus is present in samples of chickens found dead on a poultry farm near Dereham in Norfolk," said the Defra spokesman last night.
"Further tests are being carried out to determine the strain of the virus and more will be known tomorrow," she added.
Restrictions had been placed on the firm, and further action may be taken when the additional laboratory results were known.
Last month, a wild swan that was found dead in the harbour of a coastal town in Scotland was found to have died of avian flu.

rab_c.