Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Natural Hazards Forum. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Bird Flu
Topic Started: 17 Nov 2014, 11:51 PM (511 Views)
skibboy
Member Avatar

17 November 2014

Bird flu: New EU measures after Dutch and UK cases

The European Commission has adopted protective measures to try to contain a bird flu outbreak after new cases were reported in the UK and the Netherlands.

The measures include killing animals in infected areas and banning sales of poultry products from those areas.

The Dutch government has reported the "highly contagious" H5N8 strain at a poultry farm there.

The UK reported a case at a duck farm in East Yorkshire, and the Commission said it was "probably identical".

H5N8 can potentially affect humans.

EU officials say the outbreaks may be linked to bird flu recently found in Germany.

They say it could have been spread by migratory wild birds heading south for winter, but that tests are continuing to confirm any links between the three cases.

Three-day ban

The European Commission said in a statement that the UK and the Netherlands were already applying directives on culling affected poultry, prohibiting sales of affected poultry products and live birds, and establishing protection zones.

It said: "The measures aim at quickly bringing the disease under control and at preventing the spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza within the affected member states, to other member states and to third countries."

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


At the scene: BBC's Anna Holligan in Hekendorp

It was a tense and traumatic day at the farm.

The idyllic Dutch image was destroyed by the hum of a truck carrying an industrial size gas canister and the appearance of men in orange boiler suits.

The health and safety teams came to Hekendorp to gas 150,000 hens.

Their primary concern is to contain the outbreak.

Poultry farmers, even those operating outside the 10km exclusion zone, have an additional concern.

Many are worried about the potential damage to the reputation of Dutch poultry products.

The industry has been brought to a standstill. A nationwide transportation ban will remain in place until at least Tuesday.

The Netherlands is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world.

It exports more than six billion eggs annually.

We watched from behind the fire retardant barrier as diggers poured hundreds of dead chickens into trucks.

Neighbours living around the contaminated farm see the cull as an unpleasant but essential sacrifice.

Posted Image
Eggs and chickens are dumped into a container at Hekendorp

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


The Dutch authorities have already begun destroying 150,000 hens at the infected farm, in the village of Hekendorp.

"This highly pathogenic variant of avian influenza is very dangerous for bird life," the Dutch government said in a statement (in Dutch).

"The disease can be transmitted from animals to humans."

The Dutch economics ministry says humans can only be infected through very close contact with infected birds.

Posted Image
Experts wore protective suits before examining the Hekendorp farm

The authorities have imposed a three-day nationwide ban on the transportation of poultry and eggs.

Earlier this month, a farm in north-eastern Germany detected cases of H5N8, which had previously not been reported in Europe.

The strain has never been detected in humans, but an outbreak in South Korea meant millions of farm birds had to be slaughtered to contain it.

Also on Monday, Egyptian health officials said a woman had died from the deadliest strain of the virus, H5N1, after coming into contact with infected birds in the south of the country.

Dangerous strains

Meanwhile, officials in the UK confirmed at least one case of bird flu in Yorkshire, but insisted the risk to public health was "very low".

A cull of poultry is being carried out at the site and an exclusion zone is in place.

The Commission said: "The information available indicates that the H5 virus in the UK is probably identical to the H5N8 virus found in the Netherlands and in Germany."

Posted Image

The head of the World Animal Health Organisation, Bernard Vallat, suggested that bird feed at the farms might have become contaminated by wild migratory birds.

"If feed is not protected and a wild bird comes to eat it, it's enough to contaminate the feed and then those that eat that feed," Mr Vallat said.

Most forms of bird flu do not infect humans, but H5N1 and H7N9 have caused serious infections in people, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

The majority of those infected had come into close contact with live or dead poultry.

There is no evidence to suggest H5N1 and H7N9 can be passed to humans through properly prepared poultry or eggs, the WHO says.

H5N1 has a mortality rate of about 60% in humans, and led to 384 deaths between 2003 and December 2013, according to WHO figures.

Common symptoms include a high fever and coughing.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

17 November 2014

Egypt woman dies of bird flu

Posted Image
© AFP/File | The H5N1 strain of bird flu, which killed an Egyptian woman this Sunday, has killed more than 400 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003

CAIRO (AFP) - An Egyptian woman has died of bird flu in the southern province of Assiut, a health official said Monday, the second death from the H5N1 virus in Egypt this year.

The 22-year-old woman died on Sunday after she was diagnosed with the disease on November 10, said Ahmed Abdel Hamid, a health ministry official in Assiut, 385 kilometres (230 miles) south of Cairo.

"This is the first case of bird flu infection and death in Assiut," Abdel Hamid told AFP.

He said the woman's two-year-old girl was also infected with the virus, but that relatives had "escaped" from hospital with the child.

"We are trying to quarantine all those who came in contact with the infant," he said.

Health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghafar said seven people had been infected with the virus in Egypt this year.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003.

Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

18 November 2014

Bird flu strain on UK farm identified as H5N8

Posted Image
The East Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu in the UK since 2008

The strain of bird flu found on a duck breeding farm in East Yorkshire has been identified as H5N8, the same type seen in recent outbreaks in Europe.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the risk to public health remained very low.

The strain is very dangerous for bird life and could potentially affect humans, although only through very close contact with the affected birds.

Some 6,000 ducks are being culled at the farm in Nafferton, near Driffield.

A Defra spokeswoman said: "The cull to prevent the spread of potential infection is being carried out in a safe and humane manner by fully-trained staff.

"Our response to this outbreak follows tried and tested procedures for dealing with avian flu outbreaks and we expect the cull to be completed later today.

"Additionally, our animal health laboratory at Weybridge has confirmed that the outbreak of avian influenza in East Yorkshire is the H5N8 strain.

"The advice from the chief medical officer and Public Health England remains that the risk to public health is very low. The Food Standards Agency have said there is no food safety risk for consumers."

EU officials have said migratory birds heading south for winter are probably responsible for the Yorkshire bird flu case and the recent outbreaks in the Netherlands and Germany.

Exclusion zone

The East Yorkshire outbreak is the first serious case of bird flu in the UK since 2008, when the H7N7 strand was found in free-range hens near Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Posted Image

Officials have been keen to stress that the strain found at the Yorkshire farm is not the H5N1 form which is deadly to humans.

There is a 3km (two mile) protection zone and 10km (6 mile) exclusion zone around the farm, which is owned by the UK's largest producer of duck products, Cherry Valley.

The exclusion zone bans movements of all poultry, products and waste within the area.

Paul Bellotti, from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said council officers have been out and about, visiting farms and reassuring the public.

"By the close of play today, every registered poultry farm will be visited within the protection zone and surveillance zone, as well as other smaller non-registered poultry and bird-keeping premises that we became aware of during the course of the day," he said.

"The council would like to once again state that the risk to public health is very low and would also like to reassure residents that poultry and eggs are safe to purchase and eat, subject to normal food preparation.

"Motorists and the travelling public should continue to use any and all routes on the highways network, unless they are advised otherwise, and, unless specifically closed, public footpaths remain open."

UK chief veterinary officer Nigel Gibbens said the Yorkshire farm had good bio-security in place, and as a result the risk of spread was "probably quite low".

But he warned more cases could follow and, because of the risk of wild birds spreading the disease via their droppings, urged farmers and their vets all over the country to be alert to the possibility of disease.

Most types of bird flu are harmless to humans but two types - H5N1 and H7N9 - have caused serious concerns.

However, there has never been a case of human bird flu in northern Europe.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

20 November 2014

Second bird flu outbreak found on Dutch farm

Posted Image
© ANP/AFP | A man in protective gear looks on as Dutch authorities arrive at a poultry farm in Ter Aar, the Netherlands, on November 20, 2014, where a form of bird flu was found

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch officials have detected a second case of bird flu on a southern Netherlands farm, officials said Thursday, but could not yet say whether the strain was of a highly contagious variety discovered earlier this week.

The latest outbreak was detected in three barns containing 43,000 chickens on a farm at Ter Aar, just east of The Hague, the Dutch food and safety watchdog NVWA said.

The outbreak was of the H5 strain, but "it is not clear whether it was of the highly pathogenic variety or not," added the Dutch economic affairs ministry in a letter sent to parliament on Thursday.

"The earliest results are expected by the end of tomorrow (Friday)," it said.

The powerful Dutch poultry industry has now been paralysed for a second time this week with a nationwide ban on the transport of all poultry and related products since 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Thursday.

The ban will last up to 72 hours.

Authorities have also thrown a 10 kilometre (6.2 mile) cordon around the farm, with four other farms also being tested for avian influenza.

The chickens are being destroyed and the farm disinfected, the NVWA added.

The European Commission said it was in "constant contact" with Dutch authorities and was ready to take further action once test results from the birds were through.

Dutch officials initially on Sunday banned the transport of poultry around the Netherlands after the discovery of a highly infectuous strain of bird flu following outbreaks of similar strains on the virus in Britain and Germany.

Some 150,000 birds were destroyed at the farm in Hekendorp, which lies about 25 kilometres southeast of Ter Aar.

Officials have identified the flu as being the H5N8 strain, previously detected only in Asia.

Some strains of avian influenza are fatal for chickens, and pose a health threat to humans, who can fall sick after handling infected poultry.

But Dutch authorities have said human infection can only occur following "intense and direct contact" with infected birds.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003.

Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.

The H7N7 strain of avian flu severely hit the Netherlands in 2003 with health authorities destroying some 30 million birds in an effort to quash an outbreak.

There are some 95 million chickens kept on Dutch poultry farms and egg exports totalled some 10.6 billion euros ($13.2 billion) in 2011, according to the latest Dutch statistics.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

22 November 2014

New bird flu case in Germany

Posted Image
© ANP/AFP/File | People in protective gear work on November 21, 2014 at a poultry farm in Ter Aar, just east of The Hague, where 43,000 laying hens are being culled to prevent any possible spread of bird flu infection

BERLIN (AFP) - A worrying new strain of bird flu has been observed for the first time in a wild bird in northern Germany, the agriculture ministry said Saturday.

The goose with the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain was identified in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and was the first case of the virus outside of a farm setting in Europe, the ministry told AFP.

The ministry said it had asked regional authorities to keep an "active watch" on wild birds, which means killing animals suspected of having the virus and conducting screening tests.

H5N8 was previously detected only in Asia, but has travelled with migrating birds and in the last few weeks has cropped up in several European locations: a turkey farm in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, several farms in the Netherlands, and at a duck farm in Yorkshire, England.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003.

Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.

The H7N7 strain of avian flu severely hit the Netherlands in 2003 with health authorities destroying some 30 million birds in an effort to quash an outbreak.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

Bird flu worries spread in Europe

By Susanna Capelouto, CNN
November 24, 2014

Posted Image
Bird flu worries spread in Europe

(CNN) -- Europeans are worried about a possible continent-wide bird flu epidemic after a wild duck tested positive for the H5N8 virus in northeast Germany, authorities said.

The virus was first discovered earlier this month in domesticated birds at a turkey farm in Germany with subsequent outbreaks on poultry farms in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

Authorities say that the first wild bird case strengthens the suspicion that the source of the European outbreak lies in the wild bird population.

"We must now talk about a Europe-wide epidemic," said Till Backhaus, the agriculture minister of the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the wild bird was found.

He ordered all poultry farmers in his state to keep their animals inside enclosures and away from wild birds.

This month over 200,000 ducks, turkeys and chickens were killed in Europe to control the outbreak, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. Once the virus is discovered in select birds, the entire flock must be destroyed, according to health officials.

There have been no human cases of H5N8 reported, according to the World Health Organization, but the agency said other avian flu strains have infected humans in the past.

The H5N8 strain in Europe "appears to be highly pathogenic," meaning that it is highly likely to cause disease and death in poultry.

It's not known how the virus reached Europe, but the WHO said surveillance zones have been put in place around affected farms to prevent the spread of the disease.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

30 November 2014

New bird flu case in Netherlands

Posted Image
© ANP/AFP | People in protective gear work at a poultry farm in Zoeterwoude on November 30, 2014, where Dutch authorities reported a new outbreak of bird flu on Sunday

THE HAGUE (AFP) - Dutch authorities reported a new outbreak of bird flu Sunday at a poultry farm, but could not say if it was the worrying new strain detected elsewhere in the country.

"Avian influenza has been detected on a poultry farm at Zoeterwoude, where some 28,000 birds are affected," the economy ministry said in a statement.

"The birds are infected with the H5 variant of the flu but it's not yet known whether of the highly pathogenic variety or not," it added.

The highly-infectious H5N8 strain of bird flu was discovered in the Netherlands two weeks ago, where authorities suspect it might have been brought in by birds migrating from Asia.

Some strains of avian influenza are fatal for chickens, and pose a health threat to humans, who can fall sick after handling infected poultry.

Dutch authorities have said human infection can only occur following "intense and direct contact" with infected birds.

The H5N1 strain of bird flu has killed more than 400 people, mainly in Southeast Asia, since first appearing in 2003.

Another strain of bird flu, H7N9, has claimed more than 170 lives since emerging in 2013.

The latest outbreak lies about 35 kilometres (21 miles) northwest of Hekendorp, where the first outbreak was detected in mid-November, leading to around 150,000 birds being destroyed.

Bird flu has been detected in at least three other locations in the Netherlands.

Germany and Britain have also reported similar strains of the virus.

Authorities on Sunday were destroying the birds at the latest outbreak at Zoeterwoude and have thrown a 10-kilometre cordon around the farm.

Four other poultry farms in the area are being investigated for bird flu, authorities said.

The Netherlands' largest agricultural organisation, the LTO, said Sunday the latest outbreak was a serious setback in the fight again bird flu in the country.

"The blow is so much harder as we were on the eve of easing the restrictions we implemented in the last two weeks," Eric Hubers, who chairs the LTO's poultry arm, said in a statement.

The H7N7 strain of avian flu severely hit the Netherlands in 2003 with health authorities destroying some 30 million birds in an effort to quash an outbreak.

There are some 95 million chickens on Dutch poultry farms and egg exports totalled some 10.6 billion euros ($13.2 billion) in 2011, according to the latest Dutch statistics.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

03 December 2014

Bird flu found at two farms in Canada

Posted Image
© AFP/File | Bird flu tests were conducted at two infected sites in Canada-- a turkey farm and a chicken breeding facility, said officials

OTTAWA (AFP) - Authorities in Canada said Tuesday they put two poultry farms in British Columbia under quarantine after they tested positive for bird flu.

"Preliminary testing by the province of British Columbia has confirmed the presence of H5 avian influenza on two farms in the Fraser Valley" region of the province, said a statement released by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

The tests were conducted Monday at the two infected sites -- a turkey farm and a chicken breeding facility, said officials.

Authorities said that within a few days they expect to receive the results of testing "to confirm pathogenicity and to determine the precise subtype and strain of the virus."

The testing was undertaken after both farms experienced an unexpectedly high number of sudden bird deaths over the weekend.

Officials said infected poultry would be euthanized and discarded in accordance with international health and safety protocols.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

03 December 2014

Egypt reports four new bird flu deaths

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A health department worker disinfects the house of an Egyptian suspected of having the H5N1 strain of bird flu on March 21, 2005 in al-Abiyat, north of Cairo

CAIRO (AFP) - Egypt reported on Wednesday four new deaths from bird flu, taking to seven the number of people that the H5N1 virus has killed in the country so far in 2014.

The latest deaths from H5N1, a strain that has killed more than 400 people worldwide since first appearing in 2003, were reported in the North African country in the past two weeks.

Over the same period the number of cases of H5N1 infections in Egypt had doubled to 14, health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghafar told AFP.

All were in rural areas.

State news agency MENA said the newest death, that of a 26-year-old man, occurred on Sunday in Minya, around 235 kilometres (145 miles) south of Cairo.

H5N1 is one of several deadly or potentially deadly strains of bird flu that are closely monitored by the World Health Organization.

The strain is different from the H5N8 version, whose spread on European poultry farms in recent days has prompted calls for vigilance from the WHO.

Most deaths from the strain worldwide have been in southeast Asia.

A third strain of bird flu -- H7N9 -- has killed more than 170 people since emerging in 2013.

The strains are named for varying subtypes of two proteins on the surface of the virus -- haemagglutinin and neuraminidase -- that help determine its risk to humans.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

12 December 2014

Bird flu outbreak spreads in Canada

Posted Image
© Getty/AFP/File | Chickens and turkeys have been euthanized on four farms affected by an outbreak of avian influenza in British Columbia, Canada

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada expanded its quarantine of poultry farms in westernmost British Columbia province Thursday after learning that an outbreak of avian influenza has spread.

Both farms are close to one of the original two that were first to be quarantined on December 2 after they tested positive for bird flu, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement.

In total, eight properties have so far been impacted, and a ninth is being monitored for the H5N2 virus.

Several countries, including the United States, temporarily suspended imports of Canadian poultry and eggs after the finds.

Testing was undertaken after the original two farms experienced an unexpectedly high number of sudden bird deaths in one weekend.

Chickens and turkeys have been euthanized on four of the affected farms.

The rest will be depopulated in the coming days, officials said.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

16 December 2014

German cull ordered after H5N8 bird flu confirmed

Posted Image
© DPA/AFP | Men wearing protective clothes work on a poultry farm on December 16, 2014 in Barssel, northern Germany as authorities order the cull of thousands of farm animals after a bird flu outbreak is confirmed as the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain

BERLIN (AFP) - German authorities on Tuesday ordered the cull of thousands of farm animals after a bird flu outbreak was confirmed as the highly pathogenic H5N8 strain.

The precautionary move came after the discovery at a poultry farm in a rural region of Lower Saxony state.

Regional agricultural minister Christian Meyer said that 19,000 animals at the site and another 12,000 turkeys at a neighbouring farm would be slaughtered.

He said the strain detected in the Cloppenburg district was the same as that found at another farm in November in Schleswig-Holstein state.

Meyer expressed concern that the virus could spread quickly.

"Cloppenburg is a traditional heartland of the poultry industry," he said.

The district had already imposed a three-day ban on all poultry transports to thwart the potential spread of H5N8.

Some strains of avian influenza are fatal for birds, and pose a health threat to humans, who can fall sick after handling infected poultry.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

22 December 2014

Germany introduces bird flu test for ducks, geese

Posted Image
© DPA/AFP/File | Four ducks sit on the fence of a farm in Kaufbeuren, southern Germany on December 21, 2014

BERLIN (AFP) - Germany said it would start testing ducks and geese for bird flu prior to slaughter, after two cases of the highly infectious H5N8 strain were detected in a week.

The emergency procedure, which will take effect Tuesday, requires all duck and geese farmers across Germany to have their animals tested for bird flu before being transported, the agriculture ministry said.

"The animals can only be transported and slaughtered in the case of a negative test result," the ministry said in a written statement.

It said the test must be carried out no more than seven days before transport.

Unlike turkeys and chickens, ducks and geese display no symptoms when they are infected with H5N8.

This creates a risk that infected animals are taken for slaughter, spreading the infection via contact with the vehicle or people.

"This measure is for the protection of our animal populations," Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt said in the statement.

The measure, which comes into force at midnight, applies across Germany until the end of March.

In the last week, two cases of bird flu have been found at different farms in Lower Saxony state.

"There was no contact between the two farms," the ministry said, adding that experts assumed that migratory birds had likely spread the virus.

Some strains of avian influenza are fatal for birds, and pose a health threat to humans, who can fall sick after handling infected poultry.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

30 December 2014

Hong Kong to cull 15,000 chickens after H7N9 virus found

Posted Image
© AFP | A worker handles a live chicken at a shop in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong on December 28, 2014

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong authorities said Wednesday they will cull 15,000 chickens after the deadly H7N9 virus was discovered in poultry imported from mainland China.

The announcement came days after a woman was diagnosed with the virus, prompting the city to raise its alert level for avian influenza.

"The department will take measures to destroy a total of 15,000 number of live chickens at the Cheung Sha Wan market starting this morning," the city's health minister Ko Wing-man told reporters at a press conference early Wednesday.

The facility will then be closed for 21 days for "comprehensive disinfection", Ko said.

Imports from the mainland have also been suspended, he said.

The virus was discovered through a "rapid testing" system, introduced to check birds for the disease, in a sample of 120 chickens imported from the nearby Chinese city of Huizhou, Ko said.

The tests were done after a larger batch of chickens from the same area tested positive for the H7 strain of the virus.

"The rapid testing showed... that this batch of chicken carries the H7N9 virus," Ko said.

A 68-year-old woman was hospitalised last Thursday after returning to Hong Kong from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen almost two weeks earlier, although it has not been confirmed where or how she contracted the virus.

Ten people had previously been diagnosed with H7N9 in Hong Kong, including three who died.

All had contracted the virus in mainland China, according to Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection.

The outbreak, which first emerged on the mainland in February 2013, has reignited fears that a bird flu virus could mutate to become easily transmissible between people, threatening to trigger a pandemic.

In response to the new case -- the city's first since early 2014 -- Hong Kong announced it was raising its response level in hospitals to "serious" from "alert", with extra precautions implemented from Sunday.

Hong Kong slaughtered 20,000 chickens in January after the virus was found in poultry imported from the southern Chinese province of Guangdong.

A four-month ban on live poultry imports from mainland China was then imposed to guard against the disease.

Hong Kong is particularly alert to the spread of viruses after an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome swept through the city in 2003, killing 299 people and infecting around 1,800.

There have been 469 cases of H7N9 in mainland China since 2013, according to Hong Kong's CHP.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

26 January 2015

Bird flu confirmed in Canadian patient after China trip

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A Chinese man leaves the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control as the country deals with the H7N9 bird flu virus on April 18, 2013

OTTAWA (AFP) - The first human case of H7N9 bird flue in North America has been confirmed in a Canadian woman who recently returned from a trip to China, health officials said Monday.

The patient in her 50s began feeling sick two days after returning home in Canada's westernmost British Columbia province and sought care from a doctor.

Tests confirmed that she had contracted the H7N9 virus.

"Today we are confirming the first case of H7N9 in humans in North America," Health Minister Rona Ambrose said.

Public health officials said the patient is recovering in self-isolation at home.

All of her close contacts, meanwhile, have been identified and their health is being monitored by public health authorities, according to a statement.

China has recorded 281 deaths and 470 cases since an outbreak started in March 2013 and the virus accelerated last year.

The virus ignited fears that it could mutate to become easily transmissible between people, threatening a global pandemic.

But Chinese officials and the World Health Organization have said there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, despite occasional instances of apparent infection between family members.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

29 January 2015

H5N1 bird flu spreads to 11 states in Nigeria: govt

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A bird stretches out from a cage in search of food in a Lagos fowl market February 6, 2007

ABUJA (AFP) - Nigeria on Thursday confirmed that the H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread from seven to 11 states within a week, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands of poultry but no human cases.

Agriculture Minister Akinwumi Adesina told an emergency meeting on the outbreak that "as of yesterday (Wednesday) a total of 11 states, have reported positive cases".

Cases have been recorded in Kano, Plateau, Gombe and Jigawa in the north, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo in the southwest.

Imo in the southeast is also affected, with Rivers, Delta and Edo in the south.

The minister said that as of Wednesday, 232,385 birds were exposed to the virus and 51,444 had died -- up from nearly 140,000 exposures and just over 22,000 deaths on January 21.

"We are not in a state of any epidemic, we are closely monitoring the situation and taking aggressive containment measures," said Adesina.

"There is no cause for alarm but we must now move with greater speed and decisiveness."

Kano, Nigeria's largest state in the north, has been worst hit by the outbreak with 136,905 infected birds and 17,987 deaths; Lagos had 38,845 cases and 4,732 deaths.

Adesina said last week that the first cases were confirmed on a commercial farm in Kano city and at a live bird market in Lagos State on January 8.

The government has approved 145 million naira ($767,400, 676,000 euros) to compensate farmers by the outbreak.

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed more than 400 people worldwide since it first appeared in 2003, most of them in southeast Asia.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

30 January 2015

Second bird flu case confirmed in Canada

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A worker prepares bins during a chicken cull in Hong Kong on December 31, 2014, after the deadly H7N9 virus was discovered in poultry imported from China

OTTAWA (AFP) - The husband of a Canadian who was diagnosed earlier this week with bird flu after returning from a trip to China has also tested positive for the virus, health officials said Friday.

The couple in their 50s began feeling sick days after returning home in westernmost British Columbia province.

Tests confirmed the first human case of H7N9 bird flu in North America in the woman on Monday.

Her husband's diagnosis was confirmed three days later.

"Since both cases became symptomatic one day apart, it is likely they were exposed to a common source, rather than one having been infected by the other," said Canada's chief public health officer, Gregory Taylor.

Neither patient required hospitalization and both are recovering in self-isolation at home from their illness, said officials.

During an outbreak in China two years ago there were fears it could mutate to become easily transmissible between people, threatening a global pandemic.

But Chinese officials and the World Health Organization have said there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission, despite occasional instances of apparent infection between family members.

Since March 2013, China has recorded 281 deaths and 470 cases of H7N9.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

2 February 2015

'Low severity' bird flu case at Hampshire farm

Posted Image
Tests have confirmed the outbreak as a "low severity" H7 strain of the disease

A case of bird flu has been confirmed in chickens at a farm in Hampshire, government scientists have said.

Tests showed the outbreak as a "low severity" H7 strain of the disease, a much less serious form than the H5N8 strain found at a Yorkshire duck farm, in November.

There are no links between the two cases, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

It said "robust action" was being taken to prevent any spread of the disease.

A 1km poultry movement restriction zone has been imposed and the birds at the commercial chicken breeding farm will be culled, Defra said.

'Very concerning'

According to advice from Public Health England (PHE), Defra, which has not confirmed exactly where the disease had been traced, said the strain posed very low risk to human health.

In a statement though, George Hollingberry MP said the outbreak was on a farm in Upham.

Mr Hollingberry, MP for Meon Valley, said: "[It] is obviously very concerning and I've been liaising closely with Public Health England, based in Fareham, Hampshire County Council and Defra throughout today to ensure I'm kept up to date with developments.

"There is no doubt the authorities are taking it very seriously and regular updates will be issued in due course."

Defra said it does not identify individual cases.

PHE has said the Public Food Standards Agency confirmed there was no food safety risk for consumers.

'Be vigilant'

Chief vet Nigel Gibbens said: "We have taken immediate action to contain this outbreak as part of our robust procedures for dealing swiftly with avian flu."

An investigation into the possible sources of the outbreak is under way

"I would urge poultry keepers in the surrounding area to be vigilant for any signs of disease and to ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises," Mr Gibbens added.

A spokesperson for the Food Standards Agency said: "Laboratory investigations on the outbreak indicate that it is the N7 sub-type of H7 but this will need to be confirmed in further testing."

Defra said anyone suspecting avian influenza should immediately contact their nearest Animal and Plant and Health Agency (APHA) office.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

6 February 2015

'Wild birds may spread flu virus'

By Helen Briggs
Environment Correspondent

Posted Image
Signs of infection with flu virus have been found in 10 to 50% of common teals

Migratory birds may be spreading viruses that cause bird flu around the world, say scientists.

Outbreaks in poultry may become more common in the future, especially in ill-prepared countries, they warn.

A severe strain found at a duck farm in the UK last year may have been carried by wild birds out of Russia, according to Dutch researchers.

The virus is a low human health risk, but wild birds on long migratory routes should be monitored, they say.

H5N8 is a strain of bird flu that appeared late last year in Russia, East Asia, North America and four European countries, including the UK.

The infections led to millions of poultry being culled.

In the UK, ducks were affected at a farm in Driffield, Yorkshire.

Another outbreak of bird flu in Hampshire this week is of the H7N7 form of the virus, which is less severe.

Scientists at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands, say the presence of the H5 virus in a migratory bird in Russia and other detections in wild birds and poultry is "worrisome".

"More poultry outbreaks could occur in the future, especially in countries that are ill-prepared," a team led by Dr Ron Fouchier wrote in the journal, Science.

"Despite the currently low public health risk, the outbreaks should be monitored closely, given that several animal species are susceptible and that influenza viruses are generally unpredictable."

Posted Image
Detections of the virus in 2014

Wild birds with long migratory routes should be monitored for exposure to H5N8 and control measures in poultry should be updated, as they appear to be "insufficient", they added.

Scientists are also investigating other ways that bird flu viruses can spread around the world, including through illegal poultry trade and contamination of vehicles or equipment.

A recent report from the European Food Safety Authority said the route of spread of the disease remained uncertain.

It said all affected farms in Europe had kept birds inside, suggesting direct transmission from wild birds to farmed poultry was unlikely.

Experts said there were no known direct migration routes from East Asia to Europe, but infected migratory birds from East Asia could in theory pass the virus on to other species at breeding and stopover places in Eurasia.

Dr Derek Gatherer of Lancaster University said more research into flu in wild bird populations in the UK was needed, especially in species migrating in from Europe.

"The British response to bird flu is oriented towards agriculture - that's fine because of course we need to protect our poultry industry - but in order to really understand bird flu we should also study it in its natural setting," he told BBC News.

"Then we'll have a better 'early warning system' for what might be a threat to agriculture in the future."

Biosecurity

UK officials said tests had confirmed the Hampshire outbreak was of a low severity H7 strain of the disease, which is a much less severe form than the H5N8 strain found in Yorkshire in November.

Chief vet Nigel Gibbens said: "We have taken immediate action to contain this outbreak as part of our robust procedures for dealing swiftly with avian flu.

"This is a low severity form of the virus and we are taking action to ensure that the disease does not spread or develop into a more severe form. We are investigating the possible sources of the outbreak.

"I would urge poultry keepers in the surrounding area to be vigilant for any signs of disease and to ensure they are maintaining good biosecurity on their premises."

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs said warden patrols for diseased wild birds occurred in eight Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserves in Great Britain, and a number of other reserves were patrolled by volunteers from October to March.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

02 April 2015

I.Coast bans poultry imports from bird flu-hit Burkina Faso

ABIDJAN (AFP) - Ivory Coast said on Thursday it is banning the import of poultry from avian flu-hit Burkina Faso to prevent the spread of the disease.

"The measure will be applied at our borders, and at all poultry shops," said Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Ivorian minister for animal and fishing resources.

On Wednesday, Burkina Faso's government announced that cases of H5N1 bird flu have been detected in poultry farms in two of its provinces, one of them Kadiogo which includes the capital Ouagadougou and its suburbs.

In Koubri -- a town about 40 kilometres (24 miles) south of Ouagadougou -- one private farm alone reported the death of 50,000 chickens since February, said an official with the department of animal resources.

"The death of a large amount of poultry was recorded between February and March 2015 in traditional and modern farms," said Jean Paul Rouamba, Burkina Faso's minister for animal resources.

The outbreak in Burkina Faso, "threatens" Ivory Coast given that the two countries are important trading partners, said Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Additionally, the H5N1 virus "is not only spread via poultry but is also transmitted through wild birds that migrate", said Vallat.

Avian flu is also "communicable to humans and that warrants action on a large scale", he said.

Nigeria in January confirmed the spread of the virus in 11 states which resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of poultry but no human cases.

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus has killed more than 400 people worldwide since it first appeared in 2003, most of them in southeast Asia.

Source: Posted Image
Edited by skibboy, 3 Apr 2015, 01:08 AM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

19 April 2015

Canada quarantines chicken farm infected with bird flu

Posted Image
© AFP/File

OTTAWA (AFP) - Canadian health officials have quarantined another poultry farm found to be infected with bird flu, authorities said.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said tests were conducted Friday after the "sudden deaths" of some chickens confirmed the presence of the virus.

The CFIA added that all of the poultry on the farm would be destroyed.

More tests are being performed to determine the exact type and strain of the virus, health officials said in their press release on Saturday.

Several British Columbia farms were hit late last year by the virus, which is highly communicable among birds.

Recent cases of the disease also have been found at Canadian turkey farms in Ottawa.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

22 April 2015

Bird flu spreads in US, but risk to people 'low'

MIAMI (AFP) - Bird flu is spreading among wild birds, chickens and turkeys across much of the United States but health authorities said Wednesday there is a low risk of people getting sick.

Since December 2014, cases of the highly pathogenic H5 avian influenza virus have spread through 16 states in the midwestern and western parts of the country, as well as some parts of Canada, infecting nearly seven million birds, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The H5 virus in North America looks different than the H5N1 bird flu circulating in Asia, where it has jumped from birds to people, said Alicia Fry, branch medical officer at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC considers the risk to the general US public to be "low at this time," she told reporters.

"That said, human infections with similar avian influenza viruses have occurred and it is possible that we may see human infections with the viruses associated with recent US bird flu outbreaks."

Most cases of human infection with bird flu have occurred when people had prolonged and close contact with infected birds.

"While we are cautiously optimistic that there will not be human cases, we must be prepared for that possibility," she added.

Health authorities are continuing to study the virus and are working on a potential vaccine that people could take.

However, the arrival of warmer weather in spring and summer could stop the virus in its tracks, at least for now.

"We know that this virus doesn't like heat so when it gets up to a certain level of temperature this virus doesn't survive, usually," said John Clifford, the chief veterinary officer of the US Department of Agriculture.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

13 July 2015

Britain confirms bird flu outbreak, 'low' public risk

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A man wearing a face mask walks through a duck breeding farm where a case of bird flu has been identified on in Nafferton, East Yorkshire on November 17, 2014

LONDON (AFP) - British authorities on Monday confirmed an outbreak at a farm of a strain of avian flu that is both highly contagious and potentially deadly for birds, but said the risk to people was very low.

"A case of H7N7 avian flu has now been confirmed in Lancashire" in northwest England, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said.

The strain involved is highly pathogenic and can infect people, but the government's chief veterinary officer, Nigel Gibbens, said there was little risk of that happening.

"Public Health England has confirmed that the risk to public health from this strain is very low. The Food Standards Agency has said there is no food safety risk for consumers," he said in a statement.

Birds at the farm near the city of Preston are being culled and a 10-kilometre (6.2-mile) restriction zone has been imposed, in which the movement of any birds or other animals is prohibited.

Defra stressed that Britain had a "strong track record" of dealing with bird flu, including in an outbreak of the low-severity strain of H7N7 in southern England in February, and an outbreak of a highly pathogenic case of H5N8 in northern England in November.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

04 December 2015

French poultry exports hit by bird flu: ministry

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A picture taken on November 25, 2015 shows a sign reading "Sanitary police - Access forbidden" outside a house where an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus had been detected in chicken

PARIS (AFP) - A string of countries in Asia and north Africa have banned imports of French poultry following a bird flu outbreak, the agriculture ministry said Thursday in Paris.

Algeria, China, Egypt, Japan, Morocco, South Korea, Thailand and Tunisia have stopped imports following the outbreak last month in the southwestern area of Dordogne, said Loic Evain, deputy head of the ministry's food division.

"The list is not exhaustive," Evain said, but does not include France's 27 European Union partners, who have accepted containment measures proposed by Paris under World Health Organisation guidelines.

"Unfortunately some countries' first reaction is to close their borders and only then to discuss" strategy, Evain said.

He added that "for the time being there is no decision" to block French poultry by Gulf region states which are major consumers.

South Korea imposed its ban last Thursday on imports of French poultry and live birds after the European Commission confirmed birds at a French chicken farm were infected with the H5N1 strain.

The commission ordered all 32 birds at the farm to be culled and called for close monitoring of neighbouring poultry farms.

Bird flu outbreaks have been reported in Asia, Europe, North America, Africa and the Middle East.

South Korea was also hit by a string of outbreaks of the virus this year.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

14 January 2016

Poultry farming frozen for bird flu cleanup in French SW

Posted Image
© AFP/File

PARIS (AFP) - Poultry farmers in southwestern France have been ordered to freeze production of geese and ducks at least until late May as part of efforts to eradicate bird flu, the agriculture ministry said Thursday.

The highly virulent H5N1 strain of the virus was identified at a chicken farm in Dordogne in November, prompting several countries including Japan and China to ban French poultry imports.

In late November, Japan also stopped importing French foie gras, a luxury food prized for festive celebrations but controversial because its production requires force-feeding the birds.

Since then H5N1 has been detected on 69 farms in southwestern France, where the bulk of French foie gras is produced.

The agriculture ministry's order allows farmers to continue raising the birds they have, but they may not take on new chicks until after a cleanup that is to begin on Monday, the agriculture ministry said in a statement.

The process of specially fattening geese and ducks to produce foie gras (fatty liver) takes 12 to 15 weeks.

After the current stock is treated, the farmers must freeze their production while their farms are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, the statement said.

Production could resume in May or June, but the timeline is still being hammered out, it said.

That will be in time for the poultry farmers to be able to produce foie gras for the next festive season, the statement said.

Japan's foie gras ban, which became effective on November 26, will be lifted 90 days after all affected French poultry farms finish culling their birds and conclude necessary sanitary procedures, according to the Japanese agriculture ministry.

For the first eight months of 2015 Japan was the top global importer of foie gras, according to a French industry group.

France, which produces 75 percent of global foie gras, exported 4,934 tonnes of it in 2014.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
skibboy
Member Avatar

18 January 2016

Saudi suspends French imports over bird flu

Posted Image
© AFP/File | A bird flu scare has hit French poultry and egg exports

RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday suspended the import of poultry, eggs and dairy products from seven French regions over a bird flu outbreak.

The Saudi Food and Drug Authority said the regions include France's southwestern Dordogne, where the highly virulent H5N1 strain of the virus was identified in November.

Several countries including Japan and China have already banned French poultry imports as a result.

"This temporary ban is to continue until the health status of the livestock is stable," SFDA said.

It added that poultry, eggs and dairy products that have been treated thermally or in another way to eliminate the virus are exempt from the suspension.

According to Business France, the French export promotion agency, France was the second-biggest exporter of poultry products to Saudi Arabia in 2013 and volume had risen 64 percent since 2009.

The World Health Organization says the H5N1 virus does not infect humans easily but when it does it is fatal in about 60 percent of cases.

Source: Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · Disease · Next Topic »
Add Reply

Skin by OverTheBelow