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December
Egypt- Egyptian girl dies of bird flu
15 Dec 2008
Thomson Reuters Foundation AlertNet [edited]
It is reported that a 16-year-old girl died of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu on Mon 15 Dec 2008, the 23rd fatality and 51st case of the disease among humans in Egypt, state news agency MENA said. According to this story, the girl from a village in the central Egyptian province of Asyut caught the disease after exposure to sick household poultry, MENA quoted a health ministry official as saying. Related stories
16 Dec 2008 – Avian influenza: situation in Egypt
World Health Organization (WHO) Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR) disease outbreak news [edited] [Promed]
The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has announced a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case is a 16-year-old female from Assuit Governorate, Upper Egypt whose symptoms began on 8 Dec 2008. She was initially hospitalized at the district hospital on 11 Dec 2008 and then transferred to the Assuit University Hospital on 13 Dec 2008 where she died on 15 Dec 2008. Investigations into the source of her infection indicate a recent history of contact with sick and dead poultry.
September
Iraq – Avian Influenza H9
25 Sep 2008
The Kurdish Globe [edited] [Promed]
According to this story, a harmless form of bird flu was found in Duhok. After the discovery of a harmless strain of the bird flu in the province's poultry, procedures are being developed to prevent its spread. "More than 50 000 chicks were destroyed at 2 poultries in Semel town because of the H9 strain of bird flu," said the general director of the Duhok veterinary office. He gave assurances that this type of bird flu is not dangerous to humans, but he also stressed that strict procedures must be taken to contain it.
It is reported that the veterinary office is developing a plan with related sides, especially the health and agriculture directories in the province.Mosul is suspected to be the source. "
July
Egypt - Disease declared endemic (OIE)
7 Jul 2008
OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database) reports, 2008 [abridged, edited] [Promed]
Summary
Report type: follow-up report No. 7 (final report)
Start date: 17 Feb 2006
Date of first confirmation of the event: 17 Feb 2006
Report date: 7 Jul 2008
Reason for notification: reoccurrence of a listed disease
Date of previous occurrence: 1965
Causal agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza virus
Serotype: H5N1
Nature of diagnosis: suspicion, clinical, laboratory (advanced)
This event pertains to the whole country
Related reports:
Immediate notification (18 Feb 2006)
Follow-up report No. 1 (23 Mar 2006)
Follow-up report No. 2 (3 Dec 2007)
Follow-up report No. 3 (15 Jan 2008)
Follow-up report No. 4 (20 Jan 2008)
Follow-up report No. 5 (29 Jan 2008)
Follow-up report No. 6 (4 Feb 2008)
Follow-up report No. 7 (7 Jul 2008)
Summary of outbreaks
Total outbreaks: 19 [in 9 provinces, namely Al Gharbiyah, Al Minufiyah, Kafr Ash Shaykh, Ad Daqahliyah, Ash Sharqiyah, Al Minya, Al Jizah, Suhaj, and Luxor. These are distributed within vast parts of Egypt's populated areas in the Delta and along the Nile.
Total animals affected
Species: birds
Susceptible: 100 336
Cases: 14 173
Deaths: 14 173
Destroyed: 85 263
Epidemiology
Source of the outbreak(s) or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive
Future reporting: the event is unlikely to be contained and is now considered endemic. No more follow-up reports will be made, but instead, information about this disease will be included in the future 6-monthly reports.
June
Pakistan – New bird flu outbreak in Swabi
23 Jun 2008
The Post, Agence France-Presse (AFP) report [edited] [Promed]
Pakistani authorities Sunday [22 Jun 2008] reported a new outbreak of avian flu at a commercial poultry farm in the country's northwest, killing thousands of birds, officials said. Tests conducted at a government-run laboratory in Islamabad confirmed the presence of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a farm in Swabi district, the local livestock department chief said. All workers on the affected farm were examined by the ministry of health but none was found to have been affected by the virus, he added. It is reported that local health officials are monitoring surrounding farms and advised them to take precautionary measures including vaccination of birds, he said.
Related stories
23 Jun 2008 – Bird flu prompts cull in north west Pakistan
Monsters and Critics, Deutsche Presse-Agentur report [edited] [Promed]
Authorities have culled nearly 2000 broiler chickens following confirmation of a fresh outbreak of avian influenza in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP), media reports said Monday [23 Jun 2008]. The culling was carried out in the Swabi district on Sunday [22 Jun 2008] after samples taken at a poultry farm tested positive for deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu at a laboratory in the capital Islamabad, English-language The News daily said. Two-thirds of the birds at the farm, which had more than 6000 chickens, died during the last few days while the rest were killed and buried under the supervision of local authorities and UN's World Health Organization (WHO) staff. According to the newspaper, people settled within a 3-km (2 mi) radius of the farm had been put under observation to monitor possible bird-to-human transmission. The News said another farm in the proximity of the infected facility had also been sealed off, and health officials posted at various checkpoints were examining birds being transported out of Swabi district.
26 Jun 2008 – Swabi Poultry Association says H5N9 mistaken for H5N1
Daily Times [edited] [Promed]
Swabi Poultry Association (SPA) on Wednesday [25 Jun 2008] staged a protest demonstration against the District Livestock and Dairy Development Department and the National Research Institute (NRI), Islamabad, for what they called 'mistaking an H5N9 strain for H5N1' that caused bird flu.The association's office-bearers said that they had conducted their own test at the Poultry Research Institute (PRI), Rawalpindi, where the strain was identified as H5N9.
27 Jun 2008 – Avian Influenza in the North West Frontier Province
Dawn.com [edited] [Promed]
According to this story, the provincial government has transferred an official of the livestock department from Swabi to Mardan as punishment for allegedly disclosing that H5N1 strain of bird flu influenza had been detected in a poultry farm of the district.Meanwhile, it is reported that a team of the World Health Organisation (WHO) discussed the bird flu issue with the local authorities in Swabi. They discussed the signs and symptoms of the avian influenza with the healthcare providers at the two basic health units and one rural health centre in the area. The local health workers were instructed to conduct daily fever monitoring of all poultry workers along with their families. As there is no isolation ward at the District Headquarters Hospital Swabi,the WHO has recommended that suspected cases of avian influenza in the area be shifted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar.The WHO has recommended an early disease warning system in the district to prevent outbreaks of the disease and that specific veterinary staff for bird flu investigation and surveillance in the district be sensitized.
April
Egypt - New case suspected – Egyptian 2-year-old boy infected with bird flu
16 Apr 2008
All Africa (Reuters) [edited]
According to this story, a 2-year-old Egyptian boy has been infected with the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, bringing the number of cases in Egypt to 50. The state news agency MENA identified the child from the Nile Delta province of Sharkia, quoting Egypt's health ministry. It said he had been infected after exposure to household birds. MENA said the boy started showing symptoms of the illness on Sunday and was taken to hospital the next day where he was treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. He was in stable condition.
Related stories
17 Apr 2008 - WHO confirmation of 50th case
World Health Organization, EPR, Disease Outbreak News , EPR, Disease Outbreak News
Egypt - Bird flu claims another life - 49th case, 22nd death
11 Apr 2008
Middle East online [edited]
Egypt's health ministry announced the death on Friday [11 Apr 2008] of a 30-year-old woman from the H5N1 strain of bird flu. It is the 22nd human death from bird flu among 49 cases in the country since the disease was first discovered [there] in 2006, a ministry official told the MENA news agency.
[The woman] first showed signs of infection on 2 Apr 2008 and was taken on 9 Apr 2008 to a Cairo hospital, where she died, MENA reported. This case was Egypt's 2nd death from the disease in a week. On Saturday [5 Apr 2008], a 19-year-old boy from the Nile Delta province of Beheira, died in hospital after being unsuccessfully treated with Tamiflu.
Egypt – Avian Influenza – 48thcase, 21st death
5 Apr 2008
Agence France-Presse (AFP) [edited]
An Egyptian teenager died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu on Saturday [5 Apr 2008], the health ministry said, the 21st person to succumb to the virus since it was discovered here in 2006. The 19 year old teenager from the Nile Delta province of Beheira died in hospital, health ministry official Nasr al-Sayyed told the state MENA news agency. "The boy had been taken to a hospital in the Mediterranean city of Alexandria on Thu 3 Apr 2008 after complaining of high fever and shortness of breath," Sayyed said. "He had been exposed to infected poultry," he said In January 2008, 4 people died of the disease in just one week, after safety precautions had been relaxed with the belief that the virus had disappeared when no case had been reported in 6 months.
Related stories
5 Apr 2008 - Reuters News
8 Apr 2008 - World Health Organization , EPR, Disease Outbreak News
Pakistan - Avian influenza situation
3 Apr 2008
World Health Organization (WHO), EPR, Outbreak News [edited]
Two additional H5N1 cases were confirmed by serological testing, thus providing final H5N1 infection test results on a previously reported family cluster in Peshawar.
These laboratory test results support the epidemiological findings from the outbreak investigation in December 2007 and the final risk assessment that suggested limited human-to-human transmission likely occurred among some of the family members, which is consistent with some human-to-human transmission events reported previously.
Case 1 (index):
Onset date 29 Oct 2007 / full recovery / direct contact with sick or dead poultry / confirmed by serology
Case 2:
Onset 12 Nov 2007 / died (19 Nov 2007) / close contact with case 1, no known contact with sick or dead poultry / status unknown (no sample available)
Case 3:
Onset 21 Nov 2007 / died (28 Nov 2007) / close contact with case 1 and 2, no known direct contact with sick or dead poultry / confirmed by PCR
Case 4:
Onset 21 Nov 2007 / full recovery / close contact with case 1 and 2, no known direct contact with sick or dead poultry / confirmed by serology
March
Egypt - Highly pathogenic avian influenza
11 Mar 2008
29th FAO (UN Food & Agriculture Organization) Regional Conference for the Middle East, Cairo, 1-5 Mar 2008 [abridged, edited] After the 1st outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in Egypt in Feb 2006, the government adopted several mechanisms to limit the spread and control the disease as well as the risk of human infections. In the control process, an estimated 30 million birds were culled and, more recently, there has been widespread free vaccination of private sector commercial flocks and backyard poultry. As of [11 March 2008, there had been 46 human cases, 20 of them fatal. - Mod.AS]. The rapid spread of the disease in Egypt has been related to the development of poultry product supply chains that move millions of birds per day with low levels of biosecurity. More recent outbreaks would appear to be related to the mixture of ducks and chickens in the rooftop and backyard systems and their close proximity to industrial poultry units. Ducks play a critical role in the maintenance of HPAI H5N1, and current strengthening of surveillance systems and epidemiological analysis should allow the development of improved containment strategies.
For this report, HPAI is viewed in terms of market shock and threat to livelihoods. The importance of poultry within Egyptian households is unique. Addressing the impacts avian influenza has had on these households, in particular the poor and vulnerable families, with actions to support the affected households is a challenge not just for poultry health specialists and development specialists but also for national and local government institutions that need to assess these actions in light of efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals.
The food management chains of the industrial chicken sub-sector (broilers and layers with associated breeding stock which account for 80 percent of the chicken population) have weak contractual arrangements, poor infrastructure investment, and limited investment in food processing, marketing, and retailing.
Egypt - Boy confirmed with bird flu, 47th case
8 Mar 2008
Reuters Foundation AlertNet [edited]
An 8-year-old boy in Fayoum province has contracted the bird flu virus after coming into contact with infected birds -- the 47th case among humans in Egypt since 2006, the Health Ministry said on Saturday [8 Mar 2008]. The boy was taken to a local hospital with a high temperature, difficulty breathing and a pulmonary inflammation, a spokesman said in a statement. He moved to a Cairo hospital on Friday [7 Mar 2008] and is being treated with Tamiflu, the standard treatment for humans. An Egyptian woman from the same province southwest of Cairo died of the disease last week but a health official said there did not appear to have been contact between them. Altogether 20 people have died of bird flu in Egypt since it arrived in the country in February 2006.
Related Sources
11 Mar 2008 - World Health Organization , EPR. Disease Outbreak News
Egypt - Avian influenza situation, 46th case
5 Mar 2008
World Health Organization (WHO) Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR) disease outbreak news [edited]
The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has announced a new human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. The case is an 11-year-old male from Menof District, Menofia [Al Minufiyah] governorate. He was hospitalized with symptoms on 26 Feb 2008 and was confirmed as being infected with A(H5N1) by the Central Public Health Laboratory and NAMRU-3 on 4 Mar 2008. He remains in critical condition. Investigations into the source of his infection indicate a history of contact with sick and dead poultry. Of the 46 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 20 have been fatal.
Egypt - 45th case
2 Mar 2008
Reuters News [edited]
A 25-year-old Egyptian woman tested positive for bird flu on Saturday [2 Mar 2008], the 45th confirmed human case in the Arab world's most populous country, state news agency MENA said. Ministry of Health spokesman, Abdel Rahman Shaheen, said the woman had been treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu and had been transferred from Fayoum province to a hospital in Cairo. The woman was suffering from a high fever; both her lungs were inflamed, and she was being kept on a respirator and under observation, Shaheen said. A 4-year-old girl tested positive for bird flu on Monday [25 Feb 2008]. [See: WHO confirmation above].
Four Egyptian women died from bird flu in December [2007]. Their deaths ended a 5-month pause in human cases in Egypt and brought to 19 the number of Egyptians who have died of the H5N1 bird flu virus since it emerged in Egypt in early 2006.
Related Sources
4 Mar 2008 - World Health Organization (WHO) Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR) disease outbreak news
The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has announced a new human case of Avian Influenza A(H5N1) virus infection. Her death has now been confirmed by the Ministry of Health and Population. Investigations into the source of her infection indicate that she had contact with sick poultry prior to becoming unwell. .
Iraq – Not confirmed case of Avian Influenza
2 Mar 2008
Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) [edited]
A case of bird flu has been discovered on Sunday [2 Mar 2008] in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. An Iraqi higher committee Secretariat in combating bird flu from the Iraqi cabinet council said the new discovery is in Al-Fedagiya village in the Fao area. The committee, based on the discovery, prohibited all transfers of poultry and live birds to other provinces before getting permission from local vet hospitals. The committee also issued an order prohibiting the selling and dealing of birds and poultry in the area, including taking all the precautionary measures needed. The committee also called on citizens in the area to avoid bird hunting the area for their own safety.
February
Egypt - Egyptian girl tests positive for bird flu - 44th case
25 Feb 2008
Reuters News UK [edited]
A 4 year old Egyptian girl tested positive for bird flu on Monday [25 Feb 2008], the 44th confirmed human case in the Arab world's most populous country, state news agency MENA said. Ministry of Health spokesman said the girl had been treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and had been transferred from Minya province to a hospital in Cairo, the agency said. WHO officials have said the bird flu virus was now considered endemic in Egypt.
Related stories
28 Feb 2008 - Egypt - WHO confirmation of 44th case
World Health Organization (WHO), EPR, Disease Outbreak News [edited]
The Ministry of Health and Population of Egypt has announced a new human case of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) virus infection. The case is a 4-year-old female from El-Edwa district, Menea governorate. She developed symptoms on 21 Feb 2008 and was hospitalized on 24 Feb 2008. She is receiving treatment and is in a stable condition. Investigations into the source of her infection indicate exposure to sick poultry in the week prior to onset of symptoms.
29 Feb 2008 - Egypt State Information Service
Pakistan – Avian Influenza (Sindh)
2 Feb 2008
Daily Times (Karachi) [edited]
The bird flu virus H5N1 was detected Friday [1 Feb 2008] in 2 chicken farms in Gadap town that have now been sealed off, according to officials. In view of the outbreak about 5000 chickens were culled and dumped as a safety precaution while steps are being taken to slaughter more infected chickens. Sindh poultry research director confirmed the spread of bird flu. Officials claimed that workers at the affected farm would be quarantined for a week to check any spread of the disease. "Officials from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture in Islamabad declared an alert across the country and ordered authorities to check for any signs of bird flu in other parts of the country," officials said. "We have sealed a one-kilometer area around the affected farm. Chickens and people have been banned from moving out of the area," they added. In Pakistan, 8 cases of bird flu were confirmed in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) last December [2007]. Around 6 patients recovered while one died and one remained under medical supervision in Abbotabad and Mansehra. "This is the 1st ever presence of bird flu in Sindh. Previously it had been declared prevalent in Islamabad, Abbotabad and Mansehra regions," Soomro said. The reported outbreak of bird flu (H5N1) in Karachi will not pose any threat to human health as the suspected birds have already been killed and the site of incident has been disinfected and sealed, traders said Friday [1 Feb 2008]. Staff report adds: Pakistan Poultry Association central convener Abdul Maroof Siddiqui said that consumers' confidence in commercial poultry meat would decline in case of a bird flu outbreak. In Gadap, about 5000 birds were killed and buried in order to avoid any danger of its spread to other farms, he said. "Traditionally, there is no harm in eating chickens as we cook them at high temperatures and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), cooking at high temperatures is safe," he said.
Related stories
1 Feb 2008 - 18 teams formed to cope with bird flu in Pakistan
Pakistan Times
5 Feb 2008 - Pakistan – Avian Influenza – Northwest Frontier province
The Post [edited]
Authorities confirmed on Monday [4 Feb 2008] a fresh outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Karachi, the 2nd case in 4 days in the city, a government official said. Authorities have found several outbreaks of the virus in poultry and birds in North West Frontier Province and the capital, Islamabad, since it was first detected in the country in early 2006. The 1st human case, which resulted in a death, was confirmed in December [2007]. The country was on high alert after bird flu cases were reported in the country. The health authorities created special Isolation Wards and vaccines were being provided to the hospitals to meet any eventualities. The new outbreak was found on a farm only 300m (0.2 mi) from where an outbreak was detected last week [28 Jan-3 Feb 2008]. "Samples taken from it were tested and found positive for H5N1," said Food and Agriculture Ministry official Rafiq-ul-Hassan Usmani. "Some 500 to 600 birds died of the virus and the remaining 5500 chickens at the farm are being culled now." Elsewhere, more than 2000 chickens brought from Hyderabad died in Mangora, Swat. In Punjab 5000 chickens perished due to bird flu virus in village Moor Charwan in Hujra Shah Moqeem at [a poultry farm.] Panic has spread among the owners of the local poultry farms because it is the first incident of bird flu in the area as the local residents avoid purchasing of chicken and eggs due to fear of bird flu while the business of chicken is declining in the market. Meanwhile, Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) has demanded [that] the government provide subsidy for the import of vaccine for the prevention of bird flu. They also said the virus of bird flu dies at 60 deg C (140 deg F) but Pakistani food was usually cooked at 100 to 120 deg C (212-248 deg F).
26 Feb 2008 - Pakistan – Avian Influenza
Reuters [edited]
Pakistani authorities found a fresh outbreak of H5N1 in chickens, the 4th case in a month, in the southern city of Karachi, a government official said on Tuesday [26 Feb 2008].
January
Saudi Arabia – Avian Influenza - (Riyadh)
29 Jan 2008
Yahoo News, Agence France-Presse (AFP) report [edited]
The Saudi agriculture ministry ordered a cull of 158 000 chickens on Tuesday [29 Jan 2008] following the confirmation of a new outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu that is dangerous to humans. The outbreak was detected on a poultry farm in the Al-Kharj region [Riyadh Province], 80 km south of Riyadh, said a ministry statement carried by the official SPA [Saudi Press Agency] news agency. Since the latest outbreak of bird flu was discovered on 15 Nov 2007, some 4 million birds have been culled on at least 15 separate infected farms. Saudi Arabia also reported an outbreak of avian influenza last March [2007]. There have been no reports of the disease spreading to humans in the oil-rich kingdom.
Iran – Suspected cases – Avian Influenza
12 Jan 2008
Iran Daily com [edited]
Samples Sent to Italy for Bird Flu Tests
Head of State Veterinary Organization said samples of wild and domestic birds which perished following suspicious respiratory infections resembling bird flu have been sent to Italy for tests. Mojtaba Norouzi told ISNA on Friday [11 Jan 2008] that the birds perished in the vicinity of Anzali International Wetland in Gilan province and an unnamed wetland in Mazandaran province. The organization would cull poultries in places where birds with suspicious respiratory diseases have been detected. Iran appears on the list of countries in which bird flu has been reported because of the outbreak of the disease among wild swans in Anzali Wetland. No poultry has been identified with the virus
Israel – Avian Influenza - Fear of bird flu in Binyamina after chickens found dead
3 Jan 2008
Haaretz Daily [edited]
Other sources 3 Jan 2008 - YNET News 4 Jan 2008 - YNET News 7 Jan 2008 - OIE, WAHID (World Animal Health Information Database), weekly disease information 2008; 21(2)
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