Bird Flu

[imported_RUDO]

BIRD FLU
Cats with H5N1 Virus Found in Austria

By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Vienna
Published: Monday, March 06, 2006
zaman.com


In the south of Austria, a number of cats have been diagnosed with the deadly bird flu virus, H5N1.

An Agriculture and Health Ministry representative in the Styria region confirmed the virus, but declined to give further details.

A dead cat in Germany was also last week diagnosed with the H5N1 virus.

In Austria, the first bird flu case appeared last month, and since then, dozens of birds have been found to be carrying the disease.

[imported_RUDO]

2 Swans in Poland Diagnosed with H5N1 Virus

2 Swans in Poland Diagnosed with H5N1 Virus
By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Warsaw
Published: Monday, March 06, 2006
zaman.com


Two swans in Poland have been diagnosed with the deadly bird flu virus, H5N1.

The Polish television news report based on information from a veterinary institute announced tests confirmed that the dead swans were infected with the H5N1 virus.

In the city of Torun, north of Poland, this case is the first recorded as the bird flu case in the country.

[imported_RUDO]

10 in Azerbaijan Hospitals on Bird Flu Suspicion

10 in Azerbaijan Hospitals on Bird Flu Suspicion
By Anadolu News Agency (aa), Baku
Published: Monday, March 06, 2006
zaman.com


Ten people have been hospitalized on suspicion of having the bird flu virus in Azerbaijan.

Health Ministry officials told, due to a high fever, eight in hospitals in the capital Baku and two in the city of Salyan are receiving medical treatment, and two are reportedly in serious condition.

Blood samples have been sent to laboratories in Cairo and London for further testing, but no results have yet been confirmed.

[imported_RUDO]

China-Hong Kong bird trade halted

By Chris Hogg
BBC correspondent, Hong Kong

China has suspended the supply of live poultry and pet birds to Hong Kong, after a man died of bird flu in neighbouring Guangdong province.

The man is believed to be the first in China to have been infected with bird flu in an urban area.

It is reported he was infected after coming into contact with live chickens on sale in a market in Guangzhou city.

This death - the ninth in China during the current outbreak - is causing a great deal of concern in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has reported a handful of infected birds in this outbreak, but no human cases.

The man who died in Guangdon did not live far away from Hong Kong - just two hours by train.

Usually 30,000 live chickens are sent from China to Hong Kong each day. That has been stopped with immediate effect.

The ban will last for three weeks.

[imported_RUDO]

Iraqi dies of suspected bird flu

A woman suspected of being infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu has died in the southern Iraq province of Nasiriya, health officials said.
Additional tests are being carried out at laboratories in Baghdad and the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

Officials also said possible cases of bird flu had been found in poultry in Diyala province, north of Baghdad.

There have been two confirmed human deaths from bird flu in Iraq so far - both in the Kurdish north.

The H5N1 virus, which causes bird flu, does not pose a large-scale threat to humans as the virus has not mutated into a form that can pass easily from one person to another.

Experts, however, fear the virus could mutate to gain this ability, and in its new form trigger a flu pandemic

[imported_RUDO]

Tests confirm Swiss bird flu case

Switzerland's first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed by tests on a duck found in Lake Geneva.
The merganser duck was found on 22 February between two boats on a pier leading to Geneva's Jet d'Eau fountain.

Switzerland has ordered poultry to be kept indoors - a precaution being taken by a number of European countries.

Neighbouring Germany has stepped up measures to stop the spread of bird flu by ordering a ban on pets roaming free after a cat was found dead with H5N1.

The government wants pet owners, from the Baltic region to the Swiss border, to keep cats indoors and dogs on a leash.

The domestic cat, found on the virus-hit Baltic island of Ruegen, was the first EU mammal to die of bird flu.


French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin urged similar precautions in France, asking cat owners not to let their pets stray into areas affected by bird flu.

France is already vaccinating thousands of free-range poultry after 15 wild swans were found to have H5N1.

Further tests

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.

Deaths of domestic cats, tigers and a panther from H5N1 have been recorded in Asia. Tests are continuing on the German cat to determine if it is the exact strain that has been found in birds.

The UK-based Veterinary Laboratories Agency - the European Union and world reference laboratory for avian influenza - confirmed the Swiss case on Wednesday.

It says it is also carrying out analysis on further samples received from Romania and Sweden.

[imported_RUDO]

French wary of cat bird flu risk

French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has urged cat owners not to let their pets stray into areas affected by bird flu.
The advice comes after a dead cat tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus in Germany.

The domestic cat, found on the virus-hit Baltic island of Ruegen, was the first EU mammal to die of bird flu.

France is already vaccinating thousands of free-range poultry after 15 wild swans were found to have H5N1.

"Adhering to the principle of precaution, cat owners are asked not to let them stray in zones where the H5N1 virus has been detected," Mr de Villepin said at his monthly press conference.

Cat deaths

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.


Deaths of domestic cats, tigers and a panther from H5N1 have been recorded in Asia.

Tests are continuing on the German cat to determine if it is the exact strain that has been found in birds.

In the mean time, cat owners in Ruegen, where more than 100 wild birds have died since mid-February, have been told to keep their pets indoors.

Tests continue

The World Health Organization says there is no present evidence that domestic cats play a role in the transmission cycle of H5N1 viruses. To date, no human case has been linked to exposure to a diseased cat.

Elsewhere in Europe, Sweden has detected "aggressive" bird flu in two wild ducks and is testing to confirm H5N1.

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.

[imported_RUDO]

4 Villages Quarantined on Suspicion of Bird Flu

4 Villages Quarantined on Suspicion of Bird Flu

Published: Tuesday, March 07, 2006
zaman.com


Four villages have been placed under quarantine in the Kocaeli region in the northwest of Turkey on suspicion of bird flu. Eighteen people from these villages have already been hospitalized.

Officials were informed of the death of 150 chickens over last three days in the Omerler district of Gocaydin Village in Kandira.


Kocaeli Agriculture Dept. quarantined the village. Officials, later, placed Akcandere, Kocakaymaz, and Sepetci villages under quarantine as well. The National Guard patrol all roads leading in to and out of these villages.

[imported_RUDO]

Teenager Hospitalized for Bird Flu Symptoms

Teenager Hospitalized for Bird Flu Symptoms
By Cihan News Agency
Published: Tuesday, March 07, 2006
zaman.com


A Turkish teenager has been hospitalized in the central province of Tokat in a suspected bird flu case.

The 16-year old girl was taken to the Dr. Cevdet Aykan State Hospital in the town of Yesilyurt on Tuesday after showing bird flu symptoms. It has been stated that the girl recently ate a chicken slaughtered by her father.

The Turkish Bird Flu Coordination Center has announced that a bird flu outbreak has been detected in the province of Tokat. The mass culling of poultry is underway in the area. In addition, tests on the suspected bird flu patient are being undertaken.

Bird flu has recently re-appeared in the provinces of Rize and Istanbul.


For further information please visit http://www.cihannews.com

[imported_RUDO]

Turkey Reports New Bird Flu Outbreak

Turkey Reports New Bird Flu Outbreak
By Cihan News Agency
Published: Wednesday, March 08, 2006
zaman.com


Provincial veterinary officials detected a new bird flu outbreak in the northwestern Turkish province of Kocaeli.

Samples taken from the dead chickens in the town of Kocaeli tested positive for bird flu, Ankara reference hospital said on Tuesday. The mass culling of the poultry in the town and five villages is underway. The region is quarantined as the transit of the poultry animals was banned.

Eighteen people were taken to the hospital after contacting with the sick chickens. No bird flu virus was detected in the hospitalized people.

Bird flu has recently re-appeared in the provinces of Rize, Tokat, and Istanbul.


For further information please visit http://www.cihannews.com