Home > Russia: 30,000 birds died of bird flu in 24 hours
International Health Environment
UPI - March 16, 2006
Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reports that more than 30,000 birds have died of bird flu in southern Russia in the past 24 hours. No specific strain was mentioned. "In Krasnodar Territory, 21,912 chickens have died over the last 24 hours, and the total number of dead birds has reached 350,288," a local emergencies ministry official was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. In the North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, the official said, a further 10,818 birds have died in the past 24 hours.
OXFORD, England — The US state of Wisconsin looks set to be the US frontline in the battle against a possible avian-influenza pandemic, with two avian-influenza research programs taking root in the state.
In a new research park, the University of Wisconsin-Madison will house the Institute for Influenza Viral Research, which in turn will be home to the laboratories of Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a world-renowned influenza researcher.
The World Health Organization recently referred to Kawaoka’s work as "one of the world’s pre-eminent influenza projects".
Dennis Maki, a UW-M medical school professor, told the La Crosse Tribune: "If we’ve got one of the best influenza researchers in the world, we ought to do everything possible to maximize his productivity, and that’s why this facility is being built.
"His research is really going to be the cornerstone of early detection methods and better vaccines. I can’t say enough how important that basic research is."
In addition to Kawaoka’s work, Wisconsin also houses one of the United States’ largest wildlife monitoring programs for the detection of avian influenza.
"If and when this virus does come to North America on the wing of wild birds, we will probably be one of the first to know, if not the first," TheMilwaukeeChannel.com quoted National Wildlife Heath Center director Leslie Dierauf as saying.
The laboratory’s biologists are shortly to begin a widespread monitoring program to detect the virus in birds migrating from Asia and other infected areas.
"The bulk of our samples will be coming from the Alaska area and from the Pacific flyway and Pacific Island areas," Dierauf told TheMilwaukeeChannel.com.
The scientists will both collect and screen samples, monitoring the virus’ geographical progress and any evolution of the virus itself.
Meanwhile:
– Afghanistan on March 16 confirmed the presence of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in poultry. No humans are believed to have been affected. "Thus far in Afghanistan, avian influenza remains confined to the bird population, with no human cases reported. Nonetheless, it is imperative that the human population is protected," said a joint statement by the Afghan government and the United Nations.
– Another outbreak of avian influenza in poultry in India has seen veterinary workers begin the culling of at least 70,000 birds, while health workers have been checking people for signs of H5N1 infection. The latest outbreak, which occurred in Maharashtra, in western India, has resulted in large numbers of people complaining of fever. While authorities believe that it is most likely caused by an outbreak of dengue fever, samples have been sent for testing to determine whether H5N1 is a factor.
– Officials in Myanmar have slaughtered 5,000 chickens in the central Mandalay Division following confirmation of an H5N1 outbreak in the region’s birds. Other precautionary measures taken by the authorities include the closure of poultry markets and a ban on the movement of birds in the affected areas.
– Following the discovery of a low-pathogenic strain of avian influenza in poultry in late February, officials in Pakistan have sent fresh samples to a British laboratory to test for the presence of the H5N1 strain of avian flu. Although Pakistan has yet to report an outbreak of avian influenza in its poultry, recent outbreaks on its borders - in India, Iran and Afghanistan - mean that the country is on high alert.
– Malaysia has reported an outbreak of avian influenza in poultry in its second state in less than a month. Following a routine inspection at Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, H5N1 was detected in some of the park’s 249 birds. Less than 60 miles away, in Kampung Changkat Tualang, nine dead chickens were also found to have been infected with the high-pathogenic strain of avian flu.
– Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency reports that more than 30,000 birds have died of bird flu in southern Russia in the past 24 hours. No specific strain was mentioned. "In Krasnodar Territory, 21,912 chickens have died over the last 24 hours, and the total number of dead birds has reached 350,288," a local emergencies ministry official was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. In the North Caucasus republic of Daghestan, the official said, a further 10,818 birds have died in the past 24 hours.
– A wild buzzard found dead in Denmark was infected with H5N1, Danish authorities reported on March 16. Samples from the bird, which was found south of Copenhagen, have not yet been sent to the European Union research laboratory for testing, but Gudrun Christensen, spokeswoman for the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research, said, "It is H5N1."
– A number of chickens that died on a poultry farm in Orkney Islands off Scotland have been sent to the EU Research Laboratory for Avian Influenza in Weybridge, England, for testing. "We can confirm a number of birds died on a poultry premises on mainland Orkney," a Scottish Executive spokesman said. "A vet officer visited the premises and took samples for laboratory investigation of suspected avian notifiable disease, which could be a strain of Avian Influenza or Newcastle Disease.