Cat Posted December 21, 2006 Share Posted December 21, 2006 but Nigeria is also concerned: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Fresh Bird Flu Concerns in Nigeria Experts say a fresh outbreak of avian influenza in Nigeria is more widespread than thought. This has provoked fears of long-term risks. The Nigerian Veterinary Association says the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu remains a major problem in Nigeria and warns that the country risks triggering an even bigger round of infection. Veterinary Association spokesman Bala Mohammed says more states have reported new cases of the disease, in the last few weeks. "What we considered a resurgence is becoming alarming. From an initial three, then 10 states, almost all the states have been having a recurrence," he said. "That is a very serious challenge and it also calls for a review of the entire process that we adopted. In the last month, we've heard about Delta State, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River and a lot of cases in Lagos." Nigeria and two other countries are considered the weakest link in the worldwide campaign to stem the disease. John Lange heads the U.S government programs for foreign governments and international organizations to deal with avian influenza. He says Nigeria should step up its surveillance program. "It is very important having the federal government working closely with state governments and local government areas to fully implement their plans on avian influenza. And, as part of that strategy is the need to undertake surveillance activities, to send veterinarians and others to all the states of Nigeria to really verify the level of avian influenza outbreaks," he said. Millions of birds have died or become infected in Nigeria since the avian flu outbreak was first detected, last February, causing severe hardship for farmers, who have had very little support from the government. Veterinary officials believe widespread disaffection with the compensation system put in place by the government is keeping farmers from reporting bird deaths, making tracking of the virus more difficult. Garba Sharabutu is a veterinarian and president of the Nigerian Veterinary Association. "We had cause to disagree with the government over this compensation. The first signal that the disease, avian influenza, is on a farm is when you estimate the total loss to be more than 50 percent," he noted. "Now, when move in there and you go and pay for those animals that you were able to actually destroy, when know that the cardinal signal is that 50 percent has already died, you go and pay compensation for only 50 percent, there is going to be a problem." Lange, who met several poultry farmers on his recent trip to Nigeria, acknowledges that the compensation package for farmers is a huge drawback. He says it is more of an international problem. "The idea that the birds will be culled so that there will be no more outbreaks from that particular infection and then compensating the owners is an issue not just in Nigeria, but all over the world. In fact, at a meeting in Vienna, Austria, in June, we discussed the need for more expertise on culling and compensation," he added. "I discussed that here and, in fact, when we met yesterday with the Kaduna State Poultry Association, they were frustrated at the delays for receiving compensation for birds that have been culled." Scientists warn that the H5N1 virus may mutate into one that is transmissible among humans, triggering a pandemic. Backyard farmers are particularly at risk because of poor surveillance and greater human-to-animal contact. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Association estimates that backyard poultry farmers keep 60 percent of Nigeria's 140 million poultry. Mohammed says, with major Christian and Muslim festivities planned for the next couple of weeks, the risk of bird flu is even more acute. "I look at seasons like this where you have festive seasons; Christmas, Sallah and New Year, as an important season when we must step up public enlightenment," he added. "You will agree with me that these are the periods people go for these chickens and they do it all cost. Everybody must have chicken on his table. It is a very big issue in Nigeria." Experts on bird flu are increasingly worried that Nigeria risks becoming a permanent host to the virus. Nigeria news ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bird flu hits Vietnam poultry Hanoi - Vietnam has detected the lethal H5N1 bird flu virus in chickens and ducklings in two Mekong Delta provinces, the country's first infections since August, the agriculture ministry said. The virus was found in more than 6 000 dead chickens and ducklings hatched more than a month ago but not vaccinated against bird flu, the ministry's Animal Health Department said in the report seen on Wednesday. Agriculture Minister Cao Duc Phat has criticised officials in the delta provinces of Ca Mau and Bac Lieu for failing to deal with the outbreaks. Dead poultry were found in water channels early this month but the officials failed to report it to Hanoi. The Animal health department said all the poultry found dead had been hatched illegally and tests had confirmed the presence of the H5N1 virus. "The risk of bird flu widely spreading in the Mekong Delta is extremely high because farmers have thrown dead poultry into water channels for a long time," it said. In January 2005, bird flu killed a Vietnamese boy in the Mekong Delta after he swam in a channel where people had dumped infected poultry. Temperatures were falling in the southern region incorporating the delta, which would also help the spread of a virus that thrives best in cooler temperatures. Vietnam has been free of human bird flu cases since late 2005. In August, it found the H5N1 virus on a small duck farm in the delta province of Ben Tre. An H5 subtype avian flu virus resurfaced in Vietnam earlier this year, mainly in ducks and wild storks. Bird flu first arrived in the delta in late 2003 and has since killed 42 of the 93 people infected in the country, a human death toll second only to Indonesia's 57, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The global health body says bird flu has killed 154 people out of 258 infected globally since late 2003. Experts fear the virus could muTate into a form that is easily transmissible among humans and spark an influenza pandemic that would kill millions. On Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Phat urged provincial authorities to raise breeders' awareness to help detect any infection early, carry out protective measures and avoid the disposal or sale of dead poultry when an outbreak was found. Health officials fear complacency given the absence of bird flu infections in recent months, particularly as Vietnam enters the holiday season which extends to the Lunar New Year festival in February when poultry consumption often peaks. Viet Nam news ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And from November... South Korea to kill cats, dogs over bird flu fears Virus found at chicken farm; experts question decision to slaughter animals Updated: 2:22 p.m. ET Nov 27, 2006 SEOUL - South Korea plans to kill cats and dogs to try to prevent the spread of bird flu after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus at a chicken farm last week, officials said Monday. Animal health experts, however, suggested it was “a bit of an extreme measure” when there was no scientific evidence to suggest that cats or dogs could pass the virus to humans. Quarantine officials have already killed 125,000 chickens within a 1,650-foot radius of the outbreak site in Iksan, about 155 miles south of Seoul, the Agriculture Ministry said. Officials began slaughtering poultry on Sunday, a day after they confirmed that the outbreak was caused by the H5N1 strain. They plan to slaughter a total of 236,000 poultry, as well as other animals, including pigs, and all dogs and cats in the area by Thursday, the ministry said. About 6 million eggs also will be destroyed, it said. The ministry did not say how many dogs, cats and other animals would be killed. Slaughtering cats and dogs near an area infected with bird flu would be highly unusual in Asia. Indonesia has killed pigs in the past, but most countries concentrate solely on destroying poultry. However, it would not be the first time for South Korea to kill cats and dogs due bird flu concerns. An official at the Agriculture Ministry said South Korea slaughtered cats and dogs along with 5.3 million birds during the last outbreak of bird flu in 2003. The official declined to be named, saying he was not authorized to talk to media. 'Highly unusual' Dogs specially bred for eating are slaughtered for consumption in South Korea, where many people enjoy dog meat as a delicacy. Another ministry official, Kim Chang-sup, insisted killing cats and dogs to curtail the spread of bird flu was not unusual. “Other countries do it. They just don’t talk about it,” Kim said, adding that all mammals are potentially subject to the virus. He declined further comment. But animal experts disputed the validity of killing cats and dogs. “It’s highly unusual, and it’s not a science-based decision,” said Peter Roeder, a Rome-based animal health expert with the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization or FAO, who published research about cats and bird flu earlier this year in the journal Nature. “We’ve got absolutely no reason to believe they’re important,” he told The Associated Press. Dr. Jeff Gilbert, an animal health expert at the FAO in Vietnam, described South Korea’s plan as “a bit of an extreme measure.” He said dogs and cats occasionally become infected, but pose little risk to people. Tigers and snow leopards in a Thailand zoo died in 2003 and 2004 after being fed infected chicken carcasses. Earlier this year, a few domestic cats tested positive for the virus in Europe. The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 and has killed at least 153 people worldwide. So far, the disease remains hard for people to catch, and most human cases have been traced to contact with infected birds. But experts fear it will mutate into a form that is easily spread among people, possibly creating a pandemic that could kill millions. South Korea news ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So much for my thoughts about the Southern hemisphere flu... Link to comment
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