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**HenryN** · April 26, 2006, 11:59 AM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/04260602/H5N1_Ivory_Coast.html

Recombinomics Commentary

**MHSC** · April 26, 2006, 12:12 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

Remember this?

Cote d'Ivoire confirms non-presence of bird flu virus

ABIDJAN, April 17 -- Cote d'Ivoire Minister of Livestocks and Marine Resources Alphonse Douaty confirmed yesterday that chickens found dead in the Bondoukou region of the country were not caused by the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

Alphonse announced that all the tests carried out by Bingerville laboratory near Abidjan were negative, but the cause of the deaths was still unknown.

There is no bird flu in the country, Alphonse stressed while urging people to keep calm.

About 200 chickens were found dead at the end of March and beginning of April in an eastern village of the country, arousing fears that the deaths marked the first outbreak of bird flu in Cote d'Ivoire.

Five African countries -- Niger, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon and Burkina Faso -- have reported the presence of the H5N1 virus since February.

Though no cases of bird flu have been detected in Cote d'Ivoire, the country has already taken measures to prevent and curb the outbreak of the disease, including banning the import of poultry products from countries affected by bird flu, the minister said.

http://news.africast.com/africastv/...hp?newsID=58424 

Here's the OIE report:

Avian influenza in Côte d'Ivoire

(Disease never reported before in Côte d'Ivoire).

Translation of information received on 25 April 2006 from Dr Denis Kouakou, Director of Veterinary Services and Quality, Ministry of Animal Production and Fish Resources, Abidjan:

Report date: 25 April 2006.

Reason for immediate notification:first occurrence of a listed disease or infection in a country.

Identification of agent:highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1.

Date of first confirmation of the event: 25 April 2006.

Date of start of the event: 30 March 2006.

Nature of diagnosis:suspicion, clinical and laboratory.

Two outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been reported in Abidjan district (Marcory Anoumabo and Treichville communes), in Lagunes region. The animals affected are traditional backyard free-ranging chickens (7 cases) and ducks (9 cases) and one sparrowhawk.

The diagnosis has been established by the Central Veterinary Laboratory of the LANADA (National Laboratory for Agricultural Development Support) at Bingerville and by Pasteur Institut of Côte d'Ivoire. The confirmation of the OIE reference laboratory in Padua (Italy) is expected.

The control measures undertaken are:

<DIR><DIR><DIR>- partial stamping out;
- quarantine;
- movement control inside the country;
- screening.

</DIR></DIR></DIR>The control measures to be undertaken are:

<DIR><DIR><DIR>- stamping out;
- zoning;
- disinfection of infected premises/establishment(s);
- spraying.

</DIR></DIR></DIR>Other measures are also applied:

<DIR><DIR>- awareness and information campaign for the population;
- confinement of the backyard chickens;
- reinforced biosecurity measures around the modern establishements;
- ministerial decision declaring the suspicion;
- implementation of an infected zone around the outbreak in Marcory Anoumabo and a surveillance zone in the district of Abidjan.

</DIR></DIR>*********************
OIE Animal Health Information Department
information.dept@oie.int

**Mingus** · April 27, 2006, 12:44 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

More on the same...

Archive Number 20060427.1218
Published Date 27-APR-2006
Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza - worldwide (98): Cote d'Ivoire, OIE

AVIAN INFLUENZA - WORLDWIDE (98): COTE D'IVOIRE, OIE
************************************************** **
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: 26 Apr 2006
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: OIE Disease Alert [edited]
<http://www.oie.int/Messages/060426CIV.htm>

Avian influenza in Cote d'Ivoire
--------------------------------
Disease never reported before in Cote d'Ivoire

Translation of information received on 25 Apr 2006 from Dr Denis Kouakou,
director of veterinary services and quality, Ministry of Animal Production
and Fish Resources, Abidjan.

Identification of agent: highly pathogenic avian influenza virus subtype H5N1.
Date of start of the event: 30 Mar 2006.

Two outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have been reported in
Abidjan district (Marcory Anoumabo and Treichville communes), in Lagunes
region. The animals affected are traditional backyard free-ranging chickens
(7 cases) and ducks (9 cases) and one sparrowhawk. [The sparrowhawk
_Accipiter nisus_ is a small bird of prey.- Mod.PC]

The diagnosis has been established by the Central Veterinary Laboratory of
the LANADA (National Laboratory for Agricultural Development Support) at
Bingerville and by Pasteur Institut of Cote d'Ivoire. The confirmation of
the OIE reference laboratory in Padua (Italy) is expected.

In addition to other measures, there has been an implementation of an
infected zone around the outbreak in Marcory Anoumabo and a surveillance
zone in the district of Abidjan.

--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[Again, we see, as in Asia, a similar scenario of spread once the disease
has been introduced. In Nigeria, the disease has spread around large areas
of the country. One wonders in this case, starting out around the capital,
Abidjan, whether it can be contained or not. It should be noted that, in
any case, we have continued spread of the disease throughout West Africa as
the epidemic progresses. The goal is to stop it from becoming endemic in
West Africa, but so far, there is no obvious way to do that. This means we
have H5N1 avian influenza reported from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina
Faso, and now Cote d'Ivoire. Can Ghana be safe for long? This would be a
good place to try any new strategies that animal health officials are
contemplating. See map at:
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/westafrica.pdf> and
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagunes>.

An interesting aspect of this report is the infection in a sparrowhawk.
Birds of prey have been reported several times for H5N1, including very
recently in Germany, and there was a report of H5N2 in a hawk in Kuwait
last year (2005). One would only suspect they get infected by attacking
sick birds, but it would be useful to know under what conditions such
attacks happen in order to fill out the epidemiologic picture. - Mod.PC]

**Snowy Owl** · May 4, 2006, 01:29 AM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

Ivorian government confirms outbreak of H5N1 bird flu

Yahoo News: Latest and Breaking News, Headlines, Live Updates, and More

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060503/hl_afp/icoasthealthflu_060503224830

The latest news and headlines from Yahoo News. Get breaking news stories and in-depth coverage with videos and photos.

ABIDJAN (AFP) - The Ivorian government confirmed several outbreaks of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu in both wild birds and poultry in the economic capital Abidjan.

"Our country is a carrier of bird flu," Alphonse Douaty, minister for animal production and fisheries resources, said on national television.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) had announced in Paris last week that two outbreaks of bird flu had occurred in Abidjan, making Ivory Coast the seventh country in Africa to report the disease.

The viral strains were confirmed by European labs as the highly pathogenic type of H5N1 avian influenza, affecting seven backyard chickens, nine ducks and a sparrowhawk.

The Ivorian government said then that it was awaiting tests from an OIE reference laboratory in Padua, Italy.

"We finally received the results from the OIE laboratory," Douaty said Wednesday. "In the Abidjan district, as our national laboratories suspected, a sparrowhawk found dead in Treichville (district) died of bird flu," he said.

"Ducks suspected of infection did in fact die of bird flu, and that is in addition to laying hens in Bingerville (on the outskirts of the city)," he said.

The first African country to report bird flu was Nigeria, on February 8.

Since then, the list has been joined by Egypt, where four people have been killed, as well as Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Ivory Coast.

**AlaskaDenise** · May 7, 2006, 11:31 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

http://www.promedmail.org/pls/promed..._ID:1000,32884

<TABLE summary=""><TBODY><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Archive Number</TD><TD noWrap align=left>20060507.1320</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Published Date</TD><TD noWrap align=left>07-MAY-2006</TD></TR><TR><TD noWrap align=right>Subject</TD><TD noWrap align=left>PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, human - worldwide (59): Cote d'Ivoire, susp</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN - WORLDWIDE (59): COTE D'IVOIRE, SUSPECTED***************************************** ************************A ProMED-mail post<http://www.promedmail.org>ProMED-mail is a program of theInternational Society for Infectious Diseases<http://www.isid.org>Date: Sun 7 May 2006From: Joseph P Dudley, PhD <jdudley@eaicorp.com>Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Networks, 5 May 2006; allAfrica.com, Sat 6 May 2006 [edited]<http://allafrica.com/stories/200605050646.html>Health and government officials in Cote d'Ivoire have announced a range of measures to stamp out bird flu after the discovery of at least 3 outbreaks in the main city Abidjan.Minister of animal production and fish resources, Alphonse Douaty, said on Friday that veterinarians are to cull all poultry in markets through the city as the government prepares a system for reimbursement. "We want to have a sanitary vacuum at these markets," Douaty said.The ministry was also planning to inspect industrial poultry farms and issue a stamp of approval to reassure costumers. The city's 4 million people will be able to call a free hotline. Douaty said the government needed at least 6 billion CFA, or 11 million dollars, to compensate poultry farmers and combat the disease. The first cases of bird flu were reported on 26 Apr 2006 by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), but the Ivorian government only this week issued official confirmation.The latest of the 3 outbreaks was found in domestically kept chickens in the populous suburb of Yopougon, according to Daouda Coulibaly of the National Institute for Public Hygiene. Coulibaly said several people in the area were being monitored for potential human infections of the H5N1 avian virus.[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations].-- Joseph P Dudley, PhDChief ScientistEAI Corporation4301 North Fairfax Drive, Suite 200Arlington, VA 22203<joseph.p.dudley@saic.com>[If confirmed, these cases will become the first human cases of H5N1 avian influenza reported from sub-Saharan Africa. - Mod.CP].

</PRE>

KC · May 8, 2006, 12:08 AM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

Thanks to AlaskaDenise, Mingus, MHSC, Dr. Niman, and Susie for this current discussion thread.

**Sharpe** · September 5, 2006, 08:41 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

I just wished to point out that there are other things in Abidjan other than "toxic waste", whatever that is, that can cause respiratory distress, nosebleeds, GI complaints and death, especially of young children. If anyone else knows more about this toxic waste outbreak, please let us know urgently. It is important, because birds are just beginning to return to this area again, and were re-confirmed up the coast in southwestern Nigeria on 10th of August.

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/140723print.asp
Two dead, hundreds ill in Ivory Coast toxic waste poisoning

Wednesday • September 6, 2006

At least two people have died after inhaling toxic fumes from waste dumped three weeks ago in the capital, reportedly by a foreign-registered vessel.

"There were two deaths, a four-year-old girl and another aged nine years," said an official at Abidjan's teaching university hospital of Cocody, where more than 340 people have been treated since Thursday.

The hospital official said the girls complained of respiratory problems before they died.

An unknown number of people were also taken ill and treated at another hospital Treichville in the commercial capital, he said.

Those taken ill so far have complained of stomach problems, nose bleeding and respiratory illnesses.

Several daily papers reported that a highly toxic mixture was offloaded in three separate gabbage dump sites in Abidjan overnight August 19th to 20th by a ship chartered by a Dutch-registered company.

The minister of health and environment confirmed on Monday evening that toxic waste had been dumped at several sites in Abidjan and that measures were being taken to look after those taken ill.

"The government is continuing to search so that we can identify all the sites where waste has been spilled," Remy Allah Kouadio said on state television. — AFP

**AlaskaDenise** · September 5, 2006, 10:08 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/1599...0bf776e3c2732c

AFP - Tue Sep 5, 3:25 PM ET

Scum produced by toxic waste floats on the surface of Lake Dokoui, a popular district of Abidjan. At least two people have died after inhaling toxic fumes from waste dumped three weeks ago in Abidjan, reportedly by a foreign-registered vessel.(AFP/Kambou Sia)

also...

http://politics.yahoo.com/s/afp/2006...t_060904205534

Hundreds poisoned after toxic waste dumped in Ivory Coast

Mon Sep 4, 4:55 PM ET

Several hundreds of Ivorians have been poisoned, some seriously, after inhaling toxic fumes from waste dumped two weeks ago, reportedly by a foreign-registered vessel, sources said.

The teaching university hospital of Cocody, situated in one of the districts bordering the Abidjan lagoon, has treated more than 340 people between last Thursday and Monday, officials at the hospital told AFP.

Some people were seriously affected, said the source who asked not to be named.

An unknown number of people were also taken ill and treated at Treichville hospital in the commercial capital, he said.

Several daily papers reported that a highly toxic mixture was offloaded in three separate locations in Abidjan overnight August 19th to 20th by a ship chartered by a Dutch registered company.

The ministry of health and environment has refused to comment, but an emergency meeting on the crisis was held Monday.

**Sharpe** · September 6, 2006, 06:44 PM

Re: Ivory Coast reports first bird flu

Apparently and sadly too, the people who were going to tell us whether it was a toxic waste problem or a disease problem have left the building. I hope the "toxic waste" isn't a bunch of dead chickens soaked in lime from Nigeria or something. People apparently like to dump that kind of thing everywhere.

http://today.reuters.com/misc/Printe...GOVERNMENT.xml
Ivory Coast government quits over dumped toxic waste
Wed Sep 6, 2006 4:48 PM ET

By Ange Aboa and Peter Murphy

YAMOUSSOUKRO/ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's government resigned on Wednesday after toxic waste dumped around the main city Abidjan killed three people, made 1,500 ill and triggered street protests.

Interim Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny offered the resignation of his cabinet to President Laurent Gbagbo during an emergency meeting in the political capital Yamoussoukro which had been meant to work out a response to the crisis.

"I accept the resignation of your government but I ask you to manage current business and ask for your presence at the presidential palace tomorrow to form a new government," Gbagbo told Banny in a meeting at which a Reuters reporter was present.

"At whatever level it may be ... those who are responsible must be hunted down and sanctioned. We have to know the nature of the damage. We cannot sit back and cross our arms," he said.

Authorities said the pungent waste which contained hydrogen sulphide was unloaded from a Panamanian-registered ship at Abidjan port on August 19 and then dumped in at least eight sites around the densely populated lagoon-side city.

Hundreds of residents have complained of nausea, sore chests, vomiting and diarrhea, doctors said.

"The situation is very serious. That is why I am presenting you with the government's resignation," Banny said.

Ivory Coast, split between a rebel-held north and government-run south after a brief 2002-2003 civil war, was already heading toward a political crisis with long-delayed presidential elections due at the end of October set to be postponed again.

The government's resignation came a day after rival factions in the West African country failed to reach agreement on key steps toward holding the polls.

UNKNOWN ILLNESS

Angry youths earlier blocked some roads in Abidjan with branches and boulders in protest against the toxic waste dumping, preventing medical staff from getting to hospital where dozens lined up for treatment, some wearing paper masks.

In TV broadcasts, the government appealed for the protesters to let medical personnel through and police later fired tear-gas to try to disperse them.

"We don't know what we're treating. When they have stinging eyes or noses we give them drops. We want to know what it is so we know how to treat it," he said, adding the hospital was running low on some medicines and X-ray film.

The government said three people had died and 1,500 fallen ill. It said it had requested international help to analyze the substance and work out how the city could be decontaminated.

The French foreign ministry said it was sending a team from its office of geological and mineral research to help evaluate the environmental risks and that a second crisis management team would be sent by the weekend to help limit its impact.

Ivorian state prosecutor Raymond Tchimou said three people linked to the firm responsible for unloading the ship had been arrested. Port documents seen by Reuters said the vessel, called the Probo Koala, had left Nigeria before coming to Abidjan.

"All those who knew of this problem and allowed it to happen will be pursued," he said.

Ivory Coast is the world's top cocoa producer and one foreign exporter, Barry Callebaut, said it had closed one of its warehouses near Abidjan's vast port because staff exposed to the fumes felt unwell.

Other exporters said they were operating normally.