Bangladesh: poultry farmer quarantined

[Gert van der Hoek]

Poultry farmer quarantined in Rajshahi

Bird flu infection suspected

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi


A poultry farmer was quarantined at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital as doctors suspect that he might be infected with bird flu virus.

Ashraf Hossain, 32, of Terokhadia Pashchimpara in Rajshahi was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as he showed multiple symptoms of the disease. His blood sample was sent to Dhaka for test.

"If his case is confirmed, he will be the first person in the country to have been infected with bird flu", said Dr Abdul Alim, who is treating the patient.

Dr M Sajedul Islam, civil surgeon of Rajshahi, said, "It would take only seven days for him to be cured if it is established that he's caught the avian influenza virus", he said.

Nearly 500 bird-flu infected chickens were culled at Ashraf's farm on February 23.

http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=26698

[HenryN]

Re: Bangladesh: poultry farmer quarantined

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03070802/H5N1_Bangladesh_Quarantine.html

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Bangladesh: poultry farmer quarantined

Fear of bird-flu attack

Poultry farm owner hospitalised

A Correspondent, Rajshahi

A poultry farm owner suspected to be attacked with Bird-flu virus was admitted into Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) on Wednesday last.

But the physicians of the hospital have not yet confirmed if the patient was carrying from Bird-flu virus. However, he has been kept under observation and his blood samples has been sent to Dhaka for examination.

The suspected bird flu affected person has been identified as Ashraf Hossain (42) of Terokhadia Paschimpara area under Boalia Police Station in the city. He is owner of a poultry farm adjacent to his house.

Ashraf Hossain said that the bird-flu was detected in his farm on 23 February and all 600 fowls of his farm were culled under the supervision of the officials of Civil Surgeon, Rajshahi. The doctors also gave him anti-bird flu drugs and vaccine so that the bird flu virus did not infect him.

On March 2, the poultry owner feared that he had been attacked with the flu as water rolled down his noses and eyes with strong headache, pain in the chest with cough.

All symptoms being identical with the Bird-flu, he communicated with the Civil surgeon, Rajshahi who referred him to Dr. Abdul Alim, Assistant Professor of the Department of Medicine, RMCH and was admitted in the hospital.

On duty physician of the ward informed, all the symptoms developed in patient Ashraf Hossain are linked to Bird-flu but nothing could be confirmed before pathological test of the blood.

Dr. Abdul Alim, Assistant Professor of Medicine of RMCH said that the symptoms of Bird-flu have been developed in the patient Ashraf Hossain and he has been kept under close observation.

http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/national.htm#national-02

credits Helblindi

[Niko]

Re: Bangladesh: poultry farmer quarantined

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/03...uarantine.html

<BIG><BIG>Commentary </BIG></BIG>

Suspect H5N1 Patient In Bangladesh Quarantined

Recombinomics Commentary 20:11
March 7, 2008

A poultry farmer was quarantined at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital as doctors suspect that he might be infected with bird flu virus.

Ashraf Hossain, 32, of Terokhadia Pashchimpara in Rajshahi was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as he showed multiple symptoms of the disease. His blood sample was sent to Dhaka for test.

The above comments describe a suspect H5N1 case in Bangladesh. Such a case would not be a surprise. Recent culling efforts in Bangladesh have been high, reflecting the continuing spread of the virus (see satelite maps here here here).

Late last year, H5N1 was confirmed in Pakistan, and it is likely that the H5N1 in Pakistan and Bangladesh is clade 2.2.3. In 2006, the clade 2.2.3 in Azerbaijan resulted in multiple clusters.

Although neighboring West Bengal did not have any confirmed cases, many villagers had mild symptoms and testing in India remains suspect.

More information on the suspect case in Bangladesh would be useful.

Media Links

[HenryN]

Re: Bangladesh: poultry farmer quarantined

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=newsdetails vAlign=top>Rajshahi poultry farm owner, family safe from bird flu danger

Staff Correspondent, Rajshahi

The poultry farm owner and his wife and son, who were quarantined on suspicion of avian influenza infection, were released from Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) yesterday after pathological tests in the capital produced negative results.

The tests of throat and nasal swabs of Ashraf Hossain, 42, and his wife and 14-year-old son were carried out at the virology departments of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the ICDDR,B.

"We recommended releasing the three after extensive tests. We first performed a rapid test for influenza at the virology department of IEDCR and the results were negative for all three," said Prof Mahmudur Rahman, director of IEDCR.

"Usually, we do not proceed for further tests after the rapid test. But since it was the first case in the country where the patient was from an infected farm, we gave it a top priority," he said.

The specimens were then sent to the virology department of ICDDR,B for real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and the results were negative for H5 virus too.

Ashraf Hossain, a poultry farmer of Terokhadia Paschimpara in the city, had been taken to RMCH on March 5 and quarantined the next day on suspicion of being infected with the avian influenza H5N1 virus.

The surveillance physician of the RMCH influenza surveillance informed the IEDCR of the matter.

On February 20, some 100 chickens of his farm died and he buried those without taking any protective measures. Two days later, the district livestock department confirmed the presence of bird flu virus at the farm and culled 600 chickens.
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One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka's drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

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