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Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

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  • #16
    Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

    From the above post

    Since the virus is present, the Health Minister has taken all dispositions in order to make a proper investigation of the case and its contacts, to reinforce surveillance towards humans and poultry.

    The sanitary authorities have decided to give medicine and PPE for the Health Care workers.

    The gouvernment has establish Preventive and Control measures but has not given any specifics concerning this.

    The gouvernment did not made any statements concerning the eventual culling of poultry as of thursday night.

    Via the national radio, the Djibouti government ask the population to take preventive measures, to avoid all contacts with death birds or presenting any sign of illness.

    The authorities asked the population to report all suspected cases to the nearest local authority.

    Djibouti, small francophone country of about 700, 000 peoples is located at the entrance of the Red Sea and has French and U.S. military bases and contingents of many occidental armies, stationned there in the context of the war on terror.

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    • #17
      Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

      It reminds me of Turkey but it is occuring at the same time as the large family cluster in Indonesia which is also making me uneasy.

      Is it me or does this situation appear to be escalating quickly?

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

        Two things occur to me after reading this. The first is where are the chickens coming from in the first place and why haven't we read of infections in that country? This should raise the hair on the back of your neck. Evidently there is a pocket of virus that has thus far escaped observation.
        Second, if there are rumors of illness that have been circulating since April, then either the victims have gotten well, or they were too poor to seek medical attention and simply died and were quietly buried. But in either case, we are not seeing an exponential explosion in illnesses. At least I don't think we are.
        Originally posted by DB
        http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?R...untry=DJIBOUTI

        DJIBOUTI, 12 May 2006 (IRIN) - Health authorities in Djibouti have reported the first human case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain.

        In a radio and television address on Thursday, Djibouti’s health minister, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, announced that a young girl had been hospitalised with the H5N1 strain of the avian flu virus. Samples from other family members, who had shown flu-like symptoms, had been sent to the laboratory Namru III in Cairo, the Egyptian capital.

        The patient comes from a small village, about 30km south of Djiboutiville, the capital. She is receiving treatment at Bouffard, a French military hospital.

        Rumours of an outbreak of fever had been circulating in Djiboutiville since the beginning of April, according to an official from Djibouti’s health ministry. It was originally believed to be dengue fever or chikungunya, a mosquito-borne fever that has been reported recently in Mauritius and Reunion. The government, with the help of United States and French troops, and in collaboration with the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO), took several blood samples for testing.

        A sample taken from the child, who showed symptoms of fever, tested positive for H5N1 on 27 April. Three chickens were found to be infected with the virus as well.

        The confirmation of a human case is alarming, because Djibouti imports chickens from abroad and has no poultry farms. "We are shortly going to ban the import of live poultry. I urge people to cook chicken well before eating it," Miguil said. "We will soon review our mechanisms of disease control. But I ask parents to watch their children and prevent them from playing with birds and from going near dead birds."

        People in the capital have panicked since the announcement and stopped eating chicken. Said Ali, the owner of an open-air restaurant, regretted that the announcement was made in the early evening, when the food was already cooked. "If the minister had made his announcement in the morning, we could have made arrangements, but now it’s too late to throw it all away."

        "Bird flu will be our only topic of conversation among friends," said Osman Ali, an 18-year-old student.

        Confirmation of H5N1 in chickens puts Djibouti in phase III of the global pandemic, according to the WHO definition. Egypt is the only other country in Africa to have reported human infection of the disease.
        Please do not ask me for medical advice, I am not a medical doctor.

        Avatar is a painting by Alan Pollack, titled, "Plague". I'm sure it was an accident that the plague girl happened to look almost like my twin.
        Thank you,
        Shannon Bennett

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        • #19
          Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

          Originally posted by Shannon
          Two things occur to me after reading this. The first is where are the chickens coming from in the first place and why haven't we read of infections in that country? This should raise the hair on the back of your neck. Evidently there is a pocket of virus that has thus far escaped observation.
          Second, if there are rumors of illness that have been circulating since April, then either the victims have gotten well, or they were too poor to seek medical attention and simply died and were quietly buried. But in either case, we are not seeing an exponential explosion in illnesses. At least I don't think we are.
          Agreed.

          An exponential explosion in cases has not been reported.

          What does raise the hair on the back of my neck is that Djibouti is a previously French controlled area and with the way the French handled the outbreak of Chikungunya in La Reunion I am a bit concerned that we are being told about something only after it has gotten out of control.

          I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time, but the information coming from Djibouti is not reasurring.

          I guess we will have to wait another day or even week and see how it all plays out.

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

            http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/...931921,00.html
            3 more H5N1 cases in Djibouti

            Djibouti - Health authorities in Djibouti have probed more suspected human cases of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu.
            A day after confirming a two-year-old girl in the tiny Red Sea state was infected with the disease, scientists said three more possible human cases were being investigated.
            The World Health Organisation's Maria Cheng said: "Three others are under investigation."
            She said samples from the three patients, believed to be from the same family as the child, had been sent to the United States-run laboratory in Egypt that first confirmed the presence of H5N1 in Djibouti on April 27.
            Another WHO official said the affected family lives in an impoverished rural village near Djibouti's border with Somalia and kept chickens.
            Toddler is alive and being treated
            Djibouti's health and agricultural authorities, along with WHO officials, were analysing poultry in the area on Friday.
            The WHO representative in Djibouti, Jihane Tawilah, said: "They are investigating possible contact between humans and infected birds and looking into the possibility of other human cases."
            He said the infected toddler was alive and being treated in a hospital in the capital.
            Djibouti's minister of health, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, said an emergency task force had been set up to alert the country's 300 000 population to the disease.
            Djibouti is the first East African country to report the appearance of the H5N1 virus in either birds or humans.
            It is the second in Africa to report a human case of bird flu, after Egypt, where five people have died of the disease so far.
            Most Djiboutians keep cattle
            It is the eighth African country to find the strain in birds - after Nigeria, Egypt, Niger, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Sudan.
            Djibouti health officials said they were surprised that the region's first cases appeared in the country, as most of the population are nomadic pastoralists who keep cattle, sheep and goats.
            Chicken is considered a luxury by most of the population. About 90 % of the poultry eaten in the country is imported frozen. Cheng said the WHO has sent supplies of the anti-influenza treatment, Tamiflu, and protective equipment to Djibouti, and was ready to deploy experts to the Red Sea state if requested.

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            • #21
              Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

              Does anyone else see the problem with these conflicting statements.

              "Another WHO official said the affected family lives in an impoverished rural village near Djibouti's border with Somalia and kept chickens."

              "They are investigating possible contact between humans and infected birds and looking into the possibility of other human cases."

              "Chicken is considered a luxury by most of the population. About 90 % of the poultry eaten in the country is imported frozen."

              First off, the infected family lives in an impoverished rural village.

              In essence they are poor.

              But "chicken is considered a luxury by most of the population and 90% of the poultry eaten in the country is imported frozen."

              So if they are poor and chicken is a luxury are we to believe that they "kept chickens"?

              Furthermore they are "looking into the possibility of other human cases" and there has been an outbreak of fever that has been going around since April.

              Like I said, something is amiss.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                "She said samples from the three patients, believed to be from the same family as the child, had been sent to the United States-run laboratory in Egypt that first confirmed the presence of H5N1 in Djibouti on April 27."

                Furthermore, what the heck is this April 27th date??

                The lab in Egypt confirmed the presence of H5N1 on April 27th but not a single article or mention of it appears until May 11th.

                This represents a 2 week delay in reporting the H5N1 case information.

                But what else is new.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                  <TABLE style="DIRECTION: ltr" width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-05-12-voa50.cfm
                  Djibouti Officials Fear Bird-Flu Outbreak Near Somali Border
                  </TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top>By Alisha Ryu
                  Nairobi
                  12 May 2006
                  </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


                  International health and agricultural officials in Djibouti are analyzing blood samples from poultry and people in the area near the Somali border, where a child has tested positive for the first case of the deadly bird flu virus to appear in East Africa.

                  The United Nation's World Health Organization says three other people in a poor, rural village in Djibouti are under observation for possible infection.

                  All three are believed to have been in close contact with a two-year-old girl, who began to show symptoms of the disease in late April and has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus.

                  The unidentified girl is said to be receiving medical attention and in stable condition.

                  In remarks broadcast Thursday on state television, Djibouti's health minister said that the girl's family kept chickens and at least three of the birds have also tested positive.

                  The news of the first outbreak of the bird flu virus in East Africa has renewed fears that wild migratory birds may be playing a role in spreading the virus to domesticated fowl.

                  In Africa, bird flu has been reported in Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Egypt, and now Djibouti. None of these countries are major migratory bird stopover sites and the World Health Organization's team leader for pandemic and outbreak communication, Dick Thompson, says there is still no conclusive evidence that wild birds are carrying the virus to the continent.

                  "We believe that some of the virus spread has been through migratory birds but we do not really have a firm grip on that," he said. "It is possible that just simply the commercial movement of birds may have played a role. We just do not know."

                  Thompson says a concerted effort is under way in Djibouti to try to contain the spread of the disease. He says his organization has sent supplies of Tamiflu antiviral medication, which has proven to be effective against the disease. Protective equipment for doctors and nurses has also been delivered to hospitals.

                  Although H5N1 can cause death in people, transmission from poultry to humans has so far proven to be difficult, usually involving prolonged and intimate contact with infected animals.

                  The fear is, though, the virus might evolve into a form that can be easily transmitted and provoke a global pandemic.

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                    Once again it should be mentioned that,

                    "Chicken is considered a luxury by most of the population. About 90 % of the poultry eaten in the country is imported frozen."

                    Therefore the information about the girls family having chickens should be considered highly questionable at this time considering they are poor rural family.

                    "All three are believed to have been in close contact with a two-year-old girl, who began to show symptoms of the disease in late April and has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus. "

                    Furthermore the three other suspect cases had close contact with the two year old and there is no mention of close contact with dead or sick birds of any sort.

                    "Thompson says a concerted effort is under way in Djibouti to try to contain the spread of the disease. He says his organization has sent supplies of Tamiflu antiviral medication, which has proven to be effective against the disease. Protective equipment for doctors and nurses has also been delivered to hospitals."

                    The fact that they are sending in Tamiflu and PPE's for the doctors and nurses should also raise red flags as the situation in Djibouti seems to represent some form of human to human transmission.

                    Whether or not the transmission is sustained or efficient is unknown but from the information we are getting at this point there is definetly "cause for concern" (Stolen from Niman).

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                      <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" style="padding: 0pt 0pt 6px;">Fillette atteinte du H5N1 &#224; Djibouti: pr&#233;l&#232;vements et campagne d'information</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="padding: 0pt 0pt 3px; text-align: justify;"> <table style="border: 1px solid rgb(179, 114, 20); margin: 3px;" align="left" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td>', 'photo0', 384, 264, '', '', 'D&#233;sinfection dans un zoo &#233;gyptien en pr&#233;vention de la grippe aviaire, le 16 mars 2006 (&#169; AFP/Archives - Khaled Desouki)')</td> </tr> </tbody></table>DJIBOUTI (AFP) - Les autorit&#233;s de Djibouti ont lanc&#233;
                      une campagne d'information de la population sur la grippe aviaire et proc&#233;d&#233; &#224; de nouveaux pr&#233;l&#232;vements sur des poulets apr&#232;s l'annonce jeudi qu'une fillette de deux ans &#233;tait atteinte du virus hautement pathog&#232;ne H5N1.
                      </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="text-align: justify;">Djibouti est le deuxi&#232;me pays africain, apr&#232;s l'Egypte, o&#249; le virus hautement pathog&#232;ne a contamin&#233; des &#234;tres humains. En Egypte, cinq personnes sont d&#233;c&#233;d&#233;es apr&#232;s avoir contract&#233; la maladie.

                      A Gen&#232;ve, l'Organisation mondiale de la sant&#233; (OMS) a annonc&#233; que trois cas suspects de grippe aviaire ont &#233;t&#233; d&#233;nombr&#233;s chez des personnes &#224; Djibouti en plus du cas confirm&#233; de la fillette de deux ans.

                      Lors d'un point de presse, la porte-parole de l'OMS, Fad&#233;la Cha&#239;b, a pr&#233;cis&#233; que la petite fille de deux ans &#233;tait actuellement sous surveillance m&#233;dicale &#224; Djibouti. "Elle est dans un &#233;tat stable mais les sympt&#244;mes persistent", a-t-elle d&#233;clar&#233;.

                      Trois personnes de son entourage sont aussi en observation et des pr&#233;l&#232;vements ont &#233;t&#233; envoy&#233;s &#224; un laboratoire du Caire pour d&#233;terminer si ces proches sont &#233;galement atteints par le H5N1, a d&#233;clar&#233; la porte-parole.

                      L'OMS envisage l'envoi d'une &#233;quipe de trois personnes comprenant un &#233;pid&#233;miologiste, un expert de la lutte contre les infections et un sp&#233;cialiste de la communication sanitaire aupr&#232;s des populations menac&#233;es, a pr&#233;cis&#233; Mme Cha&#239;b.

                      Le minist&#232;re djiboutien de l'Agriculture a ordonn&#233; "de nouveaux pr&#233;l&#232;vements sur des poulets" jeudi pour les faire analyser, a d&#233;clar&#233; vendredi &#224; l'AFP la repr&#233;sentante locale de l'OMS, Jihane Tawilah.

                      Parall&#232;lement, le gouvernement a lanc&#233; &#224; travers les m&#233;dias audiovisuels une campagne d'information de la population sur la maladie, et les mesures de pr&#233;vention &#224; respecter.

                      <table style="border: 1px solid rgb(179, 114, 20); margin: 5px; width: 87px; height: 117px;" align="right" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center">'
                      </td> </tr> </tbody></table>

                      Jeudi, le ministre djiboutien de la Sant&#233;, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, avait annonc&#233; qu'un pr&#233;l&#232;vement effectu&#233; le 27 avril chez une personne pr&#233;sentant des sympt&#244;mes de la grippe avait r&#233;v&#233;l&#233; un test positif au H5N1.

                      Des tests men&#233;s sur trois poulets - un mort, deux vivants qui ont ensuite &#233;t&#233; abattus - se sont &#233;galement av&#233;r&#233;s positifs.

                      Djibouti, petit pays francophone de 23.000 km2 et d'environ 700.000 habitants situ&#233;e &#224; l'entr&#233;e de la mer Rouge, est le premier pays d'Afrique de l'Est o&#249; le H5N1 est d&#233;tect&#233; et le huiti&#232;me pays du continent touch&#233; par l'&#233;pizootie.

                      "Nous ne nous attendions pas &#224; ce que Djibouti soit le premier pays touch&#233;" en Afrique de l'Est, a comment&#233; la repr&#233;sentante de l'OMS, relevant qu'"il y a tr&#232;s peu de consommation de volailles" dans le pays et que "la densit&#233; de poules" est tr&#232;s faible au regard d'autres Etats de la r&#233;gion.

                      La consommation de poulet est en effet traditionnellement faible &#224; Djibouti, pays d'&#233;leveurs nomades, a expliqu&#233; sous couvert d'anonymat un responsable djiboutien.

                      En outre, "le poulet est un produit de luxe. Il co&#251;te deux fois plus cher que la viande de mouton", a-t-il ajout&#233;. Environ 90% de la volaille consomm&#233;e dans le pays est import&#233;e congel&#233;e.

                      "Djibouti est un pays c&#244;tier peupl&#233; de nomades o&#249; l'on consomme surtout de la viande ovine et du poisson", selon la m&#234;me source.

                      Depuis 2003, la grippe aviaire a tu&#233; 113 personnes dans le monde.

                      Les experts redoutent une mutation du H5N1 &#224; la faveur d'une combinaison avec le virus de la grippe humaine.

                      Une telle m&#233;tamorphose pourrait donner naissance &#224; un virus transmissible de l'homme &#224; l'homme, au risque de provoquer une pand&#233;mie aussi redoutable que la grippe espagnole qui a tu&#233; des dizaines de millions de personnes en 1918.

                      </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="21" valign="bottom">http://www.avmaroc.com/actualite/fil...te-a26205.html
                      </td></tr></tbody></table>

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                        babelfish of above article:

                        Young girl reached of the H5N1 in Djibouti: information taking away and campaign
                        May 12, 2006

                        DJIBOUTI (AFP) - The authorities of Djibouti launched an information campaign of the population on the aviary influenza and carried out new taking away on chickens after the advertisement Thursday that a two year old young girl was reached virus highly pathogenic H5N1.

                        Djibouti is the second African country, after Egypt, where the highly pathogenic virus contaminated human beings. In Egypt, five people died after having contracted the disease.

                        In Geneva, the World Organization of Health (WHO) announced that three suspect cases of aviary influenza were counted at people in Djibouti in more of the confirmed case of the two year old young girl. At the time of a point of press, the spokesman of WHO, Fad?la Cha?b, specified that small the two year old girl was currently under medical supervision in Djibouti. "It is in a stable state but the symptoms persist", it declared.

                        Three people of its entourage are also in observation and of the taking away were sent to a laboratory of Cairo to determine if these close relations are also reached by the H5N1, declared the spokesman.

                        WHO considers team sending of three people including/understanding a epidemiologist, an expert of the fight against the infections and a specialist in the medical communication near the threatened populations, specified Mrs. Cha?b.

                        The Djibouti ministry of Agriculture ordered "new taking away on chickens" Thursday to make them analyze, declared Friday with AFP representing it local WHO, Jihane Tawilah.

                        In parallel, the government launched through the audio-visual media an information campaign of the population to the disease, and the measures of prevention to be respected.

                        Thursday, the Djibouti Minister for Health, Abdallah Abdillahi Miguil, had announced that a taking away carried out on 27 April at a person presenting of the symptoms of the influenza had revealed a positive test with the H5N1.

                        Tests carried out on three chickens - a death, two alive which was then cut down - also proved to be positive.

                        Djibouti, small French-speaking country of 23.000 km2 and approximately 700.000 inhabitants located at the entry of the Red Sea, is the first country of East Africa where the H5N1 is detected and eighth country of the continent touched by epizooty.

                        "We did not expect that Djibouti is the first country touched" in East Africa, commented on representing it of WHO, depending that "il has very little poultry consumption there" in the country and that "the density of hens" is very low taking into consideration other State of the area.

                        The chicken consumption is indeed traditionally low in Djibouti, country of wandering stockbreeders, explained under cover of anonymity a Djibouti person in charge.

                        Moreover, "the chicken is a product of luxury. It costs twice expensive than the meat of sheep", it added. Approximately 90% of the poultry consumed in the country are imported frozen.

                        "Djibouti is a populated coastal country of nomads where one consumes especially sheepmeat and fish", according to the same source.

                        Since 2003, the aviary influenza killed 113 people in the world.

                        The experts fear a change of the H5N1 to the favour of a combination with the human flu virus.

                        Such a metamorphosis could give rise to a transmissible virus of the man to the man, with the risk to cause a pandemia as frightening as the Spanish influenza which killed out of tens of million people in 1918.

                        ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Other three children gave positive [sic] to bird influenza in Djibout?

                          babelfished from Spanish:

                          Other three children gave positive [sic] to bird influenza in Djibout?

                          Friday, 12 May 2006

                          The World-wide Organization of the Health said that three children in Djibout? are being analyzed by possible infection with bird influenza, a day after the organization confirmed the first human case of H5N1 in that nation of the African east.

                          Civil employees of health said this Friday that the three children who are under observation are brothers of small of two years of age infected. A spokeswoman of the WHO indicated that the girl is in stable situation.

                          Thursday, the minister of Health of Djibout? said that at least three chickens property of the family gave positive to an analysis of bird influenza. The WHO has confirmed 208 human cases of bird influenza in 10 countries.

                          ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                            Some news from a forum in Djibouti

                            Parait que c'est un cauchemar a djibouti car y'a une epidemie de dengue qui subit en plus donc plein de gens sont malades de la dengue et en plus y'a des cas de grippe aviaire, un bebe de 2 ans a ete touche.
                            Le bebe est originaire d'un village pres de Arta.

                            It seems it is a nightmare in Djibouti because there is an epidemic of dengue, so many people are sick of dengue and now there are avian flu cases, a baby of 2 yrs old got it. The baby comes from a village near Arta.

                            N.B.
                            This is the first contact I have with this person, so I do not know how credible this is.

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Djibouti reports first human case of deadly bird flu in east Africa

                              The village of Arta, the baby's home, is actually at the end of the Great Rift Valley. See map below and visualize birds traveling from that valley overland via lakes to Arta, then the Gulf of Aden.

                              .
                              Last edited by AlaskaDenise; July 27, 2007, 05:22 PM.
                              "The next major advancement in the health of American people will be determined by what the individual is willing to do for himself"-- John Knowles, Former President of the Rockefeller Foundation

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                              • #30
                                Djibouti - the little girl who is infected

                                Choukri, first human bird flu case in sub-Saharan Africa


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                                ...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. - Sherlock Holmes

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