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Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/article/3998.html
December 22, 2008
Marwaan Macan-Markar
Authorities Wonder What Went Wrong as Bird Flu Reappears
Bangkok. New cases of avian influenza discovered across Asia in recent weeks confirm warnings that the deadly virus still lurks in the region and raise questions about gaps in efforts to contain it in affected communities.
?Our analysis shows that this season is when we will get cases of avian influenza,? says Subash Morzaria, regional manger of the Bangkok-based emergency center for transboundary animal diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization. ?Countries have to be prepared for bird flu outbreaks during the winter season.?
For now, the only comfort, experts say, is the speed at which the cases are being reported. Tightening of the information flow from farms and chicken coops to veterinary officials was part of a program implemented in the region since a major outbreak of bird flu struck the region in the winter of 2003.
Hong Kong is grappling with an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that struck chickens last week. The infected poultry, kept in a farm equipped with modern biosecurity measures, resulted in the culling of close to 80,000 chickens throughout nearby farms and markets.
The state media reported that Chinese authorities also confirmed this week that the virus has been reported in the eastern province of Jiangsu, resulting in the deaths of over 350,000 chickens. In addition, local authorities have increased vaccinations of poultry on local farms.
Cambodia has turned its attention to infected chickens and ducks in an area south of its capital, Phnom Penh. Authorities have ordered poultry in the infected smallholder farms to be slaughtered. In addition, a 30-day ban has been imposed on the selling and transport of poultry to the Kandal Province.
The local media reported that Cambodian authorities confirmed that a 19-year-old man from Kandal had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. He is the first person reported to have contracted the virus and the eighth Cambodian diagnosed with avian influenza since 2003.
Last week, authorities in India?s West Bengal State announced the sealing of large sections of its border with Bangladesh after tests confirmed a new outbreak in the district of Malda, through which poultry are regularly smuggled.
Last month, outbreaks were reported in two other Indian states that share borders with Bangladesh: Assam and Meghalaya.
The latest outbreaks follow a pattern that began in 2003 and are linked to causes singled out that year. ?The main reasons are still because of poor biosecurity and the movement of birds due to trade,? Morzaria said. ?Biosecurity is still not adequate in some communities despite the high awareness for its need.?
Such measures seek to keep poultry in a confined environment to limit contact with wild birds. Bigger farms have implemented biosecurity measures on an industrial scale, where workers must be sprayed with disinfectant, shower, shampoo and wear protective clothing before going into the sheds where the poultry are raised.
Yet even such controlled environments have failed to prevent the recent outbreaks in Hong Kong, raising concerns about the vaccines being used to inoculate poultry from the H5N1 virus.
?The vaccine failure is something that they are investigating in Hong Kong,? says FAO?s Morzaria. ?Vaccines are a very important control option if delivered properly and at the right time.?
Meanwhile, the UN food agency argues that it has experienced success in its awareness campaigns aimed at getting communities to raise the alarm and secure prompt responses when an outbreak does take place.
?We are getting more reports than before, and they are reporting it fairly early,? Morzaria said. ?The training at grassroots levels has contributed to this change.
The success of the international effort to contain avian influenza is reflected in the number of countries that have managed to eliminate it, stated a global study released in October. ?The success of the control efforts [has been] reflected in the fact that 50 of the 63 countries affected by the virus have managed to eliminate it,? the study said.
That is an improvement from December 2005, when an assessment was made at a major international meeting held in Beijing, added the report, published by the World Bank, the FAO and the World Health Organization, among other agencies. ?It was recognized that the world was unprepared for the rapid spread of the virus.''
?H5N1 has already cost over $20 billion in economic losses,? the study revealed of the virus that began in China in the winter of 2003, spread across Southeast Asia and then hit Europe and Africa.
According to the WHO, 247 people have died from H5N1 strain of the virus out of 391 people infected since 2003. Indonesia tops the list of fatalities, with 113 deaths out of 139 confirmed cases, followed by Vietnam, with 52 deaths out of 106 confirmed cases.
Public health and animal health experts have been monitoring the virus to study signs of mutation, given concerns that if H5N1 acquires the capability to be passed between humans easily, it could result in a global pandemic, which some say could kill 180 million people.
Such projections are based on the 1918 Spanish Flu, which claimed some 50 million lives after a bird flu strain crossed over into the human population.
Inter Press Service
December 22, 2008
Marwaan Macan-Markar
Authorities Wonder What Went Wrong as Bird Flu Reappears
Bangkok. New cases of avian influenza discovered across Asia in recent weeks confirm warnings that the deadly virus still lurks in the region and raise questions about gaps in efforts to contain it in affected communities.
?Our analysis shows that this season is when we will get cases of avian influenza,? says Subash Morzaria, regional manger of the Bangkok-based emergency center for transboundary animal diseases at the Food and Agriculture Organization. ?Countries have to be prepared for bird flu outbreaks during the winter season.?
For now, the only comfort, experts say, is the speed at which the cases are being reported. Tightening of the information flow from farms and chicken coops to veterinary officials was part of a program implemented in the region since a major outbreak of bird flu struck the region in the winter of 2003.
Hong Kong is grappling with an outbreak of the H5N1 virus that struck chickens last week. The infected poultry, kept in a farm equipped with modern biosecurity measures, resulted in the culling of close to 80,000 chickens throughout nearby farms and markets.
The state media reported that Chinese authorities also confirmed this week that the virus has been reported in the eastern province of Jiangsu, resulting in the deaths of over 350,000 chickens. In addition, local authorities have increased vaccinations of poultry on local farms.
Cambodia has turned its attention to infected chickens and ducks in an area south of its capital, Phnom Penh. Authorities have ordered poultry in the infected smallholder farms to be slaughtered. In addition, a 30-day ban has been imposed on the selling and transport of poultry to the Kandal Province.
The local media reported that Cambodian authorities confirmed that a 19-year-old man from Kandal had tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus. He is the first person reported to have contracted the virus and the eighth Cambodian diagnosed with avian influenza since 2003.
Last week, authorities in India?s West Bengal State announced the sealing of large sections of its border with Bangladesh after tests confirmed a new outbreak in the district of Malda, through which poultry are regularly smuggled.
Last month, outbreaks were reported in two other Indian states that share borders with Bangladesh: Assam and Meghalaya.
The latest outbreaks follow a pattern that began in 2003 and are linked to causes singled out that year. ?The main reasons are still because of poor biosecurity and the movement of birds due to trade,? Morzaria said. ?Biosecurity is still not adequate in some communities despite the high awareness for its need.?
Such measures seek to keep poultry in a confined environment to limit contact with wild birds. Bigger farms have implemented biosecurity measures on an industrial scale, where workers must be sprayed with disinfectant, shower, shampoo and wear protective clothing before going into the sheds where the poultry are raised.
Yet even such controlled environments have failed to prevent the recent outbreaks in Hong Kong, raising concerns about the vaccines being used to inoculate poultry from the H5N1 virus.
?The vaccine failure is something that they are investigating in Hong Kong,? says FAO?s Morzaria. ?Vaccines are a very important control option if delivered properly and at the right time.?
Meanwhile, the UN food agency argues that it has experienced success in its awareness campaigns aimed at getting communities to raise the alarm and secure prompt responses when an outbreak does take place.
?We are getting more reports than before, and they are reporting it fairly early,? Morzaria said. ?The training at grassroots levels has contributed to this change.
The success of the international effort to contain avian influenza is reflected in the number of countries that have managed to eliminate it, stated a global study released in October. ?The success of the control efforts [has been] reflected in the fact that 50 of the 63 countries affected by the virus have managed to eliminate it,? the study said.
That is an improvement from December 2005, when an assessment was made at a major international meeting held in Beijing, added the report, published by the World Bank, the FAO and the World Health Organization, among other agencies. ?It was recognized that the world was unprepared for the rapid spread of the virus.''
?H5N1 has already cost over $20 billion in economic losses,? the study revealed of the virus that began in China in the winter of 2003, spread across Southeast Asia and then hit Europe and Africa.
According to the WHO, 247 people have died from H5N1 strain of the virus out of 391 people infected since 2003. Indonesia tops the list of fatalities, with 113 deaths out of 139 confirmed cases, followed by Vietnam, with 52 deaths out of 106 confirmed cases.
Public health and animal health experts have been monitoring the virus to study signs of mutation, given concerns that if H5N1 acquires the capability to be passed between humans easily, it could result in a global pandemic, which some say could kill 180 million people.
Such projections are based on the 1918 Spanish Flu, which claimed some 50 million lives after a bird flu strain crossed over into the human population.
Inter Press Service
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