Indonesia: new bird flu strain found in West Java

[Gert van der Hoek]

Bird Flu Strain was Just found in Purwakarta


The Penelitian Veteriner hall (Balitvet) Bogor, West Java, found a new bird flu virus strain in Purwakarta.

Peternakan West Java Rachmat Setiadi Section Head said, in accordance with his location, the strain that was suspected of by results of the mutation being acknowledged also as the Purwakarta strain with the specific code strain PWK.

Director Kesehatan of the Animal Directorate General Peternakan Departemen of Musny Suatmodjo Agriculture said, strain that was the bird flu virus that had emerged in this territory in 1976.

Strainnya continue to H5N1, only available protein compositions inside were different, he said when being contacted the Time, yesterday.

The difference of the protein composition caused the bird flu vaccine that uptil now was used in Indonesia to become ineffective.

Despite this, Musny guaranteed the bird flu virus of H5N1 strain Purwakarta not turn off like strain other bird flu.

The difference that was specific in the protein composition in strain Purwakarta, according to Musny, happened resulting from the mutation in the virus body personally.

However the mutation did not change the composition like perubahan
the form from H5N1 became the kind H5N2.

To map the explanation of the bird flu virus, according to Rachmat, Dinas Peternakan (Livestock Service, ed) spread out the co-operation with Balitvet.

We were discussing that with Balitvet, he said.

Apart from in Purwakarta, strain same was reported emerged in several other territories.

Strain just like that, Musny continued, also to be found in the Sukabumi territory, Subang and Jakarta. His spreading only in the area, he said.

http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/nusa/jawamadura/2008/07/02/brk,20080702-127259,id.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Indonesia: new bird flu strain found in West Java

Reported earlier

http://flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=158074&postcount=97

 

[Oracle]

Re: Indonesia: new bird flu strain found in West Java

Wave 1 spread out of Hong Kong into SE Asia starts in Mid-03, but is unreported until late 03-early '04.

First reports of H5N1 in Indonesia are Feb '04. This strain is also identified as a 2004 isolate. From the report above, apparently the sequence is different enough that the presently applied vaccine is ineffective.

Geography.
"Purwakarta (capitol of regency of same name) lies on the central point of the intersection between three strategic main traffic directions, which are Purwakarta-Jakarta, Purwakarta-Bandung, and Purwakarta-Cirebon, which leads to Central Java. The distance from Purwakarta to Jakarta is approximately 95km or 1-hour travel through the toll road. While the distance from Purwakarta to Bandung, the capital city of West Java is approximately 70km. "

It pops up in the Recombinomics post on Qinghai Emergence in Mongolia, July 6 2006:
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/07060602/H5N1_Qinghai_Mongolia.html

G1562T
AB263752 A/whooper swan/Mongolia/2/06 2006 H5N1
DQ497642 A/chicken/Malang/BBVet-IV/2004 2004 H5N1
DQ497653 A/chicken/Purwakarta/BBVet-IV/2004 2004 H5N1

Interesting report, same locale, from 2006.

Dozens of cats dead amid bird flu fears
JAKARTA, The Point

Dozens of cats in Purwakarta, West Java have died suddenly this week, prompting the Purwakarta Agricultural Office, which also oversees animal husbandry affairs, to carry out an immediate investigation.

The U.S. embassy on Wednesday warned its citizens to avoid cats in Indonesia following reports that they may carry the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

?For two consecutive days this week, we found dozens of cats were dead,? said Rita Wuryasturati, head of the animal husbandry unit of the Purwakarta Agricultural Office, said on Thursday.

Although she said investigation was still being carried out, she was also quoted as saying that the sudden death ?was not caused by bird flu.?

She did not elaborate on how she came to the conclusion that bird flu was not the cause of death to dozens of cats in the sub-districts of Nagritengah, Nagrikaler and Ciseureuh over two consecutive days.

She only acknowledged that according to the latest information received by her office, 13 cats were found suddenly dead in Nagritengah.

?Most likely the sudden death was caused by a virus known to be fatal to cats,? she said, adding that one laboratory examination, which did not necessarily produce conclusive results, showed that one cat was dead because of a virus common among cats but one that could not spread to other animals.

Despite Wuryasturati's optimism that bird flu was not behind the death of the dozens of cats, the US embassy warning remains in place.

Indonesia is the country worst affected by avian influenza with 83 human infections and 63 deaths. Most victims have had close contact with infected poultry.

A local scientist recently discovered that 20% of live cats in areas that had been affected by bird flu, in poultry or humans, were infected with the virus. ?There have been confirmed reports that wild and stray cats have been shown to carry H5N1," the embassy said in a warning to U.S. citizens in Indonesia.

?While there have been no documented cases of feline-to-human transmission of H5N1, it is important to avoid contact with wild and stray cats, and to ensure that domesticated cats do not eat or interact with sick or dying poultry," it said. The embassy said pet cats that mainly live indoors should not be at risk of catching bird flu.

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. says two scientific reports have shown that domestic cats can become infected if they eat uncooked meat from H5N1-infected chickens and can pass the infection directly to other cats.

"None of the known strains of influenza virus are transmissible between cats and people," it says on its website, while warning that viruses are "very changeable by nature."

 

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Indonesia: new bird flu strain found in West Java

There were reports posted before on several new H5N1 strains in poultry , don't know where exactly. Among other posts here:

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showpost.php?p=143945&postcount=36

From march 25 this report, also mentioning Purwakerta and 3 or possible 6 new strains in poultry and the need for new vaccines:

Dep of Agriculture Develops Bird Flu Vaccine for Poultry


KESRA- on March 25 : the Department of Agriculture and the Hall of Penelitian Veteriner Bogor at this time was middle developing the new vaccine bird flu for the poultry in order to anticipates the existence of the genetic change in the bird flu virus that infected the poultry poultry in several areas.

The findings of Balitvet Bogor and Deptan showed the virus in several areas like Sukabumi, some of the Special Capital District of Jakarta, Purwakarta, Subang and Tangerang have changed.

The poultry mortality rate resulting from bird flu in the area juga
descended as far as 15 - 20 percent, said Director Kesehatan of the Departemen Animal of Musni Suatmojo Agriculture in Jakarta, on Monday.

He explained, the change strain the virus H5N1 that could cause the bird flu vaccine for the poultry that ada now never again effective protected the poultry from the infection so as the possibility of the spread of the virus from the poultry to humans increased.

The vaccine was based on the virus H5N1, H5N2 and H5N9 that uptil now the public was used by the possibility no longer was effective jika was used in the area of this area.

So must be developed the homologue vaccine from the virus strain that has berubah that.

Now was developed, he said as well as added the most effective vaccine was the vaccine that dibuat from the available virus in the field.

Musni said, at this time his side was making the map genetic from strain the virus H5N1 that was contagious in Indonesia that eventually will become basic material in the development of the bird flu virus for the new poultry.

It was final that this month has it was estimated been finished.

From the map later will be determined whatever that will be made seed virus for the production of the new vaccine, he explained.

The new vaccine, according to him, eventually will be used in the activity of the poultry vaccination in the area of the area dimana the mutation of the virus H5N1 has been found.

In connection with that beforehand the Head of the Kesehatan Field of the FAO Animal, Joseph Domenech warned bahwa at this time the spread situation of bird flu to the poultry in Indonesia has achieved the critical point.

According to him, the circulation of the virus of Avian Influenza to the poultry population in Indonesia at this time was very high and the matter itu
was worried could trigger the mutation that headed in the influenza pandemic.

- snip –

The Harian chief executive of the Nasional Pengendalian Committee of Bird Flu and Menghadapi Pandemi Influenza Preparedness (Komnas FBPI) Bayu Krisnamurthi explained also that at this time had the virus group H5N1 just that was detected apart from the virus group H5N1 to the poultry that uptil now was detected.

Uptil now, he continued, there were three virus groups H5N1 to the poultry that succeeded in being detected namely the A group that spread in Java, Bali and Sulawesi; the B group that spread in Java, Bali, NTB and NTT as well as the C group that spread in Java, Bali and Sumatra.

The research that was carried out by Deptan and IPB showed the possibility of the existence of the other group, namely D, E and F, his distribution at this time still was researched, likewise with the level of its virulence.

We did not yet know whether this more virulent from the available virus beforehand, was like this Bayu Krisnamurthi.

http://www.menkokesra.go.id/index2.php?option=com_content&do_pdf=1&id=7653

 

[HenryN]

Re: Indonesia: new bird flu strain found in West Java

Wave 1 spread out of Hong Kong into SE Asia starts in Mid-03, but is unreported until late 03-early '04.

First reports of H5N1 in Indonesia are Feb '04. This strain is also identified as a 2004 isolate. From the report above, apparently the sequence is different enough that the presently applied vaccine is ineffective.

Geography.
"Purwakarta (capitol of regency of same name) lies on the central point of the intersection between three strategic main traffic directions, which are Purwakarta-Jakarta, Purwakarta-Bandung, and Purwakarta-Cirebon, which leads to Central Java. The distance from Purwakarta to Jakarta is approximately 95km or 1-hour travel through the toll road. While the distance from Purwakarta to Bandung, the capital city of West Java is approximately 70km. "

It pops up in the Recombinomics post on Qinghai Emergence in Mongolia, July 6 2006:
http://www.recombinomics.com/News/07060602/H5N1_Qinghai_Mongolia.html

G1562T
AB263752 A/whooper swan/Mongolia/2/06 2006 H5N1
DQ497642 A/chicken/Malang/BBVet-IV/2004 2004 H5N1
DQ497653 A/chicken/Purwakarta/BBVet-IV/2004 2004 H5N1

Interesting report, same locale, from 2006.

Dozens of cats dead amid bird flu fears
JAKARTA, The Point

Dozens of cats in Purwakarta, West Java have died suddenly this week, prompting the Purwakarta Agricultural Office, which also oversees animal husbandry affairs, to carry out an immediate investigation.

The U.S. embassy on Wednesday warned its citizens to avoid cats in Indonesia following reports that they may carry the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

“For two consecutive days this week, we found dozens of cats were dead,” said Rita Wuryasturati, head of the animal husbandry unit of the Purwakarta Agricultural Office, said on Thursday.

Although she said investigation was still being carried out, she was also quoted as saying that the sudden death “was not caused by bird flu.”

She did not elaborate on how she came to the conclusion that bird flu was not the cause of death to dozens of cats in the sub-districts of Nagritengah, Nagrikaler and Ciseureuh over two consecutive days.

She only acknowledged that according to the latest information received by her office, 13 cats were found suddenly dead in Nagritengah.

“Most likely the sudden death was caused by a virus known to be fatal to cats,” she said, adding that one laboratory examination, which did not necessarily produce conclusive results, showed that one cat was dead because of a virus common among cats but one that could not spread to other animals.

Despite Wuryasturati's optimism that bird flu was not behind the death of the dozens of cats, the US embassy warning remains in place.

Indonesia is the country worst affected by avian influenza with 83 human infections and 63 deaths. Most victims have had close contact with infected poultry.

A local scientist recently discovered that 20% of live cats in areas that had been affected by bird flu, in poultry or humans, were infected with the virus. “There have been confirmed reports that wild and stray cats have been shown to carry H5N1," the embassy said in a warning to U.S. citizens in Indonesia.

“While there have been no documented cases of feline-to-human transmission of H5N1, it is important to avoid contact with wild and stray cats, and to ensure that domesticated cats do not eat or interact with sick or dying poultry," it said. The embassy said pet cats that mainly live indoors should not be at risk of catching bird flu.

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in the U.S. says two scientific reports have shown that domestic cats can become infected if they eat uncooked meat from H5N1-infected chickens and can pass the infection directly to other cats.

"None of the known strains of influenza virus are transmissible between cats and people," it says on its website, while warning that viruses are "very changeable by nature."

I doubt that the new strain above is related to the earlier 2004 isolate from Purwakarta, because it is clade 2.1 and similar to other isolates from Indonesia.

However, there are Indonesian sequences from 2006 from waterfowl that are not clade 2.1 and represent a new H5N1 introduction into Indonesia. The public sequences are from west Java

A/heron/Cicurug/IPB25-RS/2006
A/duck/Leuwiliang/IPB3-RS/2006
A/muscovy duck/Klapanunggal/IPB1-RS/2006
A/goose/Leuwiliang/IPB4-RS/2006
A/muscovy duck/Cileungsi/IPB5-RS/2006
A/goose/Bojonggenteng/IPB2-RS/2006