Nepal Government says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

I have added the word "Confirmed" to the title of the thread, however, the government IS denying any human case of bird flu and is blaming the media for causing false rumours....

"...With panic spreading among the public about the bird flu, authorities on Sunday confirmed that no person has been infected with the virus, nor has it spread in the capital.

Director of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science (BPKIHS) Dr BP Das rebuffed the rumours of two persons, being treated at the hospital, were infected with the avian virus (H5N1).

He clarified that Santosh Dahal, 18, resident of Damak-10 and Hum Bahadur, 41, resident of Morang-8, were admitted at BPKIHS three days ago after being infected with pneumonia, not bird flu.

Dr Das claimed that the media had unnecessarily created false rumours that the two patients had contracted the virus. ..."

Please. Pneumonia is caused by H5N1. The physician did NOT say that the patient wasn't tested locally. He did NOT say that the lab positive was false. And he did NOT say that no sample was sent to a third party for confirmation.

I think it is safer to simply use the title of the initial report. Comments can be added on the validity of the title, but changing the title multiple times based on the story of the hour just leads to confusion (especially when the story of the hour is carefully parsed to be factually correct, but grossly misleading).

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

I have added the word "Confirmed" to the title of the thread, however, the government IS denying any human case of bird flu and is blaming the media for causing false rumours....

"...With panic spreading among the public about the bird flu, authorities on Sunday confirmed that no person has been infected with the virus, nor has it spread in the capital.

Director of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science (BPKIHS) Dr BP Das rebuffed the rumours of two persons, being treated at the hospital, were infected with the avian virus (H5N1).

He clarified that Santosh Dahal, 18, resident of Damak-10 and Hum Bahadur, 41, resident of Morang-8, were admitted at BPKIHS three days ago after being infected with pneumonia, not bird flu.

Dr Das claimed that the media had unnecessarily created false rumours that the two patients had contracted the virus. ..."

Please. No one said that the dead birds in the Capital tested negative or that no sample was sent for confirmation.

The follow-up story is just governemnt propaganda used to control panic.

At this time, there is no reported CONFIRMATION of H5N1 in the capital. However, none of the stories say the birds died of anything other than H5N1, because there is no data to show that they died of anything other than H5N1 (and NEGATIVES are NOT sent out to third parties for confirmation).


Spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Hari Dahal said, "a few chicken died in the capital recently. We are carrying out the tests but it has not been confirmed yet as to whether the chicken died of the avian virus". "After carrying out preliminary tests in Nepal, samples have been sent to the United Kingdom for the confirmation," he informed.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Don't "please" me!


:tank:


Gimme a break. Who is the source on the suspected human in Nepal case? Xinhuanet? Ha! They are experts at reporting suspected cases outside of China.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Don't "please" me!


:tank:


Gimme a break. Who is the source on the suspected human in Nepal case? Xinhuanet? Ha! They are experts at reporting suspected cases outside of China.

Please. Xinhuanet is reporting what they were told by sources in Nepal (who are now trying to roll it back).

As I said, the physician in Nepal is well aware of the media reports, and he did NOT say that there was no positive in Nepal and he did NOT say that a sample wasn't sent to a thrid party.

If the Xinhuanet story was in error he had MANY opportunities to state EXACTLY what was reported in error and he did NOT issue such statements.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

You are missing the point. It is news that the government of Nepal is denying the story of human H5N1. Is there H5N1 in any humans in Nepal? Who knows?

Does the China state media know better than the Nepal government?

I will not "please" you back.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

You are missing the point. It is news that the government of Nepal is denying the story of human H5N1. Is there H5N1 in any humans in Nepal? Who knows?

Does the China state media know better than the Nepal government?

I will not "please" you back.

Please.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fu...&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20090126

No Bird-flu in Humans: BPKIHS

THT Online
Itahari, January 26

The Dharan based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences has claimed that the reports appearing in different media that the bird-flu has afflicted humans were false.
Hospital Director BP Das, issuing a press release on Sunday, clarified that not a single bird-flu patient has come to the institute and no patient had been detected with the infectious disease.
Some of the media had reported that 18-year-old Santosh Dahal, a poultry trader of Damak-10, Jhapa, was admitted to the hospital with bird-flu. Talking to The Himalayan Times, he claimed Dahal was a pneumonia patient. He appealed to the media to be judicious while publishing news on such a sensitive issue, and not to give credence to rumours.
Following the outbreak of bird flu in eastern Nepal, BPKIHS has started the construction of a separate ward for the treatment of the disease. According to BPKIHS director Prof Dr Das, the construction works have already begun. The ward will have eight common beds and six isolated beds for the treatment of suspected patients, he added. The BPKIHS has asked the government to depute five capable physicians, two technicians and two lab technicians for the ward. Meanwhile, regional health directorate, Dhankuta, on Sunday provided necessary medicines for the treatment of the disease to the BPKIHS, Dr Das added.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fu...&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20090126

No trace of avian flu in valley: Govt

Himalayan News Service
Kathmandu January 25:

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives today clarified that not a single case of bird flu had been detected in Kathmandu valley so far.
?Since we don?t have any reference lab in Nepal, we have been sending samples to London even if they tested negative here,? MoAC spokesperson Hari Dahal told mediapersons at his office today.
?One of the mass media has tried to create panic among valley denizens by claiming that bird flu has entered the valley. We request media to be responsible on sensitive issues like these,? Dahal said.
Dahal claimed that the government would not conceal the information about bird flu. ?Instead, we will inform people and request them to maintain safety measures,? he added.
He, however, admitted that the samples were taken to the central lab for test. ?We have sent the samples for further testing in Weybridge Lab of London as a regular procedure even though it tested negative here,? he said.
He said authorities in the valley were prepared to tackle the problem and that the quarantine process had been tightened in different parts of the country from where birds used to be imported to the valley.
?Veterinary doctors and consultants have been hired by the entrepreneurs themselves and they are very much aware of this disease,? he said, adding that the chickens and birds being kept in small numbers pose a threat.
Dahal informed that the government would provide a compensation of Rs 500 for each culled parent stock of chicken, Rs 100 per chicken, 50 paisa for each egg destroyed, Rs 50 per kg for destroyed meat and Rs 5 per kg for destroyed chicken feed.
As many as 23,830 chicken, 300 geese, 292 pigeons, 300 kg of feed and 4,000 eggs were
destroyed following the declaration of emergency in Kakarbhitta of Jhapa.
After completing the bird culling and destroying their products, the government is now cleaning the farms with necessary sprays as a part of its active surveillance, Dahal
said. The government has also prohibited the transportation of birds and their
products towards west of the Saptakoshi river.
Dahal also requested people to carefully handle live chicken and its products. ?Meat cooked above 70 degree Celsius won?t be harmful,? he assured.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Nepal finds suspected human infection of bird flu

Re: Nepal finds suspected human infection of bird flu

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/01250904/H5N1_Morang.html

Commentary

Suspect H5N1 Case in Morang Nepal
Recombinomics Commentary 15:33
January 25, 2009


Director of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Science (BPKIHS) Dr BP Das rebuffed the rumours of two persons, being treated at the hospital, were infected with the avian virus (H5N1).

He clarified that Santosh Dahal, 18, resident of Damak-10 and Hum Bahadur, 41, resident of Morang-8, were admitted at BPKIHS three days ago after being infected with pneumonia, not bird flu.

The above comments discuss two suspect H5N1 cases who were transferred to the Koirala Institute in Dharan (see updated map). Patients are not ?infected? with pneumonia, they are infected with a microorganism that leads to pneumonia. One of the symptoms of H5N1 infections is pneumonia.

The above comments provide some additional detail on the second case. The above comments are silent on a positive lab result at the institute, as well as the shipment of the sample to a third party for confirmation. Thus, although confirmation by a third party has not been reported, the recent series of comments do not indicate the pneumonia is due to another microorganism, nor do they refute the report of a local positive lab result.

Media reports indicate one patient (18M) is a poultry farmer from Damak, where poultry was culled, suggesting implicating symptomatic birds in the area. It is likely that the other patient (41M) also had linkage, based on the proximity to the other case (18M) and expanded culling operations.

More detail on the local and third party test results would be useful.

.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Source: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fu...&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20090126

?Veterinary doctors and consultants have been hired by the entrepreneurs themselves and they are very much aware of this disease,? he said, adding that the chickens and birds being kept in small numbers pose a threat.

Are hired consultants collecting or testing samples that are locally negative?

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (20): NEPAL, SUSPECTED
***********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

[1]
Date: Sun 25 Jan 2009
Source: China View, Xinhua News Agency [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/25/content_10717281.htm>

Nepal has found a patient from Damak, eastern Nepal, to be a
suspected case of human bird flu infection, the Nepali national news
agency RSS reported on Sunday [25 Jan 2009]. Damak of Jhapa district
is some 320 km east of the Nepali capital Kathmandu. In mid-January
2009, the 1st case of bird flu in poultry was detected in Kakarbhitta
of the same district.

According to the report, bird flu has been suspected to have infected
a patient from Damak, who was taken to nearby BP Koirala Institute
for Health Sciences (BPKIHS) in Dharan. Communication spokesperson
for BPKIHS Bijay Rimal said bird flu virus has been suspected to have
been found in the patient's blood sample during tests in the
institute's laboratory. He said the patient's blood sample has been
sent for further tests in a sophisticated laboratory. He said the
patient was showing symptoms of bird flu infection. The BPKIHS,
however, did not reveal where the patient's blood sample had been sent.

Rimal, however, said it cannot be officially confirmed whether the
patient is infected with bird flu yet as the institute lacked a
specific lab to test bird flu. The patient has been referred to
Dharan by Lifeline Hospital in Damak following 3-day treatment there.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

******
[2]
Date: Sun 25 Jan 2009
Source: China view, Xinhua News Agency [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/25/content_10718944.htm>


With panic spreading among the public about bird flu, Nepali
authorities confirmed Sunday [25 Jan 2009] no person has been
infected with the virus, and the virus has not spread in the capital
Kathmandu, local media reported. Director of the BP Koirala Institute
of Health Science Dr BP Das rebuffed the rumors that 2 persons being
treated at the hospital were infected with the avian virus (H5N1). He
clarified that the 2 were admitted into the hospital 3 days ago after
being infected with pneumonia, not bird flu, eKantipur.com reported.

Dr. Das claimed that the media had unnecessarily created false rumors
that the 2 patients had contracted the virus. He also reported that
the hospital had already contacted the government for the provision
of additional manpower, tools and medicines, keeping in view the
possible outbreak of avian flu in people. He added that the hospital
has made preparations for a separate "Tropical Ward" for the
treatment of avian flu, if needed.

Likewise, the government has confirmed that the avian virus has not
been detected in the capital so far. Spokesperson at the Ministry of
Agriculture and Cooperatives Hari Dahal said: "A few chickens died in
the capital recently. We are carrying out the tests, but it has not
been confirmed yet as to whether the chickens died of the avian
virus. After carrying out preliminary tests in Nepal, samples have
been sent to the United Kingdom for confirmation," he said.

The government on 16 Jan 2009 confirmed the outbreak of bird flu
virus in the eastern district of Jhapa.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[A map of the administrative regions of Nepal is available at:
<http://ncthakur.itgo.com/map04.htm>. Jhapa district where the
suspected human case originated is also where the 1st confirmed
outbreak of avian A/H5N1 influenza in poultry occurred. It lies about
300 km to the east of the capital Kathmandu, where the 1st 2
suspected human cases, now discounted, were treated.

Further information is awaited on the outcome of laboratory diagnosis
of the clinical samples from the Jhapa patient, more likely to test
positive due to the proximity of the outbreak of disease in poultry.
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Nepal is available at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=28.3,83.9,5>.
- Mod.CP]

[see also:
Avian influenza (05): Nepal, 1st outbreak 20090116.0180]
.......................................cp/msp/mpp

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Re: Nepal Governmant says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

AVIAN INFLUENZA, HUMAN (20): NEPAL, SUSPECTED
***********************************************
Further information is awaited on the outcome of laboratory diagnosis
of the clinical samples from the Jhapa patient, more likely to test
positive due to the proximity of the outbreak of disease in poultry.
The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Nepal is available at:
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?v=28.3,83.9,5>.
- Mod.CP]

[see also:
Avian influenza (05): Nepal, 1st outbreak 20090116.0180]
.......................................cp/msp/mpp

Since CP and samples are in England, his expectations may be a leading indicator.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Government says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

Govt says no case of bird- flu reported in other parts of the country
The government has said that apart from eastern Nepal district of Jhapa no case of bird- flu was reported in other parts of the country.
Issuing a press release Sunday to dispel rumors about the spread of the bird flu in various parts of the country including capital Kathmandu, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives said no case of the bird-flu virus was found other than in Kakadbhitta of Jhapa.
Kakadbhitta is a bordering town adjacent to India's West Bengal state.
The release also states that regular tests were being carried out on birds that have died in various parts of the country since the outbreak in Jhapa.
Talking to mediapersons at his office Sunday, spokesperson at the ministry of agriculture and cooperatives, Hari Dahal said that no person has been infected with the bird flu virus in Kathmandu or elsewhere in the country, and that the mass media has tried to create panic among valley denizens by claiming that bird flu has entered the valley
The Himalayan Times quoted him as saying that the authorities in the valley were prepared to tackle the problem and that the quarantine process had been tightened in different parts of the country from where birds used to be imported to the valley.
The news of bird flu outbreak in eastern Nepal last week has sent shockwaves across the country with people in Kathmandu and other parts of the country shunning consumption of poultry products.
Meanwhile, the Dharan based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) has also denied reports appearing in different media that two persons being treated at the hospital were infected with the avian virus.
In a press release issued Sunday, Director of the BPKIHS, Dr BP Das clarified that the patients Santosh Dahal and Hum Bahadur were admitted three days ago for treatment of pneumonia, not bird-flu. nepalnews.com Jan 26 09

http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2009/jan/jan26/news13.php

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Government says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Separate ward to treat bird flu patients in BPKIHS
[/FONT]

PRADEEP MEYANGBO DHARAN, Jan 26 - [FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Keeping in view the possibility that avian flu virus might infect people, B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS) here in Dharan began setting up a separate ward to treat such patients.
The decision was taken in the wake of the outbreak of bird flu in Kakadbhitta of Jhapa district. ?We?ve been setting up a ward to treat avian flu virus affected patients at the tropical ward, where we plan to establish one emergency ward as well,? said Dr. Balabhadra Prasad Das, Director of BPKIHS
on Sunday.
He also dismissed rumours that two bird flu patients were admitted at the hospital for treatment.
According to him, the two persons were suffering from pneumonia though they were poultry farmers.
?If any such patient is admitted, we don't have basic infrastructure and equipment to offer treatment,? he said adding that they have also asked
the government to provide
necessary help in this regard.
The move comes after government officials have said that no person has been infected with the virus and the virus has not spread in other parts of the country except Kakadbhitta. On January 16, the government had confirmed the outbreak of bird flu virus in Jhapa. Following this, health workers had killed more than 23,000 chickens and ducks in the eastern district.
Chicken destroyed GAUR
A patrol of security men from the Armed Police Force?s Border Security Office at Bakul, Gaur, caught and destroyed chicken worth Rs 25,000 that were being illegally imported from India.
Though the government has banned import of poultry products in the wake of bird flu threat, smugglers had been illegally importing birds regularly, the police said. Mahesh Kumar Shrestha, SP of APF, said the chicken were killed in the presence of respected people of the society.
[/FONT]

Posted on: 2009-01-25 20:59:14 (Server Time)

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?page=kolnews.php&nid=177223

 

[HenryN]

Re: Nepal Government says No Confirmed Cases of Bird Flu in Humans

[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]Separate ward to treat bird flu patients in BPKIHS[/FONT]


[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]He also dismissed rumours that two bird flu patients were admitted at the hospital for treatment. [/FONT]
[FONT=Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif]According to him, the two persons were suffering from pneumonia though they were poultry farmers. [/FONT]

http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php?page=kolnews.php&nid=177223

The above confirms that both suspect H5N1 cases were poultry farmers and at least one of the two was said to have been transferred there.

The two were not bird flu patients, because bird flu had not YET been confirmed.