Pakistan-BF Suspected Human Cases Feb 02, 2008 +

[vinny]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Dr niman if BF cant make the final transition into a pandemic virus in either pakistan or india with the amount of people that live there and the poor education,will it never be able to make that final change it needs........?

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Karachi poultry farm employees quarantined

Staff Reporter

Karachi?Sindh Health Department has advised the employees working at the law enforcing agency (LEA)?s affected poultry farm not to come out of the vicinity of the farm, while the affected chickens? blood samples report was expected tomorrow.
Sindh Health Department sources told that the department has advised the LEA officers that the workers of this farm numbering about 9 should not be allowed to go out of the farm so that the possible virus spreading could be prevented.
Sources told that all the employees of the LEA farm were healthy and their temperature is being checked every morning and the evening, none of them were found affected, however, they have advised not to go out of the farm as precautionary measure. This poultry farm is located adjacent to the bird flu hit farm, where nearly 2500 chickens died during the last few days.
Sources told that the report on the blood samples of the affected chickens was expected tomorrow from Islamabad, while the poultry farm employees admitted into the Karachi Civil Hospital were also healthy.:tiphat: http://www.pakobserver.net/news/topstories10.asp

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

:tiphat: http://paktribune.com/news/cartoons.php?id=17749

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02040807/Pakistan_Poultry.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml http://www.newsnow.co.uk/nn/Recombinomics

Poultry Deaths in Northern and Southern Pakistan

Recombinomics Commentary 23:45
February 4, 2008

more than two thousand chickens brought from Hyderabad died in Mangora, Swat. The Tehsil Municipal Authority Mangora, on the public complaint, while taking quick action took into custody the owner of chickens Sher Ali and sent specimen of the dead chickens to laboratory to check for bird flu.

In Punjab five thousand chickens perished due to bird flu virus in village Moor Charwan in Hujra Shah Moqeem at the poultry form of Pir Aftab Shah.

The above comments describe more poultry deaths in Pakistan. Some of the deaths are in the south, near confirmed cases in suburban Karachi (see satellite maps here and here), while the other is in the north, in the general area of earlier outbreaks and near the hospital with the suspect patient.

The situation in Pakistan is far from clear. Media reports describe more poultry deaths and one report cites 132 hospitalized patients in Peshawar (although it should indicate there are 132 beds available at the hospitals in Peshawar).

There were significant delays in the reporting of the earlier human cases in the northwest and media reports did not appear until the second patient died. WHO became aware of the situation via internet posts, so the current conflicting reports are not surprising.

The situation in India is also far from clear. H5N1 spread has exploded in Bangladesh, while India maintains the situation in West Bengal is stabilizing. Testing of wild birds and patients is minimal, and the track record for detecting H5N1 in either group remains abysmal, with zero reports of positives.


.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Bird flu spreads as Rangers? farm infected





* Authorities arrest chicken merchant for ?selling bird flu-infected poultry?

KARACHI/SWAT: Government officials confirmed on Monday an outbreak of the deadly bird flu virus at a second farm in Karachi and said 12 people had been placed in an isolation ward, AFP reported.

The virus was discovered at a poultry farm run by security forces, three days after it was found at another farm in the port city, Agriculture and Livestock Ministry official Rafiq-ul-Hassan Usmani said.

?We have found H5N1 virus in the second farm too this morning,? Usmani told AFP, adding that both farms have been sealed off and officials have culled around 10,000 chickens.

A spokesman for the paramilitary Rangers force, which owns the farm, said they had alerted authorities and destroyed infected poultry and feedbags after hundreds of chickens were found dead.

?We have shifted nine of our workers to a hospital and doctors are monitoring them in an isolation ward,? said the spokesman, Major Asad Ali.

Another three poultry handlers from the other farm where the virus was discovered last week have also been placed in an isolation ward at a local hospital, medical officials said.

?Our doctors are observing all the farm workers and have so far found no signs of transmission of the dangerous virus in any of them,? Sindh Health Secretary Abdul Majid said.

Pakistan recorded its first death from bird flu in December when a man died in the NWFP. The victim?s brother also died before being tested for the virus.

Dead chickens: The Tehsil Municipal Authority (TMA) of Mingora arrested a chicken dealer for selling sick birds and seized around 2,000 bird-flu infected chickens, according to a Daily Times staff report.

According to sources, Sher Ali allegedly bought around 4,000 flu-infected birds from Hyderabad and was selling them in Mingora city. However, around 2,000 fowls died of the deadly disease.

The authorities confirmed the death of 200 birds at the dealer?s shop. However, sources said 2,000 birds died of the disease. The health authorities have sent samples of dead and alive birds to a laboratory in Islamabad for bird-flu test. staff report /afp



http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\02\05\story_5-2-2008_pg1_3

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Dr niman if BF cant make the final transition into a pandemic virus in either pakistan or india with the amount of people that live there and the poor education,will it never be able to make that final change it needs........?

The pandemic strain can take a series of small steps, and to see the steps, proper testing is required (which is not as common as most realize).

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

KARACHI: Fresh samples taken for bird flu tests



<CENTER>By Our Staff Reporter</CENTER>
KARACHI, Feb 4: A joint team of national and international health agencies has taken some more samples from three suspected patients, who were shifted from the bird flu-infected poultry farm in Gadap to the Civil Hospital Karachi on Friday.

Sindh Deputy Secretary Health Dr Shakeel Mullick, who is also the focal person on bird flu in humans, on Monday night said that throat, nasal and blood samples were taken in the presence of a committee comprising representatives of the World Health Organisation, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, and the federal and provincial health ministries. They had been sent to the NIH laboratory in Islamabad and the result was expected after 72 hours, he added.

CHK Medical Superintendent Dr Kaleem Butt said that the team took fresh samples as those taken earlier were not helpful for the NIH laboratory tests.

Dr Mullick, Dr Abdul Wahid Bhurt, Dr Najeeb Khan Durrani and Dr Zulfiqar, members of the committee on monitoring of avian influenza in humans, later discussed arrangements related to the disease with the hospital?s medical superintendent and expressed their satisfaction over the measures taken so far.

The team also discussed technical aspects about hospital infection control guidelines and standard operating procedure regarding epidemiological response to avian influenza and proper clinical management of suspected patients. The experts suggested that pneumonia surveillance and fever clinics be set up at the hospital to detect the people contracted with bird flu virus at the earliest possible stage so that treatment could start after diagnosis, the release added.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/05/local6.htm

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=600 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#f4faff><TD class=heading_txt height=20>WHO team arrives to assess safety, treatment measures</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt height=20>By By our correspondent
2/5/2008</TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt>Karachi

Laboratory tests on Monday confirmed the existence of the H5N1 strain of bird flu in the poultry farm owned by the Rangers. Hundreds of fowl had been culled in anticipation prior to the official report confirming the presence of bird flu on the farm.

The farm is adjacent to an infected private farm in Gadap Town where the first bird flu case was found a few days ago, Provincial Coordinator on Bird Flu, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said.

Soomro, who visited the affected area on Monday, said that seven of their teams were working there and had given a ?satisfactory? report about the bio-security steps taken so far to prevent the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, a team comprising representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) arrived in the city to assess the measures taken by hospitals for treatment of infectious diseases, in particular bird flu.

?The team brought some protective equipment and medicines against bird flu,? said Special Secretary Health, Dr Capt. Abdul Majid.

He added that they also shared some information about the virus with local officials. They visited Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), where three workers of the infected poultry farm had been kept under observation, as well as the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where an isolation ward was being set up, the official said.

Later, they visited different areas and assessed the situation prevailing therein.

Deputy Secretary Health, Dr Shakil Mullick, who accompanied the team, said that they expressed their ?satisfaction? over the provincial government?s efforts to control the virus.

The Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) and poultry research officials held a meeting here to chalk out a plan to spread awareness against bird flu, said Dr Aslam Jalali, a poultry expert.

He said that a series of seminars/workshops would be held to inform the poultry farm owners about precautionary measures and bio-security steps needed to contain and eliminate the latest threat of avian influenza (bird flu).

A city government official said that CDGK officials had visited the affected Rangers? farm after receiving a report about the existence of bird flu there. ?Honestly speaking, we did nothing except take a glance of the farm as the Rangers themselves culled 4,000 chickens on Sunday,? the official said.

He said that they also saw a ditch where birds were buried after being culled.

Doctors belonging to the Poultry Research Institute (PRI) visited around 12 poultry farms and did not find any new case of possible bird flu, said Dr Rasheed Ahmed Bhutto.

He said as the virus could spread up to three kilometres, they continued to spray the affected area to ensure that it is contained and does not affect any of the surrounding poulty farms.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=94706

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050801/Karachi_WHO.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

New bird flu outbreak confirmed
[SIZE=+1][/SIZE]



PESHAWAR: A woman reportedly affected by the deadly bird flu has been admitted to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) here on Monday.
Also, around 3,000 of 4,000 birds, which were taken to Swat from Hyderabad, were found mysteriously dead. The woman hailing from Bara in Khyber Agency was taken to KTH on January 31.
She was first taken to a local health facility in the tribal agency when she developed pneumonia and low oxygen on January 28. The doctor there referred her to the KTH for further treatment and on February 1, she was referred to Pulmonology Department of the hospital where senior chest physician and head of the department, Associate Prof Dr Mukhtiar Zaman Afridi shifted her to the ?isolation ward?, established for bird flu victims. Talking to The News, Dr Mukhtiar Zaman said that blood specimens of the woman had been sent to NIH and the result of the same was still awaited He, however, felt the woman did not seem to be suffering from avian influenza virus (H5N1). ?Symptoms of her disease indicated that she was suffering from flu and simple pneumonia infection and she would soon recover,? he said.

http://paktribune.com/news/print.php?id=197001

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050802/Karachi_WHO_Samples.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=padlrt8 colSpan=2>Pakistan poultry workers being tested for bird flu <!-- headline one : end -->
</TD></TR><TR><TD class="georgia11 padcell8" colSpan=2><!-- more than 7 paragraphs --><!-- story content : start -->ISLAMABAD - HEALTH authorities in Pakistan are doing tests on 12 workers from a farm where the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in poultry, a Health Ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.
Authorities confirmed on Monday an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm on the outskirts of Karachi, the second case in four days in the country's biggest city.
Twelve workers from the farm had been isolated and were being tested by a team from the World Health Organisation (WHO), the ministry spokesman said.
'They have been isolated and now a WHO team is there and is going to take another sample. Preliminary samples were taken and found negative but the WHO wants to confirm it,' said the spokesman, Orya Maqbool Jan Abbasi.
The H5N1 virus was first detected in Pakistan in early 2006. Pakistan's first human case, which resulted in a death, was confirmed in December.
Authorities have found several outbreaks in poultry and other birds in North West Frontier Province, Islamabad and most recently Karachi, where the new outbreak was found on a farm 300 metres from where the virus was detected last week.
<!-- show media links starting at 7th para -->Tests were also being done on samples taken from poultry in Punjab province but no outbreak had been confirmed, Mr Abbasi said.
'There have been a few incidents in which birds have died but it could be due to other conditions, maybe the weather and poor heating. It's the first time in 50 or 60 years that such low temperatures have been faced by the Punjab people,' he said.
A woman had been tested for the virus in Peshawar, in North West Frontier Province, but found to be negative, he said.
In December, the World Health Organisation said it had established a single case of human infection of bird flu in a sick family in North West Frontier Province, but there was no apparent risk of its spreading further. The man died.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan has banned the import of chickens and poultry form Pakistan because of the bird flu outbreak, an Afghan border security official said.
'We have very strict orders from Kabul,' Afghan border police official Akhtar Jan told Reuters in the town of Spin Boldak, one of two main official border-crossing points between the neighbours. 'We're not allowing any vehicle from Pakistan carrying chickens, chicken meat or eggs,' he said. Afghanistan first detected the H5N1 virus in poultry in early 2006. -- REUTERS

http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&noquote=1&p=131341
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest+News/Asia/STIStory_203738.html

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050802/Karachi_WHO_Samples.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml http://www.newsnow.co.uk/nn/Recombinomics

WHO Requests Additional Samples from Karachi Cullers

Recombinomics Commentary 07:51
February 5, 2008

A joint team of national and international health agencies has taken some more samples from three suspected patients, who were shifted from the bird flu-infected poultry farm in Gadap to the Civil Hospital Karachi on Friday.

Sindh Deputy Secretary Health Dr Shakeel Mullick, who is also the focal person on bird flu in humans, on Monday night said that throat, nasal and blood samples were taken in the presence of a committee comprising representatives of the World Health Organisation, the National Institute of Health, Islamabad, and the federal and provincial health ministries. They had been sent to the NIH laboratory in Islamabad and the result was expected after 72 hours, he added.

CHK Medical Superintendent Dr Kaleem Butt said that the team took fresh samples as those taken earlier were not helpful for the NIH laboratory tests.

The above comments describe requests for new sample collections from the three patients in isolation from the first cull near Karachi. PCR and viral sequencing and isolation tests use throat and nasal swabs, which were not likely taken earlier. Blood samples can detect a rise in antibodies, but the rise is optimal on samples collected weeks after onset dates. Thus, paired serum samples can be used to detect H5N1 infections, but early results and viral isolation require swab collections.

The lack of swab collections, as revealed above, is even more glaring in India and Bangladesh. Neither country has ever reported a human H5N1 case, and the failures to detect cases may be related to testing procedures.

Although swabs require collections at the appropriate time, media reports of sample collections in India and Bangladesh fail to mention the collection of nasal and throat swabs. These efforts do not guarantee positives in H5N1 infected patients. In Turkey, throat swabs from the four siblings were negative, although three died. The fatal cases were positive when fluid from the lungs was tested. Thus, the nasal and throat swabs may also generate false negatives, especially if collected too early or after the start of Tamiflu treatment.

Although false negatives are common, limiting testing to initial serum collections, virtually assures a negative result.


.

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02050801/Karachi_WHO.html

Commentary http://www.recombinomics.com/feed.xml http://www.newsnow.co.uk/nn/Recombinomics

WHO Team Visits Karachi

Recombinomics Commentary 06:34
February 5, 2008

Meanwhile, a team comprising representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) arrived in the city to assess the measures taken by hospitals for treatment of infectious diseases, in particular bird flu.

?The team brought some protective equipment and medicines against bird flu,? said Special Secretary Health, Dr Capt. Abdul Majid.

He added that they also shared some information about the virus with local officials. They visited Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), where three workers of the infected poultry farm had been kept under observation, as well as the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) where an isolation ward was being set up, the official said.

The above comments describe the arrival of a team from the WHO and the inspection of isolation wards in the Karachi area. Included in the tour are members of the Pakistan NIH. This investigation is in marked contrast to the earlier outbreak, which was not made public until at least two infected patients had died, and the human to human transmission chain had grown for over a month.

The presence of a WHO team on the ground signals concerns over the earlier outbreak (along with a new suspect case in Peshawar) and reports of new bird cases in the south (and cullers in isolation). The WHO will review plans and procedures on the human side (see satellite maps here and here). Pakistan hospital throughout the country are on high alert.

In the earlier outbreak, samples degraded during the delay in notifications, and WHO labs could only confirm H5N1 in one of ten samples.


.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08

<table class="contentpaneopen"><tbody><tr><td class="contentheading" width="100%"> Bird-Flu: Journalists asked to focus on positive, factual reporting

</td> <td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"> </td> <td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"> </td> <td class="buttonheading" align="right" width="100%"> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> ISLAMABAD, Feb 6 (APP):

Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock, Prince Esa Jan Baloch here on Wednesday asked the journalists to focus on factual, objective and positive reporting to check spread of misconceptions and misinformation regarding the outbreak of bird flu in the country.
Addressing a press conference, following the coordination meeting between Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL), Ministry of Health and Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination here, the minister stressed upon the media persons to join hands with the government in spreading factual and correct information about the bird flu issue.
The minister was flanked by Federal Minister for Health, Ijaz Rahim, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination, Dr. Muhammad Amjad and other high-ups.
The MINFAL minister was of the view that the bird flu was not issue of Pakistan only, adding that all the countries where the migratory birds go, do face this problem. However, he said, the press of other countries never exaggerates the situation as is witnessed in case of Pakistan.


He said that there was not a single case in the world where a person was reported to have died after touching the affected poultry meat.

There is no possibility of bird flu outbreak and the prevailing rumours about the spread of disease are only based on incomplete information, he added.


He said the government was closely monitoring the situation and had taken appropriate steps to ensure timely containment of any human cases of Avian Influenza (if any), adding that government had cordoned three square kilometer area of the suspected chicken-farm in Karachi and culled birds there.
The minister said that all the concerned departments of the provinces have been put on high alert to deal with any untoward situation.
“People must not fear, they can eat chicken and egg as usual as there is no threat of bird flu,” the minister said adding that government has been vigilant to ensure provision of hygienic meat in the markets.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Amjad, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination said, besides, Karachi there were no reports of bird flu from any part of the country adding that government has already taken measures and culled the chicken of the suspected farm in Karachi.
To a question, Dr. Amjad said that government was providing vaccine to check diseases among chicken adding that even the broiler birds are provided locally produced vaccine.
He was of the view that since the intrusion of bird flu in 2002, there were just two reports of bird flu deaths, adding that even these deaths were not sure to have been caused by the bird flu


http://www.app.com.pk/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=28034&Itemid=2

 

[tropical]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: WHO Board Sets Course On IP, Avian Flu, Tighter Publication Policy
<HR style="COLOR: #cccccc" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->WHO:
"... The final text of all publications will be cleared by the relevant assistant director-general or regional director before publication. Publications that describe the workings of a particular government or national health service or that have policy implications for the organisation or address controversial health-related issues will require additional clearance by the director-generals office. ..."

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

<TABLE><TBODY><TR><TD>

Bird flu scare blown out of proportion​

</TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>Shafqat Ali
</TD></TR><TR><TD>ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Prince Esa Jan Baloch said Wednesday that media had blown the bird flu issue out of proportion, adding not a single person had ever died of the disease.

"Bird flu is not an issue of Pakistan alone. All the countries where the migratory birds visit do face this problem. The only difference is that the media of other countries do not exaggerate the situation," Baloch said at a news conference here. "There is not a single case in the world where a person has been reported to have died after touching the affected poultry meat. There is no possibility of bird flu outbreak and the prevailing rumours about the spread of the disease are only based on incomplete information."

Baloch was flanked by Federal Minister for Health Ijaz Rahim, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Dr Muhammad Amjad and senior officials.

He said the government was closely monitoring the situation and had taken appropriate steps to ensure timely containment of human cases of Avian Influenza (if any), adding that government had cordoned off three square kilometre area of the suspected chicken-farm in Karachi and culled birds there. The minister said all the concerned departments of the provinces had been put on high alert to deal with any untoward situation. "People must not fear, they can eat chicken and egg as usual as there is no threat of bird flu", the minister said, adding that government had been vigilant to ensure provision of hygienic meat in the markets.

Baloch asked the journalists to focus on factual, objective and positive reporting to check spread of misconceptions and misinformation regarding the outbreak of bird flu in the country.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Dr Muhammad Amjad said there were no reports of bird flu from any part of the country other than Karachi, adding that government had already taken measures and culled the chicken of the suspected farm in Karachi.

To a question, Dr Amjad said that government was providing vaccine to check poultry diseases, adding that even the broiler birds were provided locally produced vaccine.

He said since the intrusion of bird flu in 2002, there were just two reports of bird flu deaths, adding that even these deaths were not sure to have been caused by the bird flu.

Earlier, the federal ministers attended the co-ordination meeting between Ministry of Food Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL), Ministry of Health and Ministry of Inter-Provincial Co-ordination
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
:tiphat: http://thepost.com.pk/MainNews.aspx?bdtl_id=9364&fb_id=2&catid=14

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Separate wards established for Bird Flu patients: MS KTH

PeSHAWAR?Medical report of presumed Bird Flu infected Women has been declared negative and no sign of H5N1 has been found, Doctor Mukhtiar Associated Professor and head of department of pulmonology along with MS KTH Kushdil Khan disclosed this in a news briefing at Khyber Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.
While briefing to media men Dr. Mukhtiar said that not a single positive case had been reported yet in the province and as a reactionary measures our surveillance teams were monitoring and collecting samples from the persons who were being in contact with the poultry business in any means however he showed his fear that Pakistan might enter alert 4th stage of World Health Organization (WHO).
?WHO has divided bird flu into six stages, the world is facing 3rd phase, which might extend to further fourth, fifth and sixth stages of bird flu, which may cause hundreds of thousands of lives,? Dr. Afridi feared.
Last year some 57 outbreaks were reported in the country and in this year 3 cases are reported up to now, in KTH ten private rooms with the help of WHO are converted into isolation ward as before there was not an isolation ward in KTH, Dr. Mukhtiar said adding that they were planning to establish a separate isolation ward for the Avian Influenza patients in KTH.
He warned that if Avian Influenza converted to Pandemic Influenza (third type of Influenza), which rapidly spreads from person to person might cause of killing hundred of thousands with in few days.
Minnat Khan (husband of admitted women) thanked to hospital doctors and all the concerned staff, which he added treated his wife with a good manner and handled the case in an efficient and proper way. He revealed that on 28th January his wife was examined by a local doctor as she was suffering from fever and Flu, but on 31st of January another doctor examined his wife and took samples from her and sent it to Islamabad for test and admitted her in isolated ward for fearing bird flu in a bid to keep other patients safe from the disease in KTH. He, however, said that today on 6th February, the doctors told him that the reports of his wife were negative and no sign of N5H1 virus had found.
Kush Dil Khan, MS KTH, while explaining the test process said that they isolated the expected woman on the basis of doubt of bird flu, while in other cases first they confirmed the disease and then if the doctors found such kind of more case, would be admitted in isolated ward, all because there is no chance of mistake for them, as bird Flu disease which causes by virus have enough potential to spread within a very limited time.
For the precautionary measures MS KTH said that vaccination for Influenza was very important as it caused to decrease the probability of infection from H5N1 virus, chicken meal should be cooked on above 70 degree centigrade heat, he urged the poultry dealers and workers of the firms to use mouth mask and gloves when visit to poultry forms as it 90 percent deduct the chance to be infect through air. :tiphat: http://pakobserver.net/news/nwfp05.asp​

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#f4faff><TD class=small_txt height=20>Nawabshah braces for bird flu</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt>Thursday, February 07, 2008
By our correspondent

NAWABSHAH: Executive district officer Health said on Wednesday no case of bird flu has been detected in the district, however an isolation ward has been set up at the Nawabshah Medical College Hospital as a precautionary measure.

EDO Health Dr Arif Qazi said medicines of bird flu have been provided to all the hospitals of the district and isolation wards set up. He said teams of doctors are alert to deal with any bird flu case.

He said the citizens were free to use poultry as it was safe from the disease.

The news of bird flu has sharply dropped the rates of poultry and farm eggs. Poultry meat was selling at Rs 100 per kg against the price of Rs 140 prior to bird flu news.

Poultry retailers have said chicken sale has considerably dropped while the meat sellers have increased the rates of meat. :tiphat:

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=95036</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

Re: Pakistan-BF suspected humans 2/2/08 +

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR bgColor=#f4faff><TD class=small_txt height=20>WHO team visits poultry farms in Gadap; isolation ward set up at Baqai University</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD bgColor=#efefef>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=small_txt>Thursday, February 07, 2008
By our correspondent

Karachi

A team of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Institute of Health, Islamabad, on Wednesday visited the two poultry farms in Gadap Town where the existence of H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed after laboratory tests.

The team took the statements of poultry workers and also visited a basic health unit in the locality and Baqai Medical University on the Super Highway to assess health facilities there in case of any emergency.

?We have requested the Baqai hospital for setting up an isolation ward in order to meet any eventuality,? said deputy secretary health Dr Shakil Mullick and added that they have received positive response.

The Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre (JPMC), being run by the federal government, had reportedly turned down the request of the Sindh government for setting up a separate isolation ward to deal with possible bird flu patients.

?The WHO team visited the JPMC two days ago and today they again visited the hospital and gave us some guidelines about the bird flu virus,? said deputy director JPMC Dr Seemin Jamali. She admitted that the health department had requested the hospital administration for setting up an isolation ward, but added that they could not entertain the request due to some reasons. ?We have reserved two rooms in the hospital in case any human being infected with the virus is brought in,? she said.

An isolation ward has already been set up at the Civil Hospital, Karachi where three poultry workers have been put under observation. Dr Mullick said that they have yet to receive a laboratory test report from Islamabad about the workers.

The officials said that the purpose of the WHO-NIH team?s visit was two-fold, namely to assess safety and treatment measures of the health department and provide necessary equipment and medicines and other things to deal with any eventuality.

Provincial Coordinator on bird flu, Dr Ali Akbar Soomro, said that two teams of poultry experts visited the affected area near Dumba Goth off Super Highway. He said they were conducting research to ascertain as to what caused the outbreak of bird flu.

He said that he had received reports vis-a-vis bird flu from all district headquarters of the Sindh and the reports were ?satisfactory?.

Dr Soomro said that the poultry experts also held a meeting with the WHO-NIH team in which steps to control the virus were also discussed. He said it was decided to ensure a vaccine programme for birds, besides adopting bio-security measures and initiating awareness programmes among farmers and general public as well. He said that people keeping pets would also be informed about precautionary measures.

He said that they have given safety/protection kits to poultry workers and so far no report of human infection has been reported, indicating less severity of the virus.

Dr Soomro said that they would take samples from utensils being used at farms, remains of animal feed, dust, environment and trees etc again after three weeks to find any trace of the virus there.

He said that, if no virus was found on these things, they would ask the farm owners for incinerating of the area to eliminate any risk of virus or germs. He said that the farm owners would be allowed to bring birds after three months.
:tiphat:
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=95047