Tracking the next pandemic: Avian Flu Talk |
Possible concealing ofbird-flu outbreaks |
Post Reply |
Author | |
Guests
Guest Group |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Posted: January 20 2006 at 6:16am |
Friday, Jan. 20 4:30 a.m.: Turkey's agriculture minister accused several neighboring countries of concealing bird-flu outbreaks and hampering an effort to prevent the spread of the disease. Preliminary tests indicate that 21 people in Turkey have been infected with the H5N1 strain, four of whom have died. The country has reported confirmed or suspected H5N1 outbreaks in poultry in 26 provinces, including areas near the borders with Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Georgia. Turkey also borders Bulgaria and EU member Greece. "We know through unofficial channels that the disease exists ... in neighboring countries, which are ruled by closed regimes," Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker said during a meeting with governors of Turkey's 81 provinces. "These countries do not officially declare the existence of the disease." He didn't name the countries. "This is something that we need to be careful about," Mr. Eker said, urging governors of border provinces to be especially vigilant. |
|
phyrefly
V.I.P. Member Joined: January 13 2006 Status: Offline Points: 362 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Apparently, only communist ornithologists have migration and species information regarding North Korea, exacerbating the Alaskan in situ.
|
|
Magpie Treads the Branch
|
|
Guests
Guest Group |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Turkey Accuses Nations of Hiding Bird Flu
By SUZAN FRASER The Associated Press Friday, January 20, 2006; 7:29 AM ANKARA, Turkey -- Turkey's agriculture minister accused several neighboring countries Friday of concealing bird flu outbreaks and hampering efforts to prevent the spread of the disease. Preliminary tests indicate that 21 people in Turkey have been infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, including four children who died. The country has reported confirmed or suspected H5N1 outbreaks in poultry in 26 provinces, including areas a few miles away from the borders with Armenia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Georgia. Turkey also borders Bulgaria and Greece. "We know through unofficial channels that the disease exists ... in neighboring countries, which are ruled by closed regimes," Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker said during a meeting with governors of Turkey's 81 provinces. "These countries do not officially declare the existence of the disease." He did not name the countries. "This is something that we need to be careful about," Eker said, urging governors of border provinces to be especially vigilant. Syria rejected the accusation, saying it had taken precautionary measures to prevent the disease's spread, including imposing a two-month ban on the import of fowl from all countries and tightening border controls. "Syria is free from bird flu despite allusions from Turkey that neighboring countries are hiding that there have been some infections,' Syrian Agriculture Minister Adel Safar said. On Monday, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warned bird flu might have already arrived in countries bordering Turkey, urging authorities in those nations to step up efforts to detect possible outbreaks. The FAO, however, has no evidence of any outbreaks in Turkey's neighbors, said Juan Lubroth, a senior officer at the Rome-based agency's animal production and health division. A joint team from the World Health Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health will visit the region next week to assess the needs of Turkey's neighbors and "get a sense of whether they are on top of it or not," Lubroth said. The team will visit Iran and Egypt and was setting up trips to Syria and the Caucasus countries. As part of efforts to control the outbreak in poultry, Turkey's government has imposed quarantines, destroyed 1.1 million fowl and launched campaigns warning people to avoid contact with sick birds, Eker said. By killing birds, Turkey hopes to limit contact between people and poultry in this largely rural country where most villagers raise chickens, turkeys and geese. The WHO said Thursday it expected fewer people to become infected with bird flu in Turkey. Most of the cases in the country thus far have involved children and teenagers. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a form spread easily among humans, triggering a pandemic capable of killing millions. The virus has killed at least 79 people in east Asia and Turkey since 2003. Experts on infectious diseases from the U.S Agency for International Development visited Erzurum, eastern Turkey, on Friday as part of a tour of affected areas to assess how Washington could help the country. "We are here to learn about what is happening and what has been done and to see how the United States, a strong friend and ally of Turkey, can assist," Ann Derse, the head of the delegation, told reporters. On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdulatif Sener announced new measures to help the poultry industry, which has seen a 70 percent plunge in sales since the crisis started. The $3 billion industry employs 100,000 people. The measures include compensating professional poultry farms for the destruction of 14 million old chickens that no longer produce eggs. Killing the chickens will cost $11.5 million. The government will also defer debt, tax, social security and electricity payments, Sener said. Authorities have urged people not to stop eating chicken and eggs from professional poultry farms, saying the disease has been confined to birds raised in the open in people's gardens. Associated Press reporters Kadyr Toktogulov in Van, Turkey, and Selcan Hacaoglu in Ankara contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...12000492_2.html |
|
Guests
Guest Group |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
Possible confirmation that my theory (that I have been doubting recently) may be true.
Turkey is obviously pointing its finger at Iran. If my theory about a mild flu spreading westward from Thailand is correct, many of the human cases came from Iran and are continuing to move westward. It is not as easily spread as normal flu or a cold, but it is Human To Human. Possibly spread via physical contact (kissing, hugging?) Previously I had posted that it looked like it had swept across India but was labeled Anything But Bird Flu and also called "Mystery Illness." |
|
Guests
Guest Group |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
PLEASE NEUTER YOUR PETS DONATE YOUR TIME TO THE SHELTERS BLANKETS PET FOOD WE NEED TO ADVOCATE FOR PEOPLE TO SPRAY AND NEUTER THEIR PETS IF THE FLU HITS THE ANIMALS WOULD SUFFER FIRST THANK YOU |
|
TNbebo408
Adviser Group Joined: December 10 2005 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 295 |
Post Options
Thanks(0)
|
The folks on this site are not the kind of folks to let their animals run wild and overpopulate.
This forum is not dedicated to animal issues, get over it. |
|
Post Reply | |
Tweet
|
Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You can vote in polls in this forum |