| Author |
 Topic Search  Topic Options
|
Guests 
Guest Group
|
 Post Options
 Thanks(0)
 Quote  Reply
 Topic: Suspected Bird Flu Virus Found In S Korea
Posted: November 23 2006 at 1:55am |
| Suspected bird flu virus found in S Korea |
|
| www.chinaview.cn 2006-11-23 10:45:26 |
|
Special report: Global fight against bird flu
SEOUL, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean government stepped up measures to prevent the spread of fatal bird flu disease Thursday after suspected bird flu cases were reported in its southern province of Jeollabukdo.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and other related government departments, including the Health Ministry, will conduct joint actions in the area where the suspected bird flu disease was discovered, said government officials.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the suspected bird flu cases were found at a poultry farm in Iksan city, Jeollabukdo, where 6,000 out of a total of 13,000 chicken have died suddenly since Sunday.
The government will cull and bury all remaining chickens in the farm and carry out quarantine measures in the area 10-km radius around the farm. All eggs will also be destroyed, while two hatcheries that have received eggs from the farm have been closed,the South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said.
At a briefing earlier on the day, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said the suspected virus is very likely to be highly effective to human beings. The sample of the virus was sent to state labs for further tests.
The final result of the tests will be released on Saturday, the ministry said.
The latest outbreak of bird flu in South Korea was reported in December 2003. The South Korean government destroyed 5.3 million birds from December 2003 to March 2004 to curb the spread of the fatal epidemic disease.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-11/23/content_5365986.htm |
|
 |
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 2:03am |
Suspected Bird Flu Reported in Iksan
|
 |
By Kim Yon-se
Staff Reporter
A suspected outbreak of bird flu was reported at a chicken farm in Iksan, North Cholla Province, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said Thursday, affecting a group of brood hens. The ministry said that depending on the type of avian influenza, the highly contagious virus could be transmitted to humans.
The farm is a subcontractor of Korea’s largest chicken meat provider, Halim, which has more than a 30 percent market share. The plant supplies young chicks to Halim by raising thousands of brood hens.
The National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service detected the suspected bird flu in the provincial city and the ministry has dispatched a group of inspectors for a detailed investigation.
``It will take several days for us to finish investigations into whether it is real avian influenza and of what type,’’ said Ministry spokesman Lee Yang-ho. In an emergency news briefing, the ministry said about 6,000 out of 13,000 brood hens in the plant died between last Sunday and Wednesday.
If the government confirms the influenza as a type that can be transmitted to people, it will issue a nationwide bird flu warning, cautioning against the arrival of migratory birds from northern countries.
The bird flu virus, previously limited to Southeast Asia, has been found among migratory birds in China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia since last year.
Halim, also located in Iksan, shut down its online homepage for several hours after the suspected outbreak was reported.
|
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 3:09am |
South Korea 23/11/06
Biological Hazard - Asia 
| Event summary |
|
| GLIDE Number |
BH-20061123-8529-KOR |
|
|
| Event type |
Biological Hazard |
Date / time [UTC] |
23/11/2006 - 04:43:50 (Military Time, UTC) |
| Country |
South Korea |
Area |
- |
| County / State |
Jeolla Province |
City |
- |
| Cause of event |
Unknow |
Log date |
23/11/2006 - 04:43:50 (Military Time, UTC) |
| Damage level |
Moderate  |
Time left |
- |
| Latitude: |
N 34° 45.000 |
Longitude: |
E 127° 0.000 |
| Number of deaths: |
Not or Not data |
Number of injured persons: |
Not or Not data |
| Evacuated: |
- |
Infected |
- |
| - |
|
| DESCRIPTION |
| A suspected case of bird flu has been found in southwestern South Korea, killing around 6,000 chickens and prompting authorities to cull thousands more, officials said Thursday. Bird flu is not generally harmful to humans, but South Korea's agriculture ministry hoped to confirm this weekend whether the suspected outbreak might be caused by the H5N1 strain, which can be deadly to people. "No one has been infected so far, though it could spread to people," an official at the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or KCDC said. The official from the KCDC, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, said it will take time to confirm the case. The discovery was made in the southwestern province of Jeolla on Wednesday, according to a statement from the agriculture ministry. It said 6,000 chickens in the area had died, and authorities would kill a further 6,000 to prevent the virus from spreading. | http://visz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert.php?lang=eng
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 6:39am |
more news
Bird flu, perhaps a danger to humans, found in south
November 24, 2006 ¤Ñ Health authorities began working yesterday to counter a suspected bird flu outbreak at a farm in North Jeolla province, near the growing and processing facilities of the nation's largest poultry supplier.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry warned yesterday of possible human infection, saying the virus could be a highly pathogenic form. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention have sent antiviral medications to the outbreak area.
"The National Veterinary Research Quarantine Service found a suspected avian influenza virus at a poultry farm in Iksan, North Jeolla province," Kim Chang-seob, chief veterinary officer at the Agriculture Ministry, told the press yesterday. The farm is located about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the operations of the nation's largest poultry supplier, Halim, which slaughters and processes up to 350,000 chickens daily, or 22 percent of domestic demand.
According to the ministry, 6,000 of 13,000 chickens at the farm died between Sunday and yesterday. After an initial investigation, the quarantine service said bird flu was the suspected cause. The final test results will be announced on Saturday, but experts at the service said the virus was "highly likely" to be a virulent strain transmissible to humans.
The ministry said it would slaughter the remaining chickens at the farm as well as 250,000 poultry being raised at livestock facilities within a 500-meter (547-yard) radius. The farm was quarantined yesterday afternoon, with about 10 health officials on hand to control entry and exit. The North Jeolla provincial government also began emergency disinfection in the area.
About 440 farms in Iksan are raising 5.2 million chickens, the provincial government said.
The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention warned the public yesterday to avoid contact with birds and to wash their hands frequently. Poultry industry workers were asked to wear protective masks and gloves and were advised to take a bath after working with birds. Eating cooked poultry is safe, the center said.
The center said no symptomatic human bird flu patient has been reported in Korea yet, although nine workers at poultry processing facilities were infected in late 2003. They developed no symptoms, and the infection was discovered only two years after the fact during routine blood tests.
The center stressed that Korea has stockpiles of Tamiflu, the drug of choice for treating avian influenza, sufficient to treat 720,000 patients.
The World Health Organization has reported 153 human deaths from avian flu in 10 countries around the world.
by Kim Dong-ho,Ser Myo-ja <myoja@joongang.co.kr> | |
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 7:29am |
|
The center stressed that Korea has stockpiles of Tamiflu, the drug of choice for treating avian influenza, sufficient to treat 720,000 patients.
720,000; Does anyone know what is the population of Korea?
|
|
Chloe
Valued Member
Joined: October 18 2006
Status: Offline
Points: 199
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 7:52am |
|
Population of South Korea is just under 49 million.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 10:16am |
 Annie wrote:
The center stressed that Korea has stockpiles of Tamiflu, the drug of choice for treating avian influenza, sufficient to treat 720,000 patients.
720,000; Does anyone know what is the population of Korea? |
Chloe wrote:
Population of South Korea is just under 49 million. |
Thanks Chole, doesn't look like much medical help will be available. I imagine the USA's accoundtability and elsewhere won't be much better.
How can people not see how serious this is becoming? Due to financial means, I've resorted to more bags and bags of rice and beans. I have garden seeds and will pray.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 23 2006 at 7:07pm |
 (LEAD) S. Korea confirms outbreak of mild bird flu 
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korean authorities confirmed Friday that a mild form of avian influenza broke out on a chicken farm south of Seoul.
The low-pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus was discovered on the farm in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of the capital, after 200 chickens died over three days starting from Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.
http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/20061124/450100000020061124113451E5.html
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 12:56am |
|
| |
SKorea suspects bird flu after thousands of chickens die
Posted: 23 November 2006 1836 hrs
| |
|
| |
A worker prepares to offload crates of chickens in Jakarta |
| |
|
| |
|
SEOUL : South Korea Thursday reported a possible bird flu outbreak after 6,000 chickens on one farm died in three days - the first suspected cases since the country declared itself free of the disease last December.
The agriculture ministry ordered the culling of the remaining 6,000 birds on the farm in the southern city of Iksan, a major centre for the country's poultry industry.
It sent an emergency supply of Tamiflu for 50 people and influenza vaccines for another 300.
Kim Chang-Seob, the ministry's chief veterinary officer, said the government received word of the outbreak Wednesday, and from the large number of deaths it suspected the virus may be a virulent strain.
The result of tests on the virus was expected late Saturday.
The ministry banned shipments to and from six farms within a 500-metre radius of the affected one.
It said the area would be expanded if the bird flu virus is confirmed.
More than 200 poultry farms are within 10 km of the affected one, as is the country's top chicken meat processor Halim, which is supplied by them.
Halim supplies 20 to 25 percent of the country's demand for chicken and also export cooked chicken to Japan and other countries.
"We are closely monitoring the case, preparing measures to minimize any negative impact it may have on our business," Halim spokesman Son Min-Su said.
Kim sought to allay public concerns.
"The virus is destroyed easily by heat of more than 70 degrees Celsius. There would be no health problems if chickens, even infected ones, are well cooked," he told journalists.
Iksan is 250 kilometres (155 miles) south of Seoul.
The ministry has been on high alert for bird flu as migratory birds that can spread the deadly disease flock to the country for the winter.
South Korea was the first country to report avian flu when the latest outbreaks, the largest and most severe on record, began in Asia in mid-2003.
From December 2003 to March 2004, it destroyed 5.3 million ducks and chickens at a cost of 150 billion won (US$161.3 million) and in December last year declared itself free of the virus.
The World Health Organisation has also said it considered South Korea free of the disease.
In September this year, health officials said five South Koreans had been infected by the H5N1 virus two years ago while helping slaughter birds, but had shown no symptoms.
It was only the second known incidence of human infection in South Korea.
In February four people were confirmed to have been infected with H5N1, but they also showed no symptoms. - AFP/ch
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/243116/1/.html |
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 1:58am |
|
|
|
Mild bird flu confirmed |
|
|
|
|
From news reports
Korean authorities confirmed yesterday that a mild form of avian influenza broke out on a chicken farm south of Seoul.
The low-pathogenic strain of the bird flu virus was discovered on the farm in Pyeongtaek, about 70 kilometers south of the capital, after 200 chickens died over three days starting from Tuesday, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said.
"Tests showed the virus was low pathogenic and has little chance of being transmitted to humans," it said.
The confirmation came a day after the ministry announced that it had detected a possibly virulent strain of bird flu in Iksan, about 230 kilometers south of Seoul. Authorities speculated that the Iksan virus may be the H5N1 strain that has killed more than 140 people so far worldwide.
 |
| Quarantine officials take preventive measures against epidemics yesterday after confirming that a mild form of avian influenza broke out at a chicken farm in Pyeongtaek, south of Seoul. [The Korea Herald] | No South Koreans have died from the human influenza. The ministry said the government will ban the movement of birds from the Pyeongtaek farm, but no action will be taken to slaughter sick chickens, since they usually recover. The government will also take no action against birds on nearby farms.
According to World Organization for Animal Health rules, a non-virulent strain does not warrant a trade ban.
"Technically, this non-virulent strain is not classified as avian influenza," said Kim Chang-seob, the chief veterinary officer at the ministry. The government has reported such discoveries to keep the general public informed.
The ministry has been on high alert since Nov. 1 to detect any bird flu outbreaks, which usually coincide with the arrival of migratory birds. The alert will be in place until late February.
Meanwhile, Japan has temporarily suspended South Korean poultry imports due to a suspected bird flu outbreak that has killed around 6,000 chickens and prompted authorities to cull thousands more, the top government spokesman said Friday.
"As a precaution, we decided (Thursday) to temporarily suspend imports of Korean poultry and to ask that people entering Japan from South Korea sterilize their shoes," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki told reporters.
The government has asked Seoul for more details about the outbreak in the country's southwest, Shiozaki added.
Japan imported 289 metric tons of chicken meat from South Korea in 2005, according to the Japan External Trade Organization.
Most bird flu viruses are not harmful to humans, but South Korea's agriculture ministry hoped to confirm this weekend whether the suspected outbreak was caused by the H5N1 strain, which can be deadly to people.
The discovery was made in the southwestern province of Jeolla on Wednesday, according to a statement from the agriculture ministry.
It said 6,000 chickens in the area had died, and authorities would kill a further 6,000 to prevent the virus from spreading.
Korea culled 5.3 million birds during the last known outbreak of bird flu in 2003.
The H5N1 virus began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003 and has killed at least 153 people worldwide.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/11/25/200611250008.asp
2006.11.25
|
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 3:30am |
SKorea reports second apparent bird flu outbreak as Japan bans imports
South Korea has announced its second apparent bird flu outbreak this week, as Japan suspended poultry imports from its neighbour, but said it was not the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.
The agriculture ministry said the death of some 200 chickens at a farm in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Seoul, was due to a mild strain of bird flu not lethal to humans.
The ministry said the government would ban the movement of birds from the Pyeongtaek farm, but that sick chickens would not be slaughtered because they usually recover from the mild strain.
On Thursday the ministry announced an apparently more virulent suspected outbreak in the southern city of Iksan, the first suspected bird flu case since the nation declared itself free of the disease last December.
Some 6,000 chicken died in three days at the farm at Seokmae village in Iksan, 250 kilometers south of Seoul, prompting the agriculture ministry to order the culling of the remaining 6,000 birds in the farm.
"They will finish killing and burying the remaining chicken at the farm on Friday," Ko Myung-Keyn, an official from North Jeolla province in charge of livestock quarantine, told AFP Friday.
He said an area within a 500-meter radius of the outbreak, where the affected farm and six others raise a total of 240,000 birds, had been cordoned off.
"If the case is confirmed as a bird flu outbreak, all the birds there would be culled."
The result of blood tests on the affected birds was expected late Saturday.
The ministry has banned shipments to and from the farms in the contaminated area, carried out quarantine measures and imposed restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles there.
Iksan City called for an emergency fund of some 17 million dollars from the central government to increase quarantine activity and provide financial assistance to affected farms, Yonhap news agency said.
It also expanded the cordoned-off zone from an area within a radius of three kilometers to eight kilometers and asked for manpower assistance from police and military authorities to control movements to and from this area, it said.
Iksan is a hub of the country's poultry industry, where 5.2 million chicken are being raised on some 440 farms.
More than 200 poultry farms are within 10 kilometres of the affected one, as is the country's top chicken meat processor Halim, which is supplied by them.
Halim supplies 20 to 25 percent of the country's demand for chicken and also exports cooked chicken to Japan and other countries.
Following the suspected bird flu outbreak, Japan suspended poultry imports and started requiring people arriving from South Korea to disinfect their shoes when entering the country.
The deadly H5N1 strain of avian influenza, which is spread through contact with sick animals, has killed more than 150 people worldwide since late 2003 and triggered mass culls of millions of poultry.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 5:37am |
| Blood tests of 14 show no bird flu infections
|
November 25, 2006 ㅡ The nation's health authority said yesterday that there had been no sign of human infection in the quarantine area in North Jeolla province where bird flu is believed to have broken out. Following a suspected bird flu infection at a farm in Iksan, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry warned of the possibility of human infections, saying the virus could be a highly pathogenic strain. The Korea Center for Disease Control and Prevention said yesterday that it had examined the couple who owns the farm and 12 visitors who had been there since last Sunday, when birds began dying. None of the people showed signs of bird flu, the center said, although it would be too early for symptoms to show up. More tellingly, though, blood tests of the 14 people showed no signs of the virus. More tests are under way, the center said, but one official there said it would be very unusual if an initial blood test were found to have been incorrect. The center said the 14 people and all quarantine officials in the region are taking Tamiflu, an anti-viral medication, as a precaution. Another bird flu outbreak was confirmed in Pyeongtaek, southern Gyeonggi province, on Wednesday, the center said, but added that the strain of the virus found there appeared to be far less virulent than the one further south. About 200 chickens died over a period of three days, the center said. That farm has been quarantined and disinfected. Japan announced yesterday that it would halt poultry imports from Korea and was seeking more information from Seoul about the outbreak. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200611/24/200611242125170579900090409041.html |
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 6:22am |
OIE Alert Message
Highly pathogenic avian influenza in the Republic of Korea (suspicion)
(Date of previous outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the Republic of Korea reported to the OIE: 2004).
Information received on 23 November 2006 from Dr Chang-Seob Kim, Chief Veterinary Officer, Animal Health Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), Gwacheon:
Report date: 22 November 2006.
Reason for immediate notification: re-occurrence of a listed disease or infection in a country or zone/compartment following a report declaring the outbreak(s) ended.
Identification of agent: avian influenza virus subtype H5.
Date of first confirmation of the event: 22 November 2006.
Nature of diagnosis: clinical, post-mortem and laboratory.
Location of the outbreak: Iksan city (Jeollabuk-do province).
Number of animals in the outbreak: 6,500 cases, 13,000 susceptible animals, 6,500 deaths.
Description of affected population: a parent stock farm for broiler chickens (45 weeks old).
Laboratory where diagnostic tests were performed: National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Anyang, Kyonggi.
Diagnostic test used: PCR(1).
Source of outbreak or origin of infection: unknown or inconclusive.
Control measures undertaken:
- control of wildlife reservoirs;
- stamping out;
- quarantine;
- movement control inside the country (a 10-km radius zone around the infected holding);
- screening;
- zoning.
(1) PCR: polymerase chain reaction
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 8:10pm |
Henry is not happy.
|
Commentary
Highly Likely H5N1 On South Korean Farms
******** Commentary
November 23 2006
According to the ministry, 6,000 of 13,000 chickens at the farm died between Sunday and yesterday. After an initial investigation, the quarantine service said bird flu was the suspected cause. The final test results will be announced on Saturday, but experts at the service said the virus was "highly likely" to be a virulent strain transmissible to humans.
The above comments support the outbreak of the H5N1 Qinghai strain in South Korea. The last reported outbreak of H5N1 in South Korea was in late 2003. That was followed by an outbreak of closely related H5N1 in Japan in early 2004. Sequences from these isolates were subsequently found in the Qinghai isolates from Qinghai Lake in May of 2005, supporting acquisition of these multiple polymorphisms via recombination.
The sequences in the Qinghai strain could be traced to the H5N1 in Korea/Japan, as well as low path H5 in Europe and southeast Asia and high path H5N1 in Shantou in southeastern China.
The fixing of the Qinghai H5N1 strain in long range migratory birds at Qinghai Lake was followed by H5N1 outbreaks in southern Siberia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan in the summer of 2005. The Qinghai strain subsequently spread to India, Afghanistan, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Although the majority of H5N1 isolated in southern China was the Fujian strain, the detection of only one Qinghai isolate was largely due to selective surveillance, which was focused on H5N1 in feces in live poultry markets. The predictions of a wave of the Fujian strain displacing the Qinghai strain is unlikely, although such a scenario was mention in the recent PNAS paper on the spread of the Fujian strain in southern China.
2006 isolates of H5N1 in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Tyva in southern Siberia have been Qinghai, signaling the continued dominance of Qinghai in migratory birds, which are the likely source of the outbreak in South Korea. Similarly, the sequence of the H5N1 from the recent fatal infection in Egypt was also the Qinghai strain, signaling more Qinghai outbreaks this season in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in birds and people
H5N1 evolves via recombination, so the sequence database provides a history of transmission and dual infections involving H5N1. This database predicts that the isolates in South Korea will share many polymorphisms with the 2006 isolates in Mongolia and Tyva. However, many additional serotypes (H3N2, H6N1, H9N2) were found in live markets in South Korea, so sharing of polymorphisms with these isolates is also possible.
These predictions, however, are dependent on a complete and robust sequence database. The current public database is heavily biased by partial and withheld sequences, as well as poor surveillance. The detection of just one Qinghai isolate in eastern China is but one of many examples of poor surveillance. This is compounded by the multiple partial H5N1 sequences that have been deposited for Asian isoaltes collected between 1999 and 2006. Although the sequences have been published, and a free sequencing program is available through NIAID, the labs publishing the data have elected to withhold the samples and sequences.
This behavior should cease. These hoarding labs act as consultants to the WHO, and therefore are mailed samplesfrom around teh world for confirmation. The confirmed samples are used to isolate and sequence H5N1, but the sequencing labs control the data and contribute to a WHO sponsored private database at Los Alamos that can be accessed by a handful of WHO consultingb labs. Since most of the sequences have been released in partial form or discussed in peer review publications, the excuses used to hoard the data are no longer operative.
St Jude and the University of Hong Kong have collected most of the published H5N1 sequences. The partial sequences include isolates from 1999 through 2006 and have been discussed in multiple publication. Moreover, St Jude has used the NIAID program to generate and release over 1000 flu sequences, but all released data are from sequences other than H5N1. Similarly, the WHO affiliate lab in Weybridge is hoarding over 1000 of the sequences from the H5N1 outbreaks in late 2005 and early 2006 in Europe and the Middle East, including human sequences with important receptor binding domain changes, some of which have also been discussed in peer reviewed publications.
The continued hoarding of these sequences prevents independent confirmation of data presented in the peer reviewed papers in high profile journals such as Nature, Science, and PNAS as well as more specialized journals such as Emerging Infectious Diseases, Virology, and Journal of Virology.
These WHO affiliated labs have maintained that the changes in H5N1 sequences are due to random mutations, and future vaccine targets cannot be predicted. However, the public sequence data includes obvious examples of recombination, and most of the "random mutations" are readily found in prior sequences, supporting acquisitions of the "point mutations" by recombination.
The hoarding of these sequences, including those that were described years ago, undermines the underlying concept of peer review, which demands independent confirmation. On a more short term, practical level, the hoarded data limits the generation of current PCR primers or selection of appropriate vaccine targets.
The hoarded sequences were largely generated by public funds from samples collected by public health agencies. The withholding of the sequences for years, as H5N1 rapidly evolves, should not be tolerated by the funding agencies, or the public, which funds the funding agencies.
|
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 24 2006 at 8:29pm |
An outbreak of avian influenza subtype H9N8 among chickens in South Korea.
National Veterinary Research & Quarantine Service, MAF, Anyang, 430-824, Korea.
Low pathogenic avian influenza subtype H9N8 was diagnosed on a Korean native chicken farm in Gyeonggi province, South Korea, in late April 2004.
Clinical signs included moderate respiratory distress, depression, mild diarrhoea, loss of appetite and a slightly elevated mortality (1.4% in 5 days). Pathologically, mucopurulent tracheitis and air sacculitis were prominently found with urate renal deposition.
The isolated A/chicken/Kr/164/04 (H9N8) had an Ala-Ser-Gly-Arg (A/S/G/R) motif at the cleavage site of haemagglutinin, which has been commonly found in H9N2 isolated from Korean poultry.
Phylogenetic analysis of the haemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of the H9N8 avian influenza virus (AIV) isolate showed that reassortment had occurred.
Its haemagglutinin gene was similar to that of Korean H9N2 AIVs, but its neuraminidase gene was closely related to that of A/WBF/Kr/KCA16/03 (H3N8) isolated from the faeces of wild birds in Korea.
The pathogenicity of the isolate was tested on 6-week-old specific pathogen free chickens. The inoculated virus (H9N8) was recovered from most tested organs, including the trachea, lung, kidney, spleen, and caecal tonsil. This is the first report of an outbreak of low pathogenic avian influenza in chickens caused by AIV subtype H9N8.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 25 2006 at 3:02am |
Confirmed postive.
South Korea confirms bird flu of H5N1 strain
25 Nov 2006 09:51:56 GMT
Source: Reuters
SEOUL, Nov 25 (Reuters) - South Korea said on Saturday a poultry farm was hit by bird flu, saying it found the H5N1 strain of avian influenza in the country's first outbreak in three years of the virus that is potentially fatal for humans.
The agriculture ministry said earlier this week it suspected that a highly virulent strain of bird flu killed 6,000 chickens at a farm in the southwest part of the country that lies on a path for migratory birds.
The results of testing indicated the farm was struck by the H5N1 strain, an agriculture ministry official said. http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/templates/birdflu/window.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alertnet.org%2Fthenews%2Fnewsdesk%2FSEO158283.htm
|
|
roni3470
Adviser Group
Joined: August 30 2006
Location: Colorado
Status: Offline
Points: 5390
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 25 2006 at 4:54am |
|
I thought the low path forms didnt kill birds....at least when it was in the states they were saying the birds didn't even show signs of sickness from it much less that it could kill 200 birds....
|
|
NOW is the Season to Know
that Everything you Do
is Sacred
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 25 2006 at 9:34pm |
|
If South Korea has it, North Korea will get it, if they dont have it already. They are starving, so I dont see the North culling anything they can use for food. Not to mention, the little dictator is not going to release valid information. That could be bad.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 26 2006 at 7:25pm |
vstr wrote:
If South Korea has it, North Korea will get it, if they dont have it already. They are starving, so I dont see the North culling anything they can use for food. Not to mention, the little dictator is not going to release valid information. That could be bad. |
On north Korea 
I read from New Zealand news they mentioned 6 farms in Sth Korea.
North Korea takes aim at bird flu after South is hit
Sun 26 Nov 2006 8:07 PM ET
SEOUL, Nov 27 (Reuters) - North Korea is stepping up measures to prevent bird flu, its official media said on Monday, following an announcement over the weekend from the South that it had an outbreak of the highly virulent H5N1 strain.
North Korea, which had an outbreak of bird flu at two poultry farms near Pyongyang in February 2005, said it had inoculated poultry and increased checks along its borders.
"Quarantine measures against avian influenza are being conducted with stepped up activity," KCNA news agency quoted a health official as saying.
South Korea's agriculture ministry ordered the culling of 236,000 poultry within a 500-metre (1,640-ft) radius of a poultry farm in North Cholla province about 170 km (100 miles) from Seoul where the H5N1 strain was found.
Quarantine authorities also banned the shipment of more than 5 million poultry from 221 farms within a 10-km (6.2-mile) radius of the farm.
http://www.birdflubreakingnews.com/templates/birdflu/window.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Ftoday.reuters.com%2FNews%2FCrisesArticle.aspx%3FstoryId%3DSEO271071
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 26 2006 at 8:03pm |
|
ITS THE H5N1.......
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 27 2006 at 3:59am |
27/11/06 1of 3 posts of Henry's re S Korea
Commentary
Bird Flu Spread To Three South Korean West Coast Locations
******** Commentary
November 27, 2006
The agriculture ministry said the death of some 200 chickens at a farm in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Seoul, was due to a mild strain of bird flu not lethal to humans.
The ministry said the government would ban the movement of birds from the Pyeongtaek farm, but that sick chickens would not be slaughtered because they usually recover from the mild strain.
On Thursday the ministry announced an apparently more virulent suspected outbreak in the southern city of Iksan, the first suspected bird flu case since the nation declared itself free of the disease last December.
The above comments describe two of the three bird flu outbreaks clustering on the western coast of the South Korean peninsula, 70-210 kilometers south of Seoul. This clustering in time and space increase the likelihood that these outbreaks are linked to wild birds.
The first outbreak has led to a massive cull and quarantine due to the detection of HPAI H5N1. The outbreak described above has been reported as a serotype other than H5N1 or H5N2, but additional details have not been published. Similarly, the limited number of detected infections has suggested that the third outbreak is also low path avian influenza.
In 2003, H3N2, H6N1, and H9N2 were detected in South Korean live markets. while farm outbreaks of H5N1 and H5N2 were also reported in 2003 and 2004 respectively.
The timing and location of the latest series of outbreaks points toward a migratory bird source. More information on the serotypes of the most recent outbreaks, as well as the strain of H5N1 and sequence data would be useful.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 27 2006 at 10:11am |
|
Thanks Candles.
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 27 2006 at 10:28am |
In September this year, health officials said five South Koreans had been infected by the H5N1 virus two years ago while helping slaughter birds, but had shown no symptoms.
In February four people were confirmed to have been infected with H5N1, but they also showed no symptoms. - AFP/ch
................................................................................................
please see...
|
|
Guests
Guest Group
|
Post Options
Thanks(0)
Quote Reply
Posted: November 27 2006 at 12:09pm |
Recombined Newcastle viruses
(rL-H5 strain expressing HA gene of subtype H5 AI)
|
|
