Avian Influenza Disease Emergency
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FAOAIDEnews Situation Update 80 Animal Influenza Disease Emergency 7 September 2011 HPAI outbreaks reported in this publication refer to officially confirmed cases only. The information is compiled from the following sources: World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), national governments and their ministries, and the European Commission (EC) – these sources are responsible for any errors or omissions. Bird Flu Rears its Head Again: Increased Preparedness and Surveillance Urged Against Variant Strain On 29 August 2011, FAO urged heightened readiness and surveillance against a possible major resurgence of the H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) amid signs that a new variant of H5N1 virus is spreading in Asia and beyond, with unpredictable risks to human health. The H5N1 virus has infected 565 people since it first appeared in 2003, killing 331 of them, according to the latest WHO figures available. The latest death occurred last month in Cambodia, which has registered eight cases of human infection this year — all of them fatal. Since 2003 H5N1 has killed or forced the culling of more than 400 million domestic poultry and caused an estimated $20 billion of economic damage across the globe before it was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in 2006. However, the virus remained endemic in five nations, although the number of outbreaks in domestic poultry and wild bird populations shrank steadily from an annual peak of 4,000 to just 302 in mid 2008. But outbreaks have risen progressively since, with almost 800 cases recorded between 2010 and 2011. Virus spread in both poultry and wild birds At the same time, 2008 marked the beginning of renewed geographic expansion of the H5N1 virus both in poultry and wild birds. The advance appears to be associated with migratory bird movements or other possible mechanism of virus dissemination (trade, contaminated materials), according to FAO Chief Veterinary Officer Juan Lubroth. He said migrations help the virus travel over long distances, so that H5N1 has in the past 24 months shown up in poultry or wild birds in countries that had been virus-free for several years. "Wild birds may introduce the virus, but it is peoples' actions in poultry production and marketing that spread it," Lubroth noted. Contents Bird Flu Rears Its Head Again ........................................... 1-2 Science Against AI in Viet Nam Financed by Donors ........................................... 2-3 At a Glance ........................................... 5 Summary of confirmed HPAI outbreaks ........................................... 7-8 AIDEnews is an FAO ECTAD publication Editor: Sigfrido Burgos, ECTAD Communications Unit ([email protected]) Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) 1 Recently affected areas are to be found in Israel and the Palestinian Territories (2011), Bulgaria (2010), Romania (2010), Nepal (2010) and Mongolia (2011). A further cause for concern, Lubroth said, is the appearance in China and Viet Nam of a variant virus apparently able to sidestep the defences provided by existing vaccines. In Viet Nam, which suspended its springtime poultry vaccination campaign this year, most of the northern and central parts of the country -- where H5N1 is endemic -- have been invaded by this new virus strain. High alert Viet Nam's veterinary services are on high alert and reportedly considering a novel, targeted vaccination campaign this fall. Virus circulation in Viet Nam may pose a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as endangering the Korean peninsula and Japan further afield. Wild bird migration can also spread the virus to other continents. "The general departure from the progressive decline observed in 2004-2008 could mean that there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their backyard," Lubroth said. The countries where H5N1 is still firmly entrenched – Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia and Viet Nam — are likely to face the biggest problems but no country can consider itself safe, he said. "Preparedness and surveillance remain essential," Lubroth underlined. "This is no time for complacency. No one can let their guard down with H5N1." The Science Against Avian Influenza in Viet Nam is Sponsored by Donors Between 2003 and 2011, a total of 63 countries and territories throughout the world have reported outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza A subtype H5N1 (H5N1 HPAI) in domestic poultry and/or wild birds. These countries and territories can be clustered into four geographical locations: Africa (12), Asia (18), Europe (26), and Near East (7). Also, from 2003 to 2011, the cumulative number of confirmed human cases of H5N1 HPAI reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) is 565; of these 331 have died. The majority of human cases occurred in four countries: Egypt, Indonesia, People’s Republic of China, and Viet Nam. While it is true that H5N1 HPAI may have escaped the frightening newspaper headlines of the last few years, it is far too early to turn the page on avian influenza. Currently, scientists in Viet Nam have their heads busy and hands full figuring out how to beat back a vaccine-resistant strain of virus currently killing chickens and ducks in scattered pockets in the northern part of the country. This scientific endeavour requires economic and physical resources as well as technical expertise, and assistance is being provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) 2 To give some dimension of the problem H5N1 HPAI represents to variegated poultry producers in Southeast Asia, the Vietnamese Department of Animal Health has said that, over the past eight years, authorities have had to cull 63 million poultry in 40 of the country’s 63 provinces. But this is only the impact on animals. With regards to humans, of the 119 cases of H5N1 HPAI reported in Viet Nam since 2003, 59 have been fatal. Most of Viet Nam’s infections over the past eight years have come during recurrent waves of outbreaks around Tet festivities, the annual Lunar New Year celebrations in January or February when millions of people, chickens, ducks, and geese are on the move, often closely together, making it much easier for viruses to spread. Authorities at the Vietnamese Department of Animal Health believe that with continued donor support the country can maintain its position and gain positive results, setting its priorities on research and other activities for influenza control in the country. This is particularly relevant at this juncture given that experts at the National Center for Veterinary Diagnosis (NCVD) detected a newly classified clade “2.3.2.1”, which is a specific virus strain still characterized as highly pathogenic and one of ten virus groups detected in Viet Nam over the years. Many of the experts and scientists studying and monitoring viral clades and the movement of viruses in Viet Nam are virologists at the NCVD and in eight regional laboratories. Since 2006, they have received funding and technical support from USAID and other various projects. The determination that vaccines currently used in the country were ineffective against some viruses of the 2.3.2.1 strain has moved Viet Nam to postpone new vaccinations until an effective vaccine can be developed. In response, USAID is working with international reference laboratories to find an effective vaccine that can then be tested by the NCVD. USAID and FAO are also currently wrapping up a large-scale, two-year operational research project at the provincial level to identify best practices and policy guidance on a safe, effective, and sustainable poultry vaccination strategy to limit the spread of H5N1. For its part, FAO is always open to work with donors to assist member states. Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) 3 MOST RECENT H5N1 AI OUTBREAKS 2006-2011 Note: This list has been compiled on the basis of information up to 31 August 2011. 2011 August Bangladesh, Egypt, Viet Nam July Cambodia June Indonesia May Korea (Republic of) April Israel (Jordan Valley), Mongolia March China (Hong Kong SAR), India, Japan, Myanmar February West Bank 2010 October Nepal June Russian Federation May China April Lao PDR March Bhutan, Bulgaria, Romania 2009 March Germany 2008 November Thailand September Togo July Nigeria June Pakistan May United Kingdom March Turkey February Switzerland, Ukraine January Saudi Arabia 2007 December Benin, Iran, Poland October Afghanistan August France July Czech Republic June Ghana, Malaysia April Kuwait January Côte d'Ivoire, Hungary 2006 August Sudan July Spain June Niger May Burkina Faso, Denmark April Djibouti, Sweden March Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Croatia, Greece, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Slovenia February Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Iraq, Italy, Slovakia Green: areas which never had reported outbreaks in poultry Sources: World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), European Commission (EC), FAO and national Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) 4 AT A GLANCE The latest HPAI outbreaks for the period 1 July – 31 August 2011 Note AIDEnews publishes reports of confirmed HPAI cases using the following sources: OIE, European Commission, FAO and national governments. AFRICA Egypt A total of 26 H5 HPAI positive cases were reported in nine governorates during July: Behera (1), Fayoum (4), Giza (4), Kafr-el-Sheikh (1), Qena (1), Qualioubia (3), Menoufia (7), Minya (1) and Sharqia (4) Governorates (number of outbreaks in brackets); and a total of seven H5 HPAI positive cases were reported in six governorates in August: Beni-Suef (1), Fayoum (1), Gharbia (1), Giza (1), Menoufia (2) and Sharqia (1) Governorates. ASIA Bangladesh After a month without H5N1 HPAI outbreak reported in July; H5N1 HPAI outbreaks were reported again in commercial chicken farms in Chuadanga Sadar and Damurhuda Upazilas, Chuadanga District, Khulna Division and Badalgachhi Upazila, Naogaon District, Rajshahi Division. A total of 2,020 birds died and 23,345 were destroyed.