BIRD FLU SMASHES INDIA POULTRY INDUSTRY IN ONE WEEK

$US1 BILLION LOST

1.5 MILLION JOBS GONE

One week into India's bird flu outbreak and a massive plunge in the number of people eating chicken and eggs has seen the Indian poultry industry shed one and a half million jobs and more than $US1 billion in losses.

The H5N1 virus was first detected in the the states of Maharashtra and Ucchal eight days ago. More than 250,000 chickens have since been slaughtered in efforts to contain the outbreak.

While experts the world over have clearly stated the deadly virus cannot be caught from eating cooked chicken, millions of Indians have removed the food staple from their menus. The entire $US13.5 billion dollar poultry industry in India is now under threat.

The industry employs some of the lowest paid workers in the country, but the massive losses have already led to the sacking of more than 60% of the 2.5 million poultry industry workers.

Go here for the full story.

INSIDE THE FRENCH FARM UNDER QUARANTINE

CHIRAC EATS CHICKEN TO PROVE IT IS 'SAFE'

The owner of the French turkey farm now quarantined from the outside world told the newspaper Le Parisien that he believed the bird flu virus arrived on his farm on bales of straw.

Last Wednesday night he checked on his turkeys as they were recovering from a bout of diahorrea. A local vet supplied antibiotics for many of the turkeys.

On Thursday morning, the farmer found 400 turkeys had died, and hundreds more were sick.

All of the surviving turkeys were slaughtered within 48 hours of the farmer contacting agricultural health authorities.

The farmer, his wife and eight year old son are now living under quarantine on the farm, and are being treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. His eleven year old daughter was not at home when local authorities quarantined the farm, within a two mile security zone, and she has since not been allowed to reunite with her family.

Locals travelling on the quiet, country lanes near the security zone have been startled as they are stopped at roadblocks by authorities dressed in bio suits, wearing masks, spraying all cars with disinfectant.

The farmer said he now felt like a pariah. The flu medicine is delivered by local policemen, but the police refuse to approach the house, instead leaving the drugs on the road for the farmer to collect. Mail deliveries have ceased. The family is now starting to run out of food.

*****************

French President Jacques Chiarac, once the country's agriculture minister, made an appearance at France's annual international agricultural fair and promised that there was "absolutely no danger in eating poultry and eggs". Chirac ate a portion of a chicken dish in front of TV cameras in an effort to calm people down over the outbreak. But the fact that not a single live chicken or duck was on display at the fair, for the first time in its 42 year history, did not help to reassure the public.

Chirac was quoted on television, by translators, as saying "a completely unjustified sort of total panic" had developed in France over the past week.

Since the avian influenza virus struck a turkey farm at Ain, close to where two dead wild ducks were found ten days ago, poultry sales in France have plunged by an unofficial estimate as high as 50%.

Japan has now announced a temporary ban on all French poultry products, including those packaged before the current outbreak was announced.

A plan has been discussed to vaccinate all of France's birds, but this will affect the status of poultry product exports, the fourth largest market in the world, worth an estimated $US7 billion a year.

Claim : 9000 Turkeys Have Died On Quarantined French Farm

From Recombinomics :

"The Farms Ministry said a high mortality rate among turkeys was discovered at the farm, which has more than 11,000 birds and is situated in the department of Ain, where two cases of the disease have already been confirmed in wild ducks.

Local sources said around 80 percent of the birds at the farm, which is in a region famous for the quality of its chickens, had already died. Test results are due on Friday.

The above comments indicate almost 9000 turkeys have already died on the farm in France. The farm is near Ain, where an H5N1 infected wild duck had been reported. It is likely that the turkeys will also be H5N1 positive."

Bird Flu Hits London Tourist Hotspots

The six black ravens that have become infamous at the Tower of London are now locked up, and fed by a man in a bio-suit, as fears of a bird flu outbreak sweep England.

The ravens are part of Tower legend. When they leave the Tower, London will crumble, as the ancient tale goes.

They are popular with tourists, who gather to watch them being handfed raw meat, but the ravens are surly, and tourists are often chased and attacked by the unruly birds.

A few miles away, thousands of pigeons congregate around Trafalgar Square every day, drawing millions of tourists a year, who pay to feed the birds and get their photos taken with pigeons sitting on their heads and shoulders.

London Mayor, Ken Livingsone, has called on tourists and residents to stop feeding the tens of thousands of pigeons in the city, particularly around Trafalgar Square, believing this might help reduce the chances of bird flu spreading.

Livingstone's main concern was with areas where thousands of pigeons gathered, and the threat posed by bird faeces, which is believed to be one of the most potent sources of new infections from the virus.

17 RUSSIAN VILLAGES UNDER LOCK DOWN QUARANTINE

After outbreaks of bird flu on three poultry farms in the Dagestan province, some 17 villages have been quarantined from the outside world.

EU ROLLS OUT MILITARY TO HELP CONTAIN VIRUS OUTBREAK

The EU is using the military to shut down poultry farms and chicken coops and to enforce quarantine zones around outbreak hotspots, in further desperate attempts to save the EU poultry business worth an estimated $US30 billion a year. The EU countries hold poultry stocks of more than one billion birds.

Quarantine zones have proven to extremely effective in halting the spread of the virus, with Vietnam being a prime example. Vietnam has suffered no new outbreaks of bird flu amongst its vast poultry businesses in almost five months.

A three kilomtre exclusion zone has been erected around the location in Lyon, France, where one dead duck infected wiht the virus was found last week. It was the first and only case of bird flu in France thus far.

GERMANY DEPLOYS RECON JETS AND SOLDIERS IN BIOHAZARD SUITS

Reconnaisance jets and biohazard-suited up soldiers have been deployed in Germany to search for infected birds and humans showing signs of the virus. India has been conducting house to house searches for four days in an operation locals have likened to "a war zone".

The virus has now been confirmed as having reached the German mainland, after first appearing on the Baltic island of Ruegen, where it killed a number of swans.

The Worldwide Spread Of Bird Flu - February 21, 2006

IN EGYPT CHICKEN PRICES PLUNGE, FISH PRICES SURGE

MILLIONS OF JOBS THREATENED BY COLLAPSE OF CHICKEN INDUSTRY

CHICKEN SUPPLIED 50% OF ALL EGYPTIANS ANIMAL PROTEIN INTAKE

Bird flu spreads rapidly, in only four days, through wild bird and poultry across Egypt.

Widespread panic reported. Egyptian government attempts to calm farmers and consumers failing.

Egyptian newspapers are reporting suspected human infections, but officials claim all tests on possible human cases of avian influenza have proved negative.

Demand for fresh chicken and poultry products has collapsed across Egypt, a market worth some $US3 milion per year, providing full-or-part-time employment to over 2.5 million people.

Chicken prices per kilo have plunged by two thirds. The smaller poultry merchants have closed their businesses and a major supermarket chain has removed all chicken meat from its shelves.

The price of fish has risen 40%, but demand is already outstripping supply.

The Egyptian government has demanded all chickens kept in backyards or on rooftops be removed, but few have complied thus far.

Around the world, poultry products account for some 20% of all the animal protein consumed by humans. Due to the high prices of red meat and fish, chicken supplies 50% of the animal protein consumed by most Egyptians. Primarily, it is the main source of protein for the poor across Egypt.

"HIGHLY LIKELY" AUSTRALIA ALREADY INFECTED SAYS TOP VACCINE SPECIALIST

From the Melbourne Age :

"Queensland-based medicinal chemist Professor Mark von Itzstein, who has played a key role in efforts to develop a vaccine for the deadly H5N1 strain, said birds migrating from Indonesia could have brought the virus to northern Australia.

"'The fact is Indonesia has now reported cases of bird flu ... and this is about the time of year the birds start to migrate.'

"'There is no magic curtain between Indonesia and Australia and given the expanse of our land it would not be surprising if it was here,' Prof von Itzstein said."

House To House Inspections In India For Sick People, Dying Birds

Indian health officials, wearing masks, gloves and full body protection suits, started house to house searches for sick people and dying birds on Monday.

Famers burned more than 200,000 dead chickens at deserted poultry farms around Navapur, some 250 miles from Bombay.

A 27 year old owner of a poultry farm died after showing bird flu-like symptoms. Tests will soon reveal whether he had the virus.

The masked health inspectors who 'raided' homes around Navapur checked hundreds of people for signs of the virus and insisted all chickens kept in yards at private homes had to be killed and disposed of.

Locals told media it was like being in a war zone. Checkpoints now block all roads in and out of the district, to prevent people smuggling poultry.

Some 50 farms in district are now being emptied of all poultry stocks, with almost a million birds expected to be slaughtered, and the farms will be closed for up to three months.

India exports more than $80 million worth of eggs and poultry to Europe, Japan and the Middle East each year. Losses for the Indian poultry trade are expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars from this first massive outbreak alone.

IN GERMANY HUNDREDS OF TROOPS WERE BROUGHT IN TO DISPOSE OF DEAD WILD BIRDS IN AN EFFORT TO CONTAIN THE VIRUS

BIRD FLU RETURNED TO MALAYSIA, KILLING AT LEAST 40 CHICKENS OVER THE WEEKEND. THESE WERE THE FIRST REPORTED CASES OF THE H5N1 VIRUS IN MALAYSIA FOR MORE THAN A YEAR.

ON TUESDAY, A DEAD MAGPIE FOUND NEAR A PUBLIC MARKET IN HONG KONG WAS CONFIRMED AS HAVING DIED OF THE VIRUS, THE LATEST IN A STRING OF BIRD FLU RELATE BIRD DEATHS

IN NIGERIA, THE H5N1 VIRUS HAS BEEN FOUND IN THE NORTHERN STATES OF KATSINA AND ZAMFARA. FIVE NIGERIAN STATES NOW HAVE THE VIRUS. NO HUMAN INFECTIONS HAVE BEEN REPORTED.

WITHIN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, THE FOLLOWING COUNTRIES HAVE REPORTED DETECTION OF THE H5N1 VIRUS IN FARMED POULTRY OR WILD BIRDS :
FRANCEGERMANYGREECEITALYSLOVENIA

AUSTRIA

HUNGARY

BULGARIA

ROMANIA

CROATIA

AZERBAIJAN

RUSSIA

TURKEY

UKRAINE

BULGARIA

EUROPEAN CHICKEN FARMS REPORT CONSUMPTION OF POULTRY PRODUCTS HAS PLUNGED ACROSS EUROPE. LOSSES SO FAR EXPECTED TO TOP $500 MILLION. EU AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER SAYS CONDITIONS NOT SERIOUS ENOUGH, YET, TO WARRANT COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR POULTRY FARMERS.

Australian Government Prepares To Protect Vaccine Maker From Lawsuits Over Possible Side Effects

"The Federal Government has signalled that vaccine company CSL will be protected from legal action if new bird flu treatments have damaging side-effects.

"As Health Minister Tony Abbott handed more money to researchers to protect Australia from the flu threat, he promised that the Government would do everything possible to help CSL fast-track production of a human vaccine.

"The Melbourne-based drug-maker has predicted its vaccine against the deadly bird flu virus could be available in Australia within six weeks of a pandemic."

THE SUDDEN AND MYSTERIOUSLY RAPID SPREAD OF THE VIRUS HAS EXPERTS CONFUSED AND WORRIED FROM THE EU TO INDIA

Bird flu is spreading rapidly across the EU and the experts are baffled. Why does it appear here? they ask, and yet not there.

The H5N1 virus rose up out of China almost five five years ago, but then barely moved beyond Asia. In recent weeks, the virus has sparked massive bird slaughters and crippling fear across six EU countries and more than a dozen other countries surrounding the EU.

And then there's India. With so many chickens kept in such close proximity to humans, and with so many migratory birds crossing the continent, India should have been one of the first countries infected when H5N1 took flight a few years ago. But it has only shown itself in the last week in India, sparking slaughters of 50,000 plus birds.

From the Sydney Morning Herald :

"The most perplexing report was that of a single case in France, a wild duck found dead in Lyons, because migratory birds from Asia that carry the virus do not normally go there at this time of year.

"'After several years in one place, why is it now moving so rapidly?" the director of the Animal Production and Health Division at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, Samuel Jutzi, wondered. "There is a lot about this that we just don't know."

EU CONSIDERS MASSIVE VACCINATION PLAN FOR ALL POULTRY

EU POULTRY INDUSTRIES THROWN INTO CHAOS

BIRD FLU HAS NOW SPREAD TO SIX EU COUNTRIES



A Europe-wide vaccination program for all poultry is now being considered by EU governments, as French farmers demand hundreds of billions of pounds worth of compensation, following the discovery of bird flu in one dead duck near Lyons.

The French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand has insisted on television, in the face of plunging poultry sales, that no commercially farmed birds have been found to be infected with the virus and so it is safe to keep eating eggs, ducks and chicken products.

The powerful chief farmers' union of France has now demanded the government open up access to funds so poultry farmers and producers can help fight the spread of avian influenza.

The EU government has now introduced a 6.5 mile quarantine and surveillance zone around any farms suspected to be infected with bird flu. This applies to poultry, and wild birds that may have be found on a farm. The EU Is now considering an even larger quarantine zone.

France has already announced it will vaccinate some million birds, even though there is no specific vaccine for the H5N1 strain of bird flu. A generic vaccination will be used. But this vaccination program may halt export sales as the initiation of a vaccination program means a country can no longer its poultry is free of disease.

BRITISH NEWSPAPERS BLAST 'DON'T PANIC!' FROM THEIR FRONT PAGES

DEAD SWANS FOUND ACROSS BRITAIN

FRANCE CONFIRMS DUCKS DIED OF BIRD FLU

At least nine dead swans are now being tested in the UK for the bird flu virus. The dead birds were found in five different locations across the UK.

This news is causing major fear creep in Britain, particularly as in the same dramatic news breaks that announced the discovery, France was confirmed as having found its first deads birds infected with the virus.

The Blair government claims it is prepared for a bird flu outbreak in poultry farms and amongst birds in the wild.

But critics there argue that far more energy, money and resources have been expended on setting up contingencies and emergency plans for a human pandemic, which is far less likely than dozens of UK poultry farms being devastated by the virus.

The dead swans were found and reported by members of the public in Winchester, Preston, Shrewsbury, Thirsk, Hertfordshire and Bury St Edmonds. The British government sent up a helpline for people to report these kind of discoveries.

The British Veterinary Association said the heightened awareness of avian flu meant anybody finding a dead bird is likely to report it.

"A one-off dead bird isn't necessarily something to worry about," a spokesman for the British Veterinary Association told the media.

"But if you come across several, that's more serious."

CUTTING THROUGH THE BIRD FLU HYSTERIA

CLEAR AND BASIC Q & A ON BIRD FLU SPELLS OUT THE FACTS AS THEY'RE KNOWN FOR BRITS, AS THE VIRUS GETS CLOSER TO UK

Go to the Independent for the Q & A :

"How did this start and where is it going?

H5N1, the current lethal strain, emerged in mid-2003 in South-east Asia, where most of the human deaths have occurred. H5N1 is considered to be endemic among birds in parts of Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Countries as widespread as Turkey, Japan and Egypt have reported outbreaks. And it has now reached Europe.

What is the difference between the current bird flu outbreak and a potential human pandemic?

Bird flu has spread through poultry flocks worldwide and some humans who have come into direct contact with infected poultry have contracted it and died. The big fear is that it will mutate into a lethal strain of human-to-human flu, but there is no evidence of this yet."

YESTERDAY : INDIA REPORTS FIRST POULTRY INFECTED WITH AVIAN INFLUENZA, 50,000 BIRDS FOUND DEAD

TODAY : INDIA ANNOUNCES FIRST HUMAN DEATH FROM AVIAN INFLUENZA VIRUS

An emergency campaign is unrolling in India to isolate poultry farms and villages that have been exposed to the bird flu virus over the past weeks.

India is the world's second most populous nation.

At least eight people are now under observation after showing symptoms of human infection by the avian influenza virus.

During television news broadcasts screened in Australia, poultry workers in India were shown attempting to bury thousands of culled chickens, but they were no protective gear, not even gloves or a face mask. The workers were shown picking up the dead birds and tossing them into pits.

The Bird Flu virus is now believed to have the ability to survive in poultry and wildbird droppings, remaining highly infectious. The virus may also be able to 'escape' a quarantine zone by travelling in the bird flu droppings that stick to workers boots.

MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF EARLY STAGE HUMAN BIRD FLU INFECTION

Sore throatAching musclesLethargyInfections of the eyes

Breathing problems

Chest pains

EGYPTIAN LEADERS ISSUE CALL FOR CALM AS BIRD FLU PANIC SPREADS

"Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nazef on Saturday urged the public not to panic, one day after seven chickens were tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, the first such case found in Egypt.

'The public should not panic and the government is taking all measures to protect them,' the prime minister said.

GERMANY DECLARES ZERO TOLERANCE IN FIGHT AGAINST BIRD FLU SPREAD

CLAIMS VIRUS LIVES ON IN BIRD DROPPINGS

From Deutsche Welle :

"Germany's agriculture minister expects bird flu to spread throughout the country and urged officials to prepare for a worst-case scenario."

Dead swans now litter a Baltic Sea island.

The German government has ordered all poultry stocks to be kept indoors. For those violating the emergency order, the German health minister has stated, 'There will be zero tolerance.'

"According to the Friedrich Loeffler Institute, the disease is highly contagious and can easily be picked up and spread when people walk through bird droppings in contaminated areas."

FEAR OF BIRD FLU INFECTION FROM EATING CHICKENS SPREADS ACROSS AFRICA

NIGERIA SENDS TROOPS TO BORDER TO STOP POULTRY SMUGGLING

NIGER POULTRY BANISHED BY CONSUMERS AFTER BIRD FLU OUTBREAK IN NEIGHBOURING NIGERIA

In markets, cafes and street eateries across West Africa, customers are turning away from chicken and egg meals as fears of bird flu infection from eating poultry products intensifies.

Some market stall owners are reporting zero sales of live chickens and dressed chicken meat.

Chickens and eggs make up a large part of the daily diet for millions of Niger's most poor and hungriest people. Now they are coming to believe one of their main sources of protein may kill them, with one meal being enough to infect and kill.

No human cases have been reported so far in Niger, but a massive outbreak of avian influenza on poultry farms across neighbouring Nigeria has strengthened fears of a pandemic.

Virtually all West African governments have now banned poultry imports from Nigeria.

Intenational influenza experts have added to the confusion and fear by claiming the African continent has neither the technical knowledge or health infrastructure to halt the spread of bird flu.

In Nigeria, tens of thousands of chickens have been slaughtered since the first poultry farm outbreak was reported last week. The announcement of bird flu's arrival on the African continent saw poultry vendors panic-selling diseased birds before they were discovered. This action is believed to have helped further the spread of the virus.

Soldiers and health experts are now being stationed along Niger's 1500 kilometre southern frontier with Nigeria to stop all imports of poultry products. All imports are to be burned.

Such action will do nothing, however, to stem the traders who transport chickens and ducks on foot or by bicycle or motorcycle through forests and scrublands into Niger.

In Cameroon, preparations are already being made in cafes and restuarants for the impending day when customers no longer order chicken or duck dishes.

Goats are expected to become popular as a replacement.

(Information for this story was sourced from the Cape Argus, February 18, 2006. No link available)

FRENCH POULTRY EXPORTS SMASHED BY BIRD FLU FEARS

WORLD'S FOURTH LARGEST POULTRY EXPORTER LOSES 20-30% OF SALES

"France, the world's fourth largest poultry exporter, has lost about a third of its trade over fears about the unrelenting spread of bird flu across the globe, industry officials say.

France has now advised all its poultry farms to keep birds indoors, in an attempt to stem chances of contamination from wild birds flying into the country from regions already devastated by avian influenza.

France exports 672,000 tonnes of poultry to Russia, Japan and the Middle East, where it has now lost 20 t0 30 percent of its business.

Before the fears of avian influenza smashed the French poultry market, competition in the mega-billion dollar world poultry trade was heating up. Thailand, Brazil and the United States are now all major players.

The French poultry industry has seen net profits halve in less than six years, down from a record $1.2 billion euros in 1998.

Farmers across Europe are now pressuring the European Union to pay up to 50 euros for every 100 kilos of poultry that dies or has to be killed.

Austria, Germany, Greece, Italy and Slovenia have all reported outbreaks of avian influenza in the past few months and millions of birds have been destroyed.

MASSIVE RUSSIAN POULTRY FARM WIPED OUT IN DAYS BY BIRD FLU

350,000 CHICKENS DIE IN A WEEK

Avian influenza has killed or led to the destruction of more than 500,000 poultry birds on poultry farms in Dagestan. The most severely hit lost its entire poultry bird population to the virus between January 25 and February 1.

The poultry farm showed a 100% perecent death rate of infected birds.

AUSTRALIAN HEALTH MINISTER CUTS SUPPLY OF ANTI-FLU DRUGS FOR NON-PANDEMIC INFECTIONS

AUSTRALIAN SCIENTISTS CLAIM SUCCESS WITH BIRD FLU VACCINE

800 CHILDREN TO BE EXPOSED IN NEW TRIALS

The Australian health minister, Tony Abbott said the anti-flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza will no longer be available to the public to treat seasonal influenza outbreaks.

Stocks of these drugs in Australia are now being stockpiled by the government "for a possible pandemic outbreak".

In recent clinical trials, 400 volunteers from Melbourne and Adelaide were injected with an experimental bird flu vaccine twice, three weeks apart.

While the vaccine may prove effective in stopping birds from infecting humans with the deadly virus, it provides no certainty of halting a human avian influenza pandemic.

"The vaccine is based on the animal-to-human form of the virus. As a pandemic requires a human-to-human virus, the effectiveness of the vaccine in such a situation is uncertain."

The prototype vaccine might not protect Australians from a pandemic, claimed a professor, "we don't know for sure".

A second trial is now planned where some 800 children will be exposed to the experimental vaccine. The young and elderly will need much stronger doses than those first tested, the initial trials have revealed, raising concerns about side effects from the experiments, particularly when so many young children will be exposed to the avian influenza virus during the clinical trials.

The vaccine manufacturer said production capabilities at its plant will be doubled "to meet demand", claiming 40 million doses of vaccine (the amount the company estimates will be needed to cover the Australian population), could be turned out in only three months.

INDIA BIRD FLU OUTBREAK ANNOUNCED

50,000 CHICKENS DIED FROM THE VIRUS

India estimated to have 1/2 billion poultry birds.

From the AFP :

"With migratory birds from affected countries such as China passing through the subcontinent in the winter, Indian officials have become increasingly concerned about the possibility of infection.

"Indian officials have said that in the eventuality of human-to-human transmission, bird flu would be a massive challenge for the country of more than one billion people with its underfunded health infrastructure."

Worst Case Scenario : Global Influenza Pandemic Projected Death Tolls

Total Deaths : 142 million human deaths.

China : 28.4 million

India : 24 million

Indonesia : 11.4 million

Philippines : 4.1 million

Japan : 2.1 million

United States : 2 million

Europe : 5.6 million

65 million plus deaths estimated for “the world’s least developed countries”.

Source : Lowry Institute Report.

EUROPEAN BIRD FLU ALREADY RAVAGING CONTINENT

VILLAGES QUARANTINED AS MILLIONS OF BIRDS DIE

Reports on CNN yesterday confirmed the following :

Germany confirms first case of avian influenza in birds

Dagestan reports deaths of 350,000 birds from the virus

Slovenia confirms first case of avian influenza in birds

From Romania to Leichtenstein villages are being quarantined and all poultry has been
ordered indoors

The EU will quarantine farms and villages out to a 6.5-mile radius with a surveillance zone where bird flu is confirmed, or suspected.

Two Iraqis have died from avian influenza infections

Dead swans found on a Baltic Sea island confirmed to have died from bird flu.

Slovenia confirms a dead swan found near the border with Austria as having died of the virus 35 dead birds are being tested in Denmark for the infection

In Leichtenstein, Austria, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland all poultry, farm and domestic, have been ordered to be kept inside to avoid contact with wild birds possibly infected with the virus

It remains a mystery how the avian influenza virus managed to make a "nearly simultaneous appearance" in Austria, Germany, Slovenia and Italy.

BIRD FLU SPREADING RAPIDLY THROUGH EUROPE, ASIA

A breathtaking sample of headlines from around the world from February 15, 16 and 17, 2006, showing the rapid spread of the avian influenza virus in both bird and human populations. A steady stream of bird deaths, human infections, fears of outbreaks, confusion and growing terror.

Reading through a selection of the hundreds of daily articles posted on bird flu spread, deaths and infections, it is impossible not to wonder if the World Health Organisation has already lost control of this virus.

Bird flu vaccine impossible until after pandemic appears reports UN

China Reports Eighth Flu Death; Says Dead Poultry Might Spread Virus

Two more suspected bird flu patients die in Indonesia

Millions of birds locked indoors as flu spreads in Europe

Hungary confirms bird flu outbreak

Denmark investigates nine dead swans

Norway on full alert following report of bird flu case on German island

Bird Flu Nears Sweden - EU Experts Warn of More Outbreaks

Germany probably had bird flu for months says minister

Bird flu pandemic would spark global downturn

EU holds crisis talks as bird flu spreads across Europe

Deadly Bird Flu Outbreak Confirmed in Russia’s Dagestan Republic

New Nigerian bird flu cases, panic selling blamed

Nigeria Didn't Make Bird Flu Cases Public For Up To 19 Days

Iran says swans in Caspian Sea died of bird flu

Massive chicken die-off in India, Government Denies Bird Flu

Iraqi health minister declares bird flu alert

More suspected cases of bird flu found in Germany

Discovery of dead ducks heightens bird flu fears in Belgium

Nigeria bird flu plan 'failing' warns UN

VOODOO PRIESTS OF AFRICA AT RISK OF BIRD FLU INFECTION

From Reuters :

"'We have identified the groups at risk, including fetishists and followers of the Voodoo cult who sometimes kill animals with their teeth...'"

Goats and sheep can also be used in voodoo rituals and ceremonies, but chickens are the most popular.

"Priests commonly kill birds by ripping their throats out with their teeth or using a knife to cut their heads off, both of which would bring them into contact with chicken blood, one of the ways bird flu is thought to be spread to humans."

150 MILLION POULTRY BIRDS SLAUGHTERED WORLDWIDE IN PAST FEW WEEKS

22 MILLION IN CHINA ALONE

ITALY CHICKEN SALES DOWN 70%

Hundreds of thousands of poultry birds are now being slaughtered every day on farms from Nigeria to Western Europe.

China reports eighth confirmed human death from bird flu infection.

Contamination from dead poultry now considered as cause of virus spread.

Chinese government says four of the twelve officially dead lived in areas where there was no cases of bird flu in poultry.

Last Friday, 35 farmers workers in the Shanxi province of China were put under quarantine and observation after a farm outbreak killed 15,000 birds.

From Italy comes reports that sales of all poultry are down 70 percent solely on the concern of contracting bird flu from eating the cooked meat.

Italian poultry industry losing more than $US7 million per day. Estimate of total damages from the avian influenza scare, and first round of infections in EU countries, is edging towards $US1 billion.

The Italian media have been accused of 'scaremongering' and spreading the fear. The Italian government, and Italian food writers and tv hosts, have been assuring people for months that even if a chicken or duck was mildly infected by the virus, the cooked meat would be safe to eat.

Such reassurances are clearly not working.

SPREAD OF BIRD FLU THROUGH NIGERIA MIGHT BE WORSE THAN FIRST ESTIMATED

FARMERS WHO HAVE NO OTHER SOURCE OF FOOD FOR THEIR FAMILIES TOLD TO DESTROY POULTRY

How bad would the spread of bird flu through a massive, and massively poor country like Nigeria truly be? Incomprehensible, devastating, unstoppable.

The World Health Organisation has sent teams into Nigeria to assess the situation on the ground and are finding it far worse than originally expected. First look ins suggested only a few farms had been infected with avian influenza. But thousands of birds have now died and tens of thousands of birds have been slaughtered, in the face or staunch protest from people barely able to feed themselves and their families with the poultry they raised.

As in the poorest regions of Asia, for millions of Nigerians chickens and ducks and products derived from these birds make up the majority of their daily diet.

New estimates suggest as much as one quarter of the entire country could be infested with avian influenza-riddled wild birds and poultry.

At least one family is under quarantine observation, but it is virtually impossible to determine just how many people might be suffereing from infections and symptoms. There are also severe shortages of such basics as face masks and latex gloves.

Hundred sof people can be seen in photos from Nigera, standing around pits, while bulldozers drive huge piles of dead ostriches and chickens into the holes. Nobody wears a fast mask in the crowd, and yet the dust and feathers of the birds swirl around their heads.

Go here for a more detailed story on the Nigerian outbreak.

French Told To Keep All Birds Indoors As EU Bird Flu Panic Takes Hold

The French food safety agency has advised all farmers to keep poultry in doors for the foreseeable future.

From the AFP news wire : "France is Europe's biggest poultry producer, with free-range birds accounting for 17 percent of its production -- as well as western Europe's main crossroads for migratory birds, potential carriers of the virus.

A spokesman for the food safety agency was quoted as saying : "We have absolutely no control over the introduction of the virus by migratory birds that are about to start returning from Africa to Siberia, Scandinavia and Greenland. It is unavoidable...All migratory species either fly over or stop in France.

French poultry, in particular, now face a greater risk of avian influenza infection following the discovery of the virus in poultry in at least four farms in Nigeria. Dead swans have been found in Greece and Italy, killed by the deadly virus.

Once again the effects on the poultry industry, and free range, organic chickens, ducks and turkeys in paticular, will be enormous, even without the bird flu killing in France.

Avian influenza has now been detected in wild swans in Italy, bordering France, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

China Can't Explain Bird Flu Casualties In Non-Infected Areas

China has reported 11 human cases of avian influenza infections, but cannot explain why all of these infections have occurred in areas where no outbreaks in poultry have been discovered.

"...there was no evidence of the virus mutating into a strain that could be transmitted easily among humans, circumstances that health experts fear would cause a global pandemic that would kill millions of people. 'There is no evidence that this virus is able to go through drastic mutation into an extent that could lead to human-to-human infection,' Mao said. China has reported 34 outbreaks of poultry since the beginning of last year, with most occurring since October."

G8 MONEY MEN GRIM OUT OVER PANDEMIC IMPACT

From News.com.au :

"Some of the poorest developing countries lack the resources....to pay farmers adequately to get rid of sick chickens," World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz said.

"It is very much in the interest of the richest countries to help finance preventative measures in the poorer countries," he said.

"The H5N1 strain of bird flu found in Nigerian poultry is the same virus previously de"tected in Turkey, Europe, China and Southeast Asia, which suggests it was brought to west Africa by migrant birds, an expert with the World Organisation for Animal Health said Friday."

The Asian Development Bank has released a report that indicates a human pandemic of avian influenza could infect one in five of all people in Asia and disappear $US 100 billion a year, with drops in trade and services cut by at least 14 percent.

This is a World Health Organisation graphic showing the spread of the avian influenza virus across the world, as of February 10, 2006 :

INDONESIA : 17th HUMAN DEATH CONFIRMED

IRAQ : 2ND CONFIRMED DEATH. 900,000 WILD BIRDS AND POULTRY SLAUGHTED IN FOUR WEEKS TO CONTAIN OUTBREAK

HUMAN INFLUENZA VIRUS KILLS 35,000 AMERICANS EACH YEAR. 200,000 HOSPITALISED

Four Different Genetic Strains Of Bird Flu Virus Discovered

Any Or All Could Mutate And Trigger Global Pandemic

From Forbes :

"...the H5N1 virus exists frequently in domesticated poultry populations and also in wild birds before they migrate. Using genetic analysis, the researchers found four distinct sub-lineages of the virus existing in birds from different geographical areas.

"Multiple, different vaccines are going to have to be prepared and held ready in case one of these goes human-to-human...It will be necessary to have vaccines to each one of them."

Hong Kong To Ban Poultry Kept In Backyards

Claim Bird Flu Now "Endemic" In Region

"...legislation to be presented within the next two weeks will ban the keeping of live poultry in homes, even for a short period of time.

"...banning backyard farms is necessary as these households do not have safety measures to prevent the poultry from coming into contact with migratory birds."

The ban on 'home poultry' will apply to the raising of chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, quails and pigeons. Those caught with live poultry in their yards after the legislation becomes law could face fines worth tens of thousands of dollars.

But many locals who refused to hand over their poultry during recent inspections said they would rather kill and eat the birds than give them up for megre compensation.

"This is a free society," one resident said, "and there is no reason why we should not be allowed to raise chickens for our own use."

SCIENTIST WHO FIRST IDENTIFIED H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA STRAIN GOES HARDCORE ON THE DOOM AND GLOOM

WHEN SARS MEETS BIRD FLU

"Nature is getting the better of us. . . It's there all the time, it lurks..." said Professor Kenny Shortridge.

"...Sars and this new strain of bird flu are both trying to get into humans at the same time, the pressure on humans and health systems could reach a critical level . . . The symptoms of Sars and the bird flu are similar: high fever, sore throat, a cough, aches and pains, exhaustion but they spread very differently. So sorting out whether Sars or bird flu or both are emerging is critical. The world could face a catastrophic situation. Sars will help to beget flu and the two will act in tandem".

Professor Kennedy Francis Shortridge's scientific detective work in 1997 was vital to the early identification and detection of H5N1 bird flu. He is now widely regarded as the man who used his groundbreaking research to stop a potentially devastating late 1990s avian influenza pandemic.



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MASSIVE HUMAN INFECTIONS CLAIM IN IRAQ

162 Suspected Human Bird Flu Infections In Northern Iraq

Iraq is now on high alert for an epidemic of human bird flu infections. Three deaths are now believed to be related to the avian influenza virus.

A 15 year old girl who died on January 15 was confirmed as Iraq's first human victim of the bird flu virus after blood tests in London proved positive.

World Health Organisation officials sent an emergency response team to Northern Iraq last week to help contain the infections.

Iraqi authorities are terrified of what pandemic bird flu would do to a health care system already swamped by war casualties, blackouts and massive shortages of essential medical equipment and medications.

Locals in the Kurdish region, bordering Turkey, where the virus has proliferated, claim more than one hundred dead birds washed up the river banks before dozens fell ill with suspected avian influenza symptoms.

More than 50 villages in the region bordering Turkey, home to 400,000 people, are now under quarantine (nobody in, nobody out), bird slaughter teams have been dispatched to begin cullings and roads have been blocked, or closed until further notice.

500,000 DEATHS ESTIMATED FOR AN OUTBREAK IN JAPAN

"If the avian flu reached a pandemic level in Japan, it could result in 24 million people needing medical treatment and 500,000 deaths...."

Study claims infectious diseases already third highest cause of death in Japan, behind cancer and heart disease.

Washington DC's Health Care Facilities Would Be Shattered By Pandemic

From MSNBC :

"U.S. flu experts are resigned to being overwhelmed by an avian flu pandemic, saying hospitals, schools, businesses and the general public are nowhere near ready to cope.

"Money, equipment and staff are lacking and few states have even the most basic plans in place for dealing with an epidemic of any disease, let alone the possibly imminent pandemic..."

* 500,000 people estimated to fall ill at a 10 percent infection rate in Washington, DC, alone, while some estimates suggest pandemic bird flu infection rates could be as high as 60%.

* 100,000 people would need to hospitalised and isolated. Washington, DC, has 7800 standard hospital beds, already filled to capacity with everyday patients.

* Recent poll suggests more than 60% of health care workers would not go into work if they thought there was a risk of infection. At least 25% of all staff expected to stay home to care for sick family members.

* One 600 bed hospital overloaded with pandemic flu patients would need a supply of 1.6 million face masks for a mere six week period. The US government's pandemic flu plan suggests an outbreak would last six to twelve months. Face masks are already in short supply in the US.

U.S. Business Urged To Get Ready For Pandemic

Outbreak Could Cost Three Times More Than 9/11 & Hurricane Katrina

From MSNBC :

"The federal government estimates that a medium-level pandemic in the United States could cause up to 207,000 deaths, 734,000 hospitalizations, 42 million outpatient visits and 47 million sick people. The total economic impact could hit $166.5 billion, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The people who would normally maintain the social structure ... would also be sick," Janoff said. "It would be a paralyzing lack of structure and lack of function. That's the doomsday scenario."

Door To Door Home Inspections To Ramp Up In Indonesia

Alarmed by the rising human death toll from bird flu, Indonesian government has planned to conduct door-to-door inspections to prevent the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus.

"The highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has spread to more than two-thirds of the provinces in the vast archipelago country, killing millions of poultry since late 2003.

"Indonesia has millions of chickens and ducks, many in the backyards of rural or urban homes."

Human To Human Bird Flu Infections Being Downplayed

"....little doubt that human-to-human transmission of H5N1 is quite common and now represent the majority of human cases. Representations to the contrary are cause for concern."