Avian Influenza Information

News Update, September 11

H5N1 in Wild birds
Australia. Scientists at Deakin University are studying avian malaria to help predict the future spread of bird flu in Australia. The research, headed by Deakin's environmental scientist Rohan Clark, will focus on the Torres Strait region where migratory birds commonly move from south-east Asia and Papua-New Guinea to Australia. Studying the rate at which avian malaria spreads within populations may provide insight into how other diseases, such as H5N1, are spread through migratory birds.

H5N1 in Poultry
Laos. More than 7000 poultry in Luang Prabang province will be destroyed following a die-off of ducks at a private farm on August 27th. The mortality event was closely followed by another 350 bird deaths in a nearby village. Testing for H5N1 started on September 4th and positive results were announced 5 days later. Laos, which recently established more stringent precautions involving bird flu, has been free of the virus since March.

Togo. Bird flu has been confirmed at a farm in the village of Agbata, near the capital of Lome. Togo’s health ministry did not disclose how many birds died in the outbreak, but the farm houses almost 4500 chickens. Samples have been sent to labs in Ghana and Italy to determine if the strain is H5N1. Togo has not seen a case of H5N1 since January, but Benin, its neighbor to the east, has recently seen a number of H5N1 outbreaks.

H5N1 in Humans.
Indonesia. Two human cases of H5N1 infection from July were officially announced by the Indonesian government. Both of the men, aged 20 and 38, were from Banten Province and had contact with infected poultry before their deaths.

H5N1 in the Scientific Literature

• Cui S., and Tong G. A chromatographic strip test for rapid detection of one lineage of the H5 subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008 Sep;20(5):567-71.
• Duan L., et al. The development and genetic diversity of H5N1 influenza virus in China, 1996-2006. Virology. 2008 Sep 4. [Epub ahead of print]
• Jia B., et al. Pathogenicity of Chinese H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses in pigeons. Arch Virol. 2008 Sep 9. [Epub ahead of print]
• Martinez M., et al. Association Between Number of Wild Birds Sampled for Identification of H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus and Incidence of the Disease in the European Union. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2008 Sep 2. [Epub ahead of print]

Other papers of interest

• Boni M.F. Vaccination and antigenic drift in influenza. Vaccine. 2008 Jul 18; 26 Suppl 3:C8-14.
• Gog J.R. The impact of evolutionary constraints on influenza dynamics. Vaccine. 2008 Jul 18; 26 Suppl 3:C15-24.
• Gronesova P., et al. Using nested RT-PCR analyses to determine the prevalence of avian influenza viruses in passerines in western Slovakia, during summer 2007. Scand J Infect Dis. 2008 Sep 5:1-4. [Epub ahead of print]
• Hossain MJ, et al., Evidence of Expanded Host Range and Mammalian-Associated Genetic Changes in a Duck H9N2 Influenza Virus Following Adaptation in Quail and Chickens. PLoS ONE. 2008 Sep 9;3(9):e3170.
• Loth L, et al., Evaluation of two avian influenza type A rapid antigen tests under Indonesian field conditions. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008 Sep;20(5):642-4.
• Spackman E, et al., Analytical validation of a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test for Pan-American lineage H7 subtype Avian influenza viruses. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2008 Sep;20(5):612-6.
• Tarendeau F, et al. Host determinant residue lysine 627 lies on the surface of a discrete, folded domain of influenza virus polymerase PB2 subunit. PLoS Pathog. 2008 Aug 29;4(8):e1000136.