Bird flu virus, H1N1 can produce dangerous hybrids, say Chinese researchers

Chinese scientists working with the bird flu virus (H9N2) and swine flu virus (H1N1) have found that eight of the 127 potential hybrids discovered so far are more virulent than either of the original viruses on their own.
"The main message is that the H1N1 can combine in certain ways with the H9N2 to create reassortants and some of the viruses had an increased pathogenicity comparing with the parent viruses in mice," said lead author Jinhua Liu, of the College of Veterinary Medicine at the China Agricultural University in Beijing. Mice infected with the eight hybrid viruses experienced pneumonia, edema and hemorrhaging. These findings, said Liu, underscore the importance of tracking and monitoring hybrid viruses that result from the combination of H9N2 and H1N1.
Full findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Study uncovers flu defense

New research has uncovered a rare antibody made by humans that fights all flu viruses. According to a Reuters report, a team at the University of Wisconsin and Theraclone Sciences, a private Seattle firm, found in tests on mice that these immune system proteins could protect against a lethal dose of influenza.
Reporting findings in the Procedures of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers contracted by Theraclone said that 60% to 80% of mice infected with deadly doses of H1N1 and H5N1 flu recovered when treated with antibodies, versus 10% of untreated animals. Theraclone used its technology to identify the antibodies, which attack a part of the flu virus that is found in most strains without many mutations.

Indonesia resumes pork imports from U.S., Mexico

Indonesia has reopened its borders to pork from the U.S. and Mexico after implementing a ban in May 2009, The Denver Post reported.
The ban involved pig products from several countries and stemmed from a fear that pigs might be the source of the worldwide H1N1 influenza epidemic. Indonesia lifted the ban because there is no evidence that pigs pass this virus to humans, according to the nation’s Ministry of Trade.

H1N1 found on California turkey farm

The H1N1 flu virus has been found in a flock of breeding turkeys in California, according to the International Society for Infectious Diseases.
After the Central Valley flock had experienced a decrease in egg production, the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory tested members for the virus and confirmed its presence on December 28, 2009. The laboratory has sent samples to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, for additional confirmation.
The producer in charge of the facility has voluntarily put the flock under quarantine.

Remember the bird flu? It's still there.

With all the focus on the H1N1 pandemic flu, the bird flu has taken a back seat (very far back) but it's still very much there and continues to affect people in Asia and the Middle East.
The big news is still H1N1 - it came out today that a US turkey flock in Virginia has been diagnosed with H1N1 - as well as the fact that the flu pandemic in the US seems to have reached its peak and is beginning to wane. However, recent reports show that people are still getting the H5N1 bird flu from sick chickens, particularly in Indonesia, Egypt, Vietnam and China. This is the same bird flu crisis that started in Asia in nearly 2004, has yet to be fully controlled and probably never will be.
Egypt was affected later, but still continues to struggle with the bird flu, which probably explains why they culled the country's entire swine herd right after the H1N1 pandemic started this year. Read the full blog on AnimalAgNet.

Jakarta slaughters poultry to contain bird flu

Reports say bird flu is anticipated in East Jakarta, Indonesia, where thousands of birds are being killed to stop the epidemic, per bylaws of the Poultry Husbandry Control in Jakarta.
According to officials, 1,537 chickens, 390 ducks and 1,825 pigeons were slaughtered and cages burned.

"New" word - anthropozoonosis

We're all familiar with the word "zoonosis,” the transmission of an infectious disease from an animal to a human being, for example, rabies. And now we have a "new" word, “anthropozoonosis,” the transmission of an infectious disease from a person to an animal.
Anthropozoonosis is not new, it's actually been around for centuries, just not readily recognized. But the current H1N1 pandemic flu has really made this very evident - so far, people have passed the flu virus on to pigs, turkeys and ferrets.We already knew that people could give the flu to pigs, but the pandemic H1N1 flu has been passed on from people to pigs in several countries. The first case ocurred not long after the current H1N1 crisis started and I don't think we've seen the last of it.
We now have two cases of the H1N1 flu being passed from humans to turkey breeders. The thing that disturbs me most is that it happened on breeder farms - where biosecurity is very strictly practiced. ... Read the full blog on AnimalAgNet.

Hong Kong, Taiwan pigs infected with H1N1

Hong Kong and Taiwan authorities confirmed their first case of H1N1 in swine November 5, reported Beijing’s state-run China News Service (CNS).
Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau announced the H1N1 virus was found in two pigs but failed to trace the source of those infected pigs, said the report.
Local pig farms have been urged by Hong Kong Food and Health Bureau to familiarize themselves with measures needed to prevent the spread of H1N1, according to CNS. Also, Hong Kong government plans to tighten inspections of live pigs from mainland China.
In addition, more than 100 pigs from a pig farm in Taidong County started showing H1N1 symptoms, following three confirmed cases of H1N1 there, according to Guo Xusong, an official at Taiwan Disease Control Bureau.

H1N1 pig, human research receives additional funding

Biomedical and animal health research funding organizations in the UK have announced a £7.5 million ($11.2 million) series of projects aimed at understanding the development and spread of the pandemic influenza virus H1N1. The research will look at every aspect of the virus on pig production units as well as in pig and human populations and in hospital intensive care units.
Recent meetings held in the UK have brought together clinical and veterinary researchers to catalyze action and produce a response from the research community. The outcome is a new round of research projects backed by the Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, together with the British government’s health department and its Defra department, responsible for the environment, food and rural affairs.
These projects will include four major collaborations focusing on areas such as the role of pig-pig and pig-human interactions in the development and spread of pandemic H1N1; flu transmission within households in England; and a study of hospitalized cases of severe infection.
The studies aim to understand how the virus mutates and jumps the species barrier and how it spreads through communities; how the virus causes disease in both pigs and humans and why it affects some individuals more than others; and which interventions are most effective at preventing infection or treating the disease.

Belarus restricts Russian pork imports

Belarus' Ministry of Agriculture and Food announced temporary restrictions on imports of pork and pork products from Russia in early November, according to the BelTA news agency.
The restrictions have been introduced because of swine fever in Russia, said a Ministry official. In July 2009, Belarus announced a similar ban on pork and pork imports from Lithuania, following a report of a case of swine fever at a pig farm in that country's Panevezys region.
Belarusian pork imports fell by US$36 million year-on-year in the first half of 2009.

H1N1 infects more Norwegian pigs

Mattilsynet, Norway's food and veterinary watchdog, says the number of pig herds in Nord Trondelag county infected by H1N1 as of Oct. 15 has increased to eight.
Three of six new samples tested were found to be positive for the virus. Mattilsynet is concerned about the illness passing from humans to pigs.
Mattilsynet added it will expand the use of restrictions concerning infected pigs or pigs suspected of being infected; the most important of which is the non-movement of live animals. The transport of pigs for slaughter will be allowed following necessary approvals.
The group noted it would try to find whether pig herds in other parts of Norway are infected, focusing on areas with the highest concentration of pig farms.

Farm identified as pig H1N1 source

Reports indicate the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) in Paris has located the source of the H1N1 flu in pigs. The organization has named a breeding unit in Kilworth, north Cork, Ireland.
The pigs had been monitored since late September when an animal caretaker was confirmed to have the virus. There are 40 cases of H1N1 flu in pigs at the location. No pigs were taken off site since Sept. 18 in accordance with health codes.
The Department of Agriculture continues to stress there is no risk for humans to contract the H1N1 virus from pork consumption.

Iowa startup creates H1N1 vaccine for pigs

Sirrah Bios, the brainchild of animal science professor Hank Harris, has developed a vaccine to protect hogs from the H1N1 virus, according to reports.
The vaccine awaits a United States Department of Agriculture conditional license, expected in 2010, before it is commercially available.
The company was a grant recipient of Grow Iowa Values Fund which awarded Sirrah Bios $679,663.

Buried poultry might pose risk to farmers

The Korean Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Agriculture announced recently that farmers in Korea are set to get better access to clean drinking water from tap water pipelines set up by the government. Fears exist, though, that groundwater might be contaminated by leachate, a liquid that drains from landfills that contain the carcasses of poultry culled during an outbreak of avian influenza in 2003.
Since the 2003 outbreak, poultry at 722 sites across the country were slaughtered and buried in accordance with laws for preventing the spread of contagious diseases among livestock.
Burial sites had to be five meters (16.4 feet) deep, filled with quicklime and covered with vinyl sheeting. According to experts, these sites are prime conditions for the formation of leachate, which would have to be extracted after a designated time of build-up. Without removal, the risk of tears in the vinyl sheeting and leachate contaminating surrounding land and water sources increases. In response, the Korean government assured that it would take steps to address experts' concerns.

Study explores viability of avian influenza in water

A recent article from scientists at the University of Georgia investigated the survival of avian influenza virus in water.
Viability is affected by pH, but with values of 7.4 to 8.2 supporting survival. A low temperature (approximately 50 F) and low to moderate salinity also extended the time over which viruses retained infectivity. The results of this study are important in understanding the transmission of avian influenza from free living water fowl to commercial flocks.

Study shows poultry resistant to 2009 H1N1

Recent studies suggest that commercial poultry is resistant to the newly emerged 2009 H1N1 flu strain which has now assumed pandemic status among humans. A research paper to be published in the Journal of General Virology from the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute in Riems, Germany showed that chickens in contact with infected pigs failed to develop the disease.
The 2009 H1N1 virus will spread from infected pigs to their pen mates under controlled experimental conditions carried out in a Bio-Safety Level 3+ facility. In addition, a recent study conducted at the Southeast Poultry Laboratory in Athens, Ga., demonstrated that chickens, turkeys and ducks were refractory to 2009 H1N1 virus isolated from human patients.
The focus of research is now directed at developing a suitable vaccine to protect humans since it is anticipated that there will be an upsurge in cases in the U.S. in fall and winter. Readers are referred to the July 10 edition of Science, which incorporates two articles on the origin of the 2009 H1N1 virus and its genetic characteristics.
In the context of commercial production, no individual suspected of being infected with 2009 H1N1 or any influenza virus should have any contact with live poultry during the clinical phase and for at least seven days thereafter.

University of Delaware receives grant to battle avian flu

The University of Delaware received a $94,000 government grant for research to protect against avian flu, according to a news report.
The grant will go to the University's Avian Biosciences Center for the ongoing surveillance and diagnostic activities and the biocontainment facility, where large amount of testing is done on poultry diseases every year.

Singapore merchants offer proposal to contain H1N1

Poultry and egg merchants in Singapore in consultation with their Malaysian suppliers proposed a plan to contain the spread of HIN1 flu across borders by disinfecting poultry and egg-carrying vehicles entering the area as well as allowing Singapore drivers to take over the vehicles at the border, according to a news report.
Merchant associations in Singapore said they will bear any price increases in eggs and poultry if the plan materializes.
However, there is a scarcity of drivers as those holding a Singapore driving license cannot drive a Malaysia-registered vehicle. The associations, though, are hoping authorities will grant their workers temporary licenses to meet the need.

China poultry workers show antibody to AI strains

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine online edition, June 11, 2009, reported on the results of a serologic survey of poultry farmers, workers in broiler and pig processing plants and live bird markets in the Guangzho metropolitan area in Guangdong Province of Southern China.
Less than 1% of poultry retailers in food markets and wholesalers in live bird markets showed antibodies to H5. In contrast 16% of the retailers in markets and 7% of the wholesalers showed antibodies to H9 avian influenza as did 6% of workers in commercial farms. All three groups were regarded as significantly different on statistical analysis from the general population which served as a control.
An antibody response against H5 influenza was not detected in subsistence poultry farmers, workers on commercial swine operations or employees of food markets not in contact with poultry. Although a small proportion of these groups showed from 1.8-2.8% reactor rates, these values were not significantly different from the general population which showed a 1.3% reactor rate against H9.
Editorial Comment: The result of the study is consistent with the knowledge that close contact with live poultry either through handling birds or processing in wet markets exposes workers to infection if flocks are excreting influenza virus at the time of delivery. The presence of circulating virus in markets represents a potential for recombinant events which could result in the emergence of strains of avian influenza with increased pathogenecity for humans. Failure to control avian influenza through applying biosecurity and vaccination contributes to endemic infection. H9 strain AI is presumed to be endemic in poultry flocks in the province. Maintaining a live bird marketing system perpetuates the danger of dissemination of virus from poultry farms to the general population.