Avian flu spreading in Asia
New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) Following the death of a woman last week, now the fate of man infected with the bird flu is top worry in Egypt. Here as elsewhere in the Middle East, concerns over the disease are spreading as quickly as the virus itself. Two people have already died in Iraq and the virus has been found in birds in Iran, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In the last country, the strain seems to be weaker. The region is a transit point for birds that migrate between Africa and Asia.
Egypt. A 28-year-old man has been in hospital since March 15 after showing symptoms of the H5N1 strain, Health Minister Hatem al-Gabali said. The man, from Banha (Qaloubiyah province) 40 kilometres north of Cairo, kept a chicken farm where a number of birds died on March 13.
The authorities also confirmed that a 30-year-old woman who died on March 17 had the virus. They said she had kept a domestic poultry farm despite a ban on the practice since the arrival of bird flu in the country last month.
The H5N1 strain has been found in birds in 18 of Egypt's 26 governorates.
The local poultry market, which is worth about US$ 3 billion and supports up to 3 million people, has been devastated.
Israel. Hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys have been culled in central and southern Israel. So far the West Bank and Gaza Strip are virus-free. A ban on all exports remains in force, whilst no human cases have been reported.
Afghanistan. The H5N1 virus was confirmed in two provinces last week: the capital Kabul and the eastern province of Nangarhar. Tests have yet to determine if the strain is also present in three other provinces, including Kunar, on the border with Pakistan.
India. Tens of thousands of birds were culled in Jalgaon district in the western state of Maharashtra to contain another outbreak of avian flu. A doctor and an 11-year-old boy are under observation.
Health officials are monitoring 65,000 people in 17 villages, but things are normal said Vijay Satbir Singh, a Maharashtra's health official.
Myanmar. Health authorities have slaughtered 12,500 chickens and quarantined 43 farms near Mandalay, 700 kilometres (450 miles) north of Yangon. The military junta has allowed the press to report the news as well as provide information about prevention. It has also informed the World Health Organisation.
Malaysia. A new bird flu case was reported among dead chickens on Monday in the northern state of Penangone of Malaysia's top tourist destinationsthe country's third outbreak in a month after those in the central state of Perak, where authorities culled more than 42,000 birds to contain the disease. Authorities have also tightened border checks after fears grew it might have arrived in fighting cockerels illegally smuggled into Malaysia.
Hong Kong. Carrie Yau, Permanent Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, said that Hong Kong will resume imports of live poultry from Guangdong since no outbreak of avian influenza and no new human case have been found in the province. A ban was in force after a human bird flu case had been confirmed in the province in late February.
Kazakhstan. Samples taken from a dead swan on the Caspian Sea coast in Kazakhstan's Mangistau region tested bird flu positive, Kazakh Health Minister Yerbolat Dosayev announced. Regional health and veterinary services have been instructed to tighten controls and inform local residents. (PB)
.png)
