A Curious Bird Flu Report From The Jakarta Post

 

 

# 2972

 

 

Over night a story appeared in the Jakarta Post, which Crof reported on (see A strange report from Indonesia)  while I was was offline.   In his commentary, he remarks about how curious he found this report.   Follow this  link to read his comments.

 

This report apparently stems from an interview conducted on the sidelines of a bird flu seminar held this week in Toraja, South Sulawesi given by Heru Setijanto of Coordinator of Komnas FBPI (Indonesia’s National Bird Flu Commission).

 

 

 

Aside from the statements that Indonesia is unprepared to deal with a pandemic (and let’s face it, who is?)  another interesting tidbit is the revelation that the case count at the Health Ministry is  145 cases with 121 fatalities.

According to the information provided to the WHO, the official case count still remains at 141 cases with 115 fatalities.   

 

Also curious is that the total case count increased by only 4, but the fatalities jumped by 6.  

 

This, by the way, isn’t the first statement from a Komnas Official that differs from the Health Ministry’s official count (see Indonesian Official: Four More Bird Flu Fatalities).  

 

Of course, the true number of cases in Indonesia is unknown, since testing and surveillance often fails to detect cases.   A number of people have died, been buried, and in retrospect are assumed to have succumbed to the H5N1 virus – but are not counted.  

 

Others, no doubt, simply elude detection.

 

So the `official number’ is really only an indication of the frequency of cases, not a true count.

 

 

 

It is feared bird flu could become more frightening

M. Azis Tunny ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  RANTEPAO, TORAJA   |  Sat, 04/04/2009 10:21 AM  |  Headlines

There is a need to raise awareness of bird flu because of a real threat: It could turn into something much more frightening than the H5N1 virus.

 

The frightening thing would be if the virus caused a pandemic if  and when it became able to spread among humans, Coordinator of Surveillance and Monitoring at the National Commission on Bird Flu Control and Awareness on Influenza Pandemic (Komnas FBPI) Heru Setijanto said Friday.

 

Setijanto said Indonesia was currently ranked highest in the world in the number of deaths from bird flu, and was unprepared as to how to deal with a pandemic.  

 

“The incubation period of the virus is very fast and deadly when contracted by humans. We are not ready to face a pandemic if the situation arises,” Setijanto told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of a national seminar on a Bird Flu Pandemic Response Simulation in Toraja, South Sulawesi.  

 

He said Indonesia was ill-equipped to face the bird flu pandemic because training was only provided so far to personnel at government ministries and agencies.

(Continue . . . )

Egypt Reports 62nd Human Bird Flu Case

 

 

# 2971

 

 

 

Ironorehopper, one of the hard working newshounds on FluTrackers, has uncovered a news report from EgyptNews.Net that announces for the 2nd time in three days, another human H5N1 infection in Egypt.

 

Ironorehopper also maintains his own blog – A Time’s Memory – where he chronicles avian flu, and other related news items.   You’ll find his blog listed in my sidebar under Public Health/Flu Blogs.

What we have is a machine translation from the Arabic – but it does seem straightforward enough.   The latest victim is a 21 month old toddler, who fell ill on April 1st.   

 

 

 

Here is a screenshot of the translated page.

 

 

 

As I was writing this blog, Reuters picked up the story.   Here is their coverage.

 

Egyptian toddler contracts bird flu virus

03 Apr 2009 17:20:09 GMT
Source: Reuters
CAIRO, April 3 (Reuters) -

An Egyptian toddler has contracted the highly pathogenic bird flu virus, the latest in an upswing of cases in the most populous Arab country, state news agency MENA said on Friday.

The case brings to 62 the number of confirmed cases of the H5N1 avian flu virus in Egypt, which has been hit harder by bird flu than any other country outside of Asia and has reported seven human infections since March 1.

The 21-month-old boy, Hassan Gamil Hassan Mohamed, is from the province of Beheira in northern Egypt and was in a "good" condition after being treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu, MENA reported.

The new infection came several days after a two-year-old boy from the same province contracted the virus.

 

 

This makes the 11th confirmed case in Egypt since the first of the year, and the 7th case since March 1st.    Most of the victims over the past few months have been toddlers.

Dr. David Fedson Radio Interview

 

# 2970

 

 

 

Dr. David Fedson is a name that should be familiar to many of my readers, as I’ve written about him many times in the past.

 

Fedson is a former Professor of Medicine at the University of Virginia School of Medicine and was formerly Director of Medical Affairs, Aventis Pasteur MSD.

 

You can read a more complete bio on the Center for Biosecurity of UPMC website.

 

Fedson is the author of a number of journal articles, and in recent years has devoted a great deal of attention to how we can meet the challenge of a global pandemic. 

 

He was recently interviewed on FluTrackers by Sharon Sanders in the wake of the publication of his latest article in the CDC’s Journal of Emerging Infectious Disease, entitled Meeting the Challenge of Influenza Pandemic Preparedness in Developing Countries.

 

An overview of his work, including the recent FluTrackers Interview may be viewed on the following two blogs:

 

Fedson On Meeting The Challenge Of A Pandemic

 

FluTrackers Interview With Dr. David Fedson

 

 

On Monday, April 6th at 4pm another interview with Dr. Fedson will be broadcast on Radio Sandy Springs Infectious Disease Hour, hosted by David Moxley, and with the interview conducted by Sharon Sanders of FluTrackers.

 

Radio Sandy Springs 1620 AM, is a low-powered Atlanta based talk radio station that simulcasts on the Internet.   Radio shows are archived about 48 hours after they are broadcast, and are available to download or listen to.

 

An archive of recent Infectious Disease Hour shows may be accessed here.

 

This ought to be an interesting hour, so make plans to listen, or to download the archive when it gets posted next week.

Riau Neighborhood Proclaimed (KLB) Exceptional Bird Flu Status

 

# 2969

 

 

 

After the confirmed death of a toddler (Wahyu) last week, and amid reports that some family members are now suffering from fever, authorities have announced that the boy’s neighborhood is now under KLB (Exceptional Status) for bird flu.

 

KLB in Indonesia basically refers to a heightened public health alert.

 

It appears that the area is being closely monitored, Tamiflu is being dispensed to anyone with fever, and that testing is underway among Wahyu’s family and neighbors.

 

For now, we have no word on any additional confirmed cases, beyond the initial fatality Wahyu.  This declaration may represent nothing more than an abundance of caution on the part of authorities. 

 

This translation from the Bird Flu Information Corner  weblog which is a a joint endeavor between Kobe University, Japan and Institute of Tropical Disease, Airlangga University, Indonesia.

 

 

Pekanbaru, Riau ::: Exceptional bird flu status (KLB)

April 3, 2009

Pekanbaru, Riau – Health service of Pekanbaru announced exceptional bird flu status (KLB) on neighborhood of bird flu victim, Wahyu Ibnu Saputra (2.9), Jalan Kuantan Jalan Kuantan VII, RT 7, RW 4, Kelurahan Tanjung Rhu, Kecamatan Limapuluh. Health service conducts three standard programs for prevention of bird flu virus spreading.

Actions taken are: Area monitoring to Jalan Kuantan VII, RT 7, RW 4, Kelurahan Tanjung Rhu, Kecamatan Limapuluh; Proclaiming bird flu alert status to people who had contact history with victim; and Giving tamiflu and hospital recommendation to people who develop high fever.

 

This is mentioned by Pekanbaru health service officer, dr Rini Hermiyati Thursday (2/4). For this prevention purpose, Health service is working together with Agriculture service Pekanbaru.

 

“People with high fever will receive Tamiflu administration and recommendation for regional hospital. This is done for bird flu exceptional circumstances status areas”, said Rini. Investigation and preventive measures will be done for 30 days started from Monday (30/3) to neighborhood 500 meter around victim’s house.

 

Bird flu H5N1 virus has killed 3 people in Riau since 2007. Two fatalities reported in 2007 at Kecamatan Rumbai and Marpoyan Damai; and one fatality in 2009 at Kecamatan Lima Puluh.

 

Source: Riau Pos

Referral: Effect Measure On the `Cytokine Storm’

 

 

# 2968

 

 

 

The Revere’s over at Effect Measure have a long but fascinating post on a recent paper published in  PNAS with the alluring title: TNF/iNOS-producing dendritic cells are the necessary evil of lethal influenza virus infection.

 

As you might expect from the title, this is a complex, and highly technical paper – so I’m sure we all appreciate that the Reveres have synthesized it down to something a bit more digestible for the layperson.

 

To read it, go to:

 

More on the science of the influenza "cytokine storm"

April Is National Earthquake Preparedness Month

 

 

# 2967

 

 

While it is true that earthquakes, unlike tornadoes and hurricanes, know no season – we do observe April as National Earthquake Preparedness month.

 

 

USGS map

 

 

As you can see by the map above, most of the United States is seismically active – with Alaska, Hawaii, the west coast, and the mid-west seeing the most – and strongest, quakes.

 

Few places, however, can claim to be completely immune to quakes.

 

Even in Florida, which is about as seismically quiet as it comes – we’ve recorded quakes.   And of course, quakes in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic, or Caribbean are even capable of sending Tsunami’s our way. 

 

 

Over the past week, more than 1,000 quakes (most of them very minor) have been recorded in the United States.   They are an ever present reminder that we live on changing planet.

 

 

 

While we can’t know when the next big earthquake will hit, or on what fault line it will strike, we do know that the earth is constantly shifting beneath our feet.  

 

Tectonic pressures build, and spread, and at some point a quake occurs. 

People who live in quake areas need not only to be prepared for a disaster, they need to take specific earthquake precautions as well.

 

And while we think of California, and the Pacific Northwest as being at greatest risk for a major quake, states like Kentucky,  Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee are in high risk areas as well.  So too is South Carolina. 

 

Even New York City has fault lines running beneath it.  

 

While the last significant quake occurred there in 1884, with  a magnitude 5.2 off shore from Far Rockaway Beach, scientists believe a quake of that size is likely to occur every 100 years or so.

 

Areas that seldom see quakes, like New York City, generally don’t build structures with earthquakes in mind – meaning that a smaller magnitude quake there could be more damaging than a larger quake in Los Angeles.

 

The American Red Cross reminds everyone that April is National Earthquake Preparedness Month, and urges you to become better aware of the dangers, and better prepared to deal with them.

 

This advice from the Orange Country Chapter of the American Red Cross.

 

April is Earthquake Preparedness Month

 

Make a Plan

Planning ahead is the first step to a calmer and more assured disaster response.

Talk with your family about potential disasters.
Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.
Plan and designate a place to meet after a disaster has struck.
Designate an out-of-state friend to be your family contact.
Learn how and when to turn utilities off (water, gas and electricity).
Tell everyone in the home where emergency contact information is located.
Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms. Remember to test smoke detectors monthly and change batteries at least once a year.
Determine the best escape routes out of your home.
Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR Class.
Practice the plan.

Build a Kit

Keep your disaster supply items in a sturdy, easy-to-carry container such as a backpack, duffle bag or covered container and store in a convenient location known to the entire family. Remember to check dates of both food items and batteries and change water supply every six months for freshness. Keep enough supplies in your disaster supply kit to meet the needs of your family for a minimum of three days. Remember to prepare for family members with special requirements, such as infants, elderly or disabled persons.

Water (a minimum of one gallon per person per day).
Food (non-perishable, high-protein items).
First aid kit (including prescription and non-prescription medicine).
Flashlight (including extra batteries).
Tools and supplies (including scissors, aspirin, knife, can opener and sanitary supplies).
Battery-operated radio.
Clothing and bedding (one set of clothing and shoes per family member and sleeping articles).
Money.
Pet supplies (including food, water, leash and medication).
Map of the surrounding area.
Contact information.

 

 

For more information on how to prepare for earthquakes and emergencies of all types,  please visit the following sites.

 

 

FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm

READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/

AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/

For Pandemic Preparedness Information: HHS Individual Planning Page

For more in-depth emergency preparedness information I can think of no better resource than  GetPandemicReady.Org.