I found this site on
bird flu, it gives a different perspective on Bird Flu, at least from my advantage. This is a look at bird flu mutuation from an Asian perspective.
Link to Pigs Edges Birdflu Closer to Pandemic "The specter of a global influenza pandemic has loomed a little larger in recent weeks with revelations that Chinese researchers found the deadly H5N1 virus strain last year in pigs, a crucial link in the mutation of the disease to a form that can infect humans.
Bird Flu Facts for Your Protection Chinese officials have confirmed that the virus—which has killed 27 people in Asia so far this year—was found in pigs in the southeastern province of Fujian in 2003, official media reported. But the agricultural ministry has denied a report that pigs were found to be infected in "another place" this year.
The initial revelation was made by Chen Hualan, director of the China National Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory. It came as a surprise to World Health Organization (WHO) representatives present at the seminar, who heard about it for the first time.
Chen called the finding "a rather dangerous signal in terms of public health.”
Once influenza mutates to infect pigs, it is far closer to a form that can infect humans. Many influenza strains are born where poultry, pigs, and people live in close contact.
Chinese officials claim that no human infections have been found so far, but they had also previously claimed that no pig infections had been found, either.
Chinese public health procedures have come under intense scrutiny and suspicion since an official attempt to cover up the extent of the SARS epidemic of 2003 was exposed by a military doctor in Beijing.
The doctor, who has also called for a re-appraisal of the 1989 military crackdown on democracy protesters, was detained for several months at an undisclosed location. Local editors at a newspaper in the southern Chinese city of Guangdong that broke news about the deadly SARS virus have been harassed and detained."
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REDI Centre to detect disease outbreaks
I found a great site from Singapore loaded with information on Birdflu. Gives a different perspective
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| | The REDI Centre will work with neighbouring countries to provide advice and consultation to address the bird flu situation in Southeast Asia. |
Singapore and the US have renewed their joint commitment to work together to prevent and respond to pandemic influenza and other emerging diseases in Southeast Asia.
Both countries have signed a historic agreement which provides for the operation of the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI) Centre, pledging to cooperate on a range of health issues, in particular emerging infectious diseases such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and avian influenza.
The REDI Centre will respond to requests for assistance from Indonesia and Vietnam, and address concerns about infection control in hospitals in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos
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Eyewitness: Surviving bird flu
"Nguyen Thanh Hung knows he has been lucky. The 42-year-old construction materials salesman has just been released from Hanoi's Hospital for Tropical Diseases, where both he and his older brother were patients.
Hung is now back at home with his wife and children. But his brother Nguyen Hung Viet died from his illness. Bird Flu Facts for Your Protection
Hung still does not know how they both contracted H5N1, the often deadly virus that causes the respiratory illness bid flu.
"I guess we both got it from the last meal we shared together," Hung said.
"I'd just got back to Thai Binh, where I'm originally from, to visit my brothers. They threw a welcoming dinner where we had our favourite dish, 'tiet canh', which is made with chopped congealed raw duck blood and herbs.
"The duck was plump and looking healthy, so we didn't have the slightest suspicion that it might be sick. Moreover, we were thinking chicken flu only exists in the south of the country," he said.
Just one day after the meal, Hung's eldest brother fell sick with a temperature.
But the family waited a whole week before they finally took him to hospital."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4226459.stm
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Romanian villages tackle bird flu
"A freshening wind and steady rain pound the olive green waters of the Danube delta. Flocks of swans flap heavily through a grey sky.
On the banks of the river, white and grey geese waddle as usual, but the villagers are wary of each passing boat. Police and border guard launches speed to and fro.
This is an area blighted by avian flu. There are confirmed cases in three villages, and several other suspicious cases of dead birds are under investigation.
"I never thought it would come to this," said Lefter Chirica, the government appointed official responsible for Tulcea County.
"It's like a science fiction film - men in strange overalls, walking through our villages."
New measures
The men are from the local veterinary authority, collecting geese, ducks and hens for slaughter in the villages of Maliuc and Vulturu, and disinfecting the yards of houses and even the muddy lanes of the villages.
As we approach the two villages in a hired boat, a police boat appears from nowhere, ordering us to turn back.
When we explain that we have no intention of landing in the quarantined area, we are reluctantly allowed to proceed - under escort.
The village of Gorgova is only 5km (three miles) downstream from Maliuc. At the main landing stage, we m"
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