Yukon Kuskokwim Nushagak science

Liz Thompson’s blog -

http://blogher.org/blog/liz-thompsonI

one of the collection of women writers at http://Blogher.org (Where the women bloggers are) has found some interesting ideas for emergency kits to make or procure. The Shoes ID sounds intriguing for children.

With hurricane season starting Thursday (6/1), the events of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita have led many states to reconsider their disaster response systems and some communities - especially in those New England states affected by the Mother’s Day floods - are learning first-hand how a natural disaster can disrupt their lives.

In Case Of Emergency - Be Prepared! -

http://blogher.org/node/5906

Date: Thu, 31 May 2006
From: ProMED-mail
Source: EU press release IP/06/704, 31 May 2006 [edited]

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/ 06/704&type=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

The European Commission and the Community Reference Laboratory (CRL) for Avian Influenza in Weybridge have published the results of the surveillance for avian influenza in wild birds carried out in the EU over the past 10 months. The extensive epidemiological data were presented today [31 May 2006] at the FAO/OIE International Scientific Conference on Avian Influenza and Wild Birds, which is taking place in Rome this week.

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This article appeared at the National Indian Health Board site which has a page on flu, http://www.nihb.org/staticpages/ index.php?page=flu, which links to the other Federal sites.

IHS Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist Available (Draft) http://www.nihb.org/article.php?story=20060316194908599
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Read Ann Potempa’s article to find out where the swabbing begins.
Experts will test birds for signs of avian flu
and read
Sampling Bird Cloaca

USDA Madison, Wisconsin laboratory
http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=84869&ntpid=0
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Interagency Public Information Work Group (retrieved 28 May 2006)

Some things to note now—the “interagency” doesn’t include

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Tuesday, May 30- Tribal Nations Preparing for the Bird Flu:

As the worldwide health community keeps an eye on the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus strain, tribal leaders learn more about how this virus could affect their communities. A recent summit was held to address the issue of a flu pandemic. How are tribal leaders being educated to protect their people? Concerns over containing it and treating it are being discussed on a global level. When it comes to the reservations, villages and communities of Native Peoples, what’s being done to share this information? Is there a way to protect your community from the so-called Bird Flu? Guests include: Jefferson Keel (Chickasaw) Lieutenant Governor/ Chickasaw Nation.

You can listen to Native America Calling LIVE on-line. Or visit the web site at

http://www.nativeamericacalling.com

for information about Native America Calling, to meet the Native America Calling staff, and to view pictures of our travels and in studio action.

The preparedness in our area has been disappointing; everyone seems to be waiting to be told what to be prepared for and how. The Feds, state, and tribal organizations have focussed on telling people the birds are safe to eat.

Our local station for NAC is KYUK, 9 AM weekdays. The toll-free number to call in the show is 1-800-99-Nativ

http://www.deltadiscovery.com

Letters to the Editor
4/11/06

Should we be concerned about Avian Flu?

The Avian Flu is a flue that spreads fast. Should we be concerned? We don’t know if it’s coming or not, so what should we do? Should we be prepared or just ignore it and maybe it will stay away. What if it comes and kills a lot of our people, we’ll wish we were prepared. We’ll never know when or if it will, it could be tomorrow or next year or never, but it think we should stock up on food, water, stove oil and other supplies we need. We’ll use and need them whether the flu comes or not so why not be safe, ‘cause we don’t want to be sorry. Some ways to be safe are not to touch any dead birds, cook your birds thoroughly, never touch anything after touching birds, and wash your hands after touching birds.

Andy Atti, Jenna Fox, Brenda Dock
Kipnuk High School
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Previous questions are here

http://ykalaska.uniblogs.org/2006/03/19/tips-avoid-bird-flu/

and A Few Facts about Avian Influenza in Alaska -

http://ykalaska.uniblogs.org/2006/03/21/ a-few-facts-about-avian-influenza-in-alaska/

For other sources for Questions and Answers

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/ health/diseases-cards/avian_qa.html

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A most excellent reference is this one from the USGS National Wildlife Health Center, “List of Species Affected by H5N1 (Avian Influenza): Referenced reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 in wildlife and domestic animals”.
http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/ avian_influenza/affected_species_chart.jsp

From the CDC Flu site here

http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/fluviruses.htm

Influenza A viruses are found in many different animals, including ducks, chickens, pigs, whales, horses, and seals. Influenza B viruses circulate widely only among humans.

Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes based on two proteins on the surface of the virus: the hemagglutinin (H) and the neuraminidase (N). There are 15 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes, all of which have been found among influenza A viruses in wild birds. Wild birds are the primary natural reservoir for all subtypes of influenza A viruses and are thought to be the source of influenza A viruses in all other animals. Most influenza viruses cause asymptomatic or mild infection in birds; however, the range of symptoms in birds varies greatly depending on the strain of virus. Infection with certain avian influenza A viruses (for example, some strains of H5 and H7 viruses) can cause widespread disease and death among some species of wild and especially domestic birds such as chickens and turkeys.

Avian influenza in other animal species, from the Food and Agriculture Organization

Hosts: Wildbird hosts for H5N1 in order of importance are probably Anatidae (ducks, geese, swans), Charadriiform (gulls and shorebirds) and Passeriform (sparrows and starling). Lately swans have been found infected with H5N1 in a number of European countries (e.g. Austria, Germany, France and Romania, etc.). In poultry, both aquatic and terrestrial species become infected but the virus is particularly aggressive in chicken.

Carnivores: can become infected, after consuming infected poultry that succumbed to the disease. To date no H5N1 clinical cases of dogs have been reported but in an unpublished study carried out in 2005 by the National Institute of Animal Health in Bangkok, researchers tested 629 village dogs and 111 cats in the Suphan Buri district of central Thailand. Out of these, 160 dogs and 8 cats had antibodies to H5N1, indicating that they were infected with the virus or had been infected in the past. An eqiune virus has recently shown up in dogs. This inter-species re-assortment is not uncommon for type A influenza viruses.

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I don’t yet have these as a listing of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), mostly because I am not sure what is frequently asked. However, here are some questions that the YKHC Office of Environmental Health has received. I will link to sources of answers as I get them organized. Feel free to continue asking questions below as comments or to provide answers to these questions, as comments.

How do you know if birds have bird flu?

YKHC: You don’t. Unlike human’s it is nearly impossible to tell if a bird is sick with the flu.

Avian influenza is quite common in birds and often occurs without symptoms or without making the birds sickly. Like other diseases,

The clinical signs are very variable and are influenced by factors such as the virulence of the infecting virus, species affected, age, sex, concurrent diseases and environment. See

http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/ diseases-cards/avian.html

If a bird looks skinny & not normal, what do you do? Does it have bird flu?

YKHC: No. It most likely is suffering from something else.

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“a simple formula for calculating the value of a development.

‘Is it environmentally sound? Does it pay its own way? And do the people want it?

‘Because he subjected proposals to those three tests, sometimes he made decisions that were popular, sometimes not,’ she said.”

Former Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer, a Democrat, spent six of her first years in Alaska working in Republican Hammond’s Juneau office, first as his legislative liaison and later as head of his Office of Policy Development and Planning.

Link: http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6777146p-6666290c.html

from the Environmental Protection Agency newslist on aging [aging_initiativ] May, 2006 EPA Aging Initiative List Serve. Note that they are suggesting the use of “disinfecting” soaps, although by EPA’s own rules these soaps cannot be labelled as “disinfectants” and the active ingredient has not been demonstrated as any more effective than plain soap.

The City of Bethel has been providing copies of the Alaska state 2006 Spring Flood Breakup Guide available in pdf format here http://www.ak-prepared.com/community_services/ acrobat_docs/2006_SpringFloodBreakup_SOP.pdf.
It has some good recommendations for preparedness, few of which Bethel has implemented. A most important addition would be a topographic map of all the low-lying areas so newcomers would know when their roads would be cut-off.

EPA Urges Caution When Working in Areas Exposed to Contaminated Flood Water - Website Available with Flooding Information
http://www.epa.gov/aging/press/epanews/2006/2006_0517_1.htm
(Boston, Mass. - May 17, 2006) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is cautioning the public and all responders about the potential hazards associated with flood waters. Every effort should be made to limit contact with flood water due to potentially elevated levels of contamination associated with raw sewage and other hazardous substances.

EPA offers the following guidelines for those in contact with flood water:

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Pigs test positive for bird flu in village See comment
19 May 2006

JAKARTA: Pigs have tested positive for bird flu in the same village on Indonesia’s Sumatra island where five people have been confirmed infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, a minister said….

The H5N1 virus is endemic in much of Indonesia.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3672308a12,00.html

I wanted some confirmation of this newstory before posting. As those of you who have educated yourselves on influenza know, moving from ducks into pigs can be significant.

Here is what ProMED has to say–
- —

ProMED-mail

[Serological or other evidence for the possible current involvement of pigs in the epidemiology of HPAI H5N1 in Indonesia deserve to be carefully analysed and confirmed by a reference laboratory.

An official notification, sent by the Indonesian Veterinary Services to the OIE on 23 May 2005 (see 20050601.1526), said that H5N1 AI virus was detected in nasal swabs from clinically sound pigs in 2 locations within the Tangerang district, Banten province, West Java. Out of 26 swabs sampled
on 23 Feb 2005, 14 Apr 2005 and 26 Apr 2005, 12 were reportedly found positive. It further stated that “partial stamping out” was “to be undertaken.”

Thus far, no clinical cases in pigs have been reported from Indonesia. - Mod.AS]

The Anchorage Daily News has some photos of how the birds are caught and sampled, including this one.

http://www.adn.com/life/health/birdflu/story/7739824p-7651487c.html

Click on image to enlarge map to show distance in air miles to nearest hospital.

This is a map once used by YKHC to show time to the nearest hospital, on a good day (click to enlarge)

Palomar Mountain, CA, May 09, 2006 –(PR.COM)– MobiusPortal.com has had its global map of bird flu infections under test for almost 6 months. It is ready for a ‘real-word’ simulated excercise.

They have created the following scenario:

A Harlequin Duck, migrated from Alaska, infects a wild boar at Lake Sonoma, California. H5N1 mutates within that pig. A hunter, that kills that pig, is then infected with this virulent mutation.
…
Starting May 18th, anyone in the world can play a role to provide their spin on the resultant pandemic. …

There is no script: The viewers will build their own pandemic and responses.

Francis Hemsher, CEO of MobiusPortal.com, … We are vulnerable, yet hopeful, that the final result will allow many to participate on an experiental level, to a situation that is scary, but if honestly addressed, can be helpful if a pandemic were to occur.”

The simulation will begin from the current global map as shown at:
http://www.mobiusPortal.com/AvianFlu/viewport_af.asp

###”
http://www.pr.com/press-release/10429

The company designs on-line data imagery. Only MS Internet Explorer can be used for the game. There is a medieval children’s “nursery rhyme” on the start page (allusion to the Black Death). “2006-06-08T20:00:46+00:00″ I never could get the game to work on my dial-up system.

Their other examples are

Baseball Game This is a baseball game in progress. It includes pitch placement, speed, and type. The players’ positions and reactions for each play are recorded. Each hit and its trajectory are shown.

HVAC System An example of monitoring Commercial Building Systems. It displays, temperatures, humidity, air flows, and damper postion, along with alarm conditions. Sensor outputs are converted to XML as a live data-feed into the system image.

California Wildfire Based on an actual fire: It shows response agency actions, the scope of fire area, plus environmental variables that impact the spread of the fire.

Avian Flu Surveillance A global map showing the current spread of the bird flu across Asia and Europe. It includes real-time reports from possible infected areas; plus updates to confirmed locations, human infection, and death statistics.

Even without the transloading ability, Anchorage is a Great Circle airport between the major continents of Asia, Europe, and North America. [see also http://ykalaska.uniblogs.org/2006/04/29/where-is-nearest-us-capitol/] Anchorage is also the only (air)port connecting most of Alaska (most of us off the road system) with the rest of the world and even with the rest of western Alaska. The world-wide microbe mixing bowl is Anchorage; the Delta Regional Hospital (YKHC) is a mini-mixer. If we end up with the highly pathogenic avian influenza, it seems likely to come from the big birds in Anchorage.

Alaska’s unique air cargo rules entice business
TRANSLOADING: Air Canada to join others using transfer capabilities in Anchorage.

By ROB STAPLETON
Alaska Journal of Commerce
http://www.adn.com/money/industries/aviation/ story/7699681p-7610713c.html
Published: May 6, 2006

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Dear colleague,

As you will be aware, the H5N1 bird flu virus is spreading, and the human flu pandemic it could trigger will hit developing countries the hardest. This week SciDev.Net launches a new BIRD FLU DOSSIER to keep you up to date on the latest information on H5N1 and developing nations.

The new dossier contains — and will be regularly updated with — news, features, opinions and editorials focusing on the spread of the H5N1 virus, and efforts to prepare for a human flu pandemic.

It will also contain the internet’s most comprehensive bird flu glossary and links to relevant reports, articles, websites and organisations. This includes free access to the latest relevant research papers appearing in the journals Science and Nature.

To visit the bird flu dossier click here:
http://www.scidev.net/birdflu

SciDev.Net has been reporting on bird flu since 2003 and has created this dossier because of the urgent need for policymakers to make informed decisions, for scientists to share their findings, and for the media to communicate the pandemic threat in a measured and accurate manner.

Highlights of the dossier include:

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I heard one this afternoon. But no Kolea yet.

These guidelines are a draft localized version which can be used by ordinary people at camp, field, or at home. These guidelines have been taken from technical documents produced by the World Health Organization, Reckitt Benckiser Inc., Clorox.com, and other technical sources (listing at end).

Unlike the “masks” and “hand sanitizer” guidelines, “disinfection” turned out to be surprisingly more difficult to track down. This is because in the USA, chemicals which act as “disinfectants” must not only comply with scientific standards but also EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) regulatory standards.

Disinfectant — A chemical agent that destroys pathogenic microorganisms (not spores). The term is generally used for an agent that destroys organisms on inanimate objects (surfaces) rather than on people or animals.

Sanitizer — An agent that reduces (through killing) the number of bacteria to a safe level. This means a 99.9% kill as set by public health requirements. This term is also applied to agents used to control the microbial population in food service, food preparation and food processing areas. These are called food-contact surface sanitizers and require a 99.999% kill.

Disinfectants and sanitizers, therefore, are considered pesticides because they destroy microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi that are found in the environment (excluding microorganisms on or in humans and animals). All claims, and changes in claims, on disinfectants and sanitizers must be made with the EPA’s registration and acceptance.

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At least one has showed up, today, sitting on the light pole to stay out of the mud and ice. We’ve been getting more robins in the past few years; some people claim they never leave.

Robins elsewhere seem to be the species that keeps West Nile virus around for the mosquitos to swap out with people. I have been surprised that we don’t yet have WN. On the face of it, the birds would certainly have brought it with them from California.