Cumulative Number of Confirmed Human Cases of Avian Influenza A/(H5N1) Reported to WHO

measures (scientific), Updates, science sources, H5N1 Comments Off

2003 0304, 0304 cases, deaths
2004 46, 32
2005 95, 41
2006 8990, 59 60

Total to date 233 235135137

revised 2006aug08

The updates are too many. Check the page at

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/en/

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/ country/cases_table_2006_08_07/en/index.html


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Evaluate alternative actions

science sources, differing views (Thimk), info sources, alcohol, H5N1, public involvement Comments Off

2006-07-27 I moved this up from a comment on Local alcohol prohibition, police presence and serious injury in isolated Alaska Native villages so I could better characterize the entry. mpb

I have been assembling references about alcohol control points and whether increasing prohibition (which the City Council of Bethel wishes to do) has any effect on the rate (prevalence) or incidence of crime, chronic alcoholism, or addiction. The references have been assembled in

http://www.connotea.org/user/Hlthenvt

or use your own tags (search terms) to find similar articles cited in the collection as a whole

http://www.Connotea.org

This issue [further alcohol control through a city-run office] needs careful examination which the City of Bethel Council hasn’t yet done, before changing community policy.** Public involvement procedures should provide at least three proposed alternatives–

  • no action
  • action 1
  • action 2
  • with the pros and cons (positive and negative impacts) of each alternative. (Or, multiple working hypotheses with procedures to falsify them.)

    [**the proposal was removed from City Council action by a special election which now requires any establishment of a city-run alcohol dispensing center to be put to a vote of all Bethel voters.]


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    Avian Influenza among NorAm Waterfowl Hunters and Wildlife Professionals

    birds, differing views (Thimk), Updates, science sources, sciencing, H5N1 1 Comment »

    As students of this site are aware, avian influenza already exists in the waterfowl and domestic fowl of North America (contrary to the many public services announcements in May and June 2006). It is a natural phenomenon.

    http://tinyurl.com/fok3n
    Archive Number 20060704.1834, Published Date 04-JUL-2006
    Subject PRO/AH/EDR> Avian influenza, ostriches - South Africa, H5N2: OIE

    “[First of all, this is _not_ the Avian Influenza virus that has infected humans. We have previously seen this virus — Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N2 (HPAI H5N2) — in North America and Europe. In 1983, a now historic outbreak in Pennsylvania in the USA was attributed to H5N2. Mexico (1994) and Texas, USA (2004) also had North American HPAI H5N2 outbreaks. Italy had HPAI H5N2 in 1997 (Italy also had HPAI H7N1 in turkeys in 1999- 2000). A complete table of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks in poultry by subtype until the end of 2003 is available at

    http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_03_02/en/

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Avian influenza in other animal species

    science sources, H5N1 2 Comments »

    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.

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Journal Science — State of Influenza

    science sources, info sources, H5N1 1 Comment »

    The State of Influenza
    http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/312/5772/379

    The rapid spread of H5N1 avian influenza has raised global concern about the prospect of a human influenza pandemic, and preparing for such a crisis poses a great challenge to both scientists and policy makers. In a special section of the 21 Apr 2006 issue, Science examined the current picture of influenza, including News reports on antivirals and vaccines, Review and Perspective articles on flu transmission and prevention, and an Editorial underscoring the need for faster and more robust tests to diagnose infection. Three new research papers looked at how seasonal flu epidemics spread and how aspects of H5N1 virus biology may contribute to infection and transmissibility. A special online portal ( http://www.sciencemag.org/marketing/influenza/ ) offered access to previous Science articles that provide additional perspective on the flu crisis, as well as three articles from the Science Classic archive dating from 1918 and 1919 that provide contemporary thoughts on the great 1918 flu pandemic. Finally, a special podcast devoted to influenza featured interviews with Science News writers and scientists on topics related to the special section ( http://www.sciencemag.org/about/podcast.dtl ).

    I believe that most articles will be publicly (non-member) accessible.

    Getting Results from Your Experts

    science sources, H5N1, public involvement 3 Comments »

    I put this list together for the USDA Natural Resources & Conservation Service in 2002. It is a listing of references I recommend to communities and other professionals concerned with public involvement. This isn’t a comprehensive (nor especially up to date) listing of references but includes books and websites I have found to be especially useful for myself and others. Books are listed first, then websites. The Internet sites also have training available. The FHWA (Federal Highway Administration) course is very good.

    Public involvement, as a public governance process, has evolved within the highway and risk (environmental health) contexts especially as a requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). However, much of the fundamental research developed within applied anthropology, usually within a health, appropriate technology, or nutrition context. “Expert systems” and now “accessibility” re: WWW sites, are other areas to look to for additional information.

    I’ve put asterisks next to names in the risk communication field who will have other articles and books. The titles in BOLD are especially useful to communities. Too often when an institution or agency speaks about “stakeholders” they mean they hold the stake while the community is the recipient.
    Read the rest of this entry »

    CBC and CDC backgrounds on previous pandemics

    science sources, news sources, history, H5N1 Comments Off

    I think it is useful to put the possibility of the next pandemic in the social and medical contexts of previous pandemics. (The last pandemic was 1968. But 1986-87 was a vicious seasonal flu in some parts of the country.)

    This first reference is from the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) archives. The news stories are really interesting. The one I mentioned below conveys some of the feeling of people at the time of the last pandemic. The files (radio or TV) are also small enough to download and play on a dial-up line.
    Read the rest of this entry »

    CDC Epidemiologic Case Studies

    science sources, resources Comments Off

    These case studies are interactive exercises developed to teach epidemiologic principles and practices. They are based on real-life outbreaks and public health problems and were developed in collaboration with the original investigators and experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The case studies require students to apply their epidemiologic knowledge and skills to problems confronted by public health practitioners at the local, state, and national level every day.

    Two types of epidemiologic case studies are available. The computer-based case studies can be used as self-study and in the classroom setting. The classroom case studies are primarily for use in a group setting with a knowledgeable instructor.

    http://www2a.cdc.gov/epicasestudies/default.htm

    The case study on botulism would be relevant to our region. Case studies in some ways are similar to CSI TV series, students have to do realistic analysis and interpretation. (well, CSI aren’t always that realistic).

    Botulism in Argentina -
    http://www2a.cdc.gov/epicasestudies/ computerbased/botarg.htm

    Resources to Understand Epidemiology & Disease Ecology

    science sources, sciencing, H5N1 2 Comments »

    Supercourse www.pitt.edu/~super1/ from the University of Pittsburgh

    Supercourse is a global repository of lectures on public health and prevention targeting educators across the world. Supercourse has a network of over 32000 scientists in 151 countries who are sharing for free a library of over 2500 lectures.

    2006-05-29T05:05:01+00:00 URL coding is fixed Read the rest of this entry »

    Pandemic presentation (Rashid Chotani, MD)

    science sources, haz com, H5N1 1 Comment »

    Influenza: An Impending Pandemic. A presentation by Rashid A. Chotani, M.D., M.P.H., Director, Global Infectious Disease Surveillance & Alert System, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

    His powerpoint slideshow is a very good general introduction to the subject. The presentation is viewable on-line from
    http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec21431/index.htm
    Read the rest of this entry »

    Bird mapping

    birds, science sources, maps Comments Off

    NetWatch is a page in the weekly Science journal with picks of Internet science sites. The sites mentioned here are not H5N1 specific but would be useful for those following up on birds and migrations. Pam

    Science 24 September 2004:Vol. 305. no. 5692, p. 1881
    DOI: 10.1126/science.305.5692.1881c
    Read the rest of this entry »

    Simulation of pandemic spread in partial USA (80 days)

    science sources, sciencing, maps, H5N1 Comments Off

    News story with maps and quick time animation
    Virtual Pandemic: 90 Days to Infect Entire U.S.

    This is a simulation of the transmissibility of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus which evolves to make the jump to humans. All simulations depend on their conditions set by the modellers (programmers). Therefore, Alaska and Hawai’i aren’t shown as red or yellow—not because we are invincible but because we weren’t included.

    from the
    LANS LLC press release Read the rest of this entry »

    Science Updates

    science sources, H5N1 Comments Off

    The New England Journal of Medicine, March 30, 2006
    Safety and Immunogenicity of an Inactivated Subvirion Influenza A
    (H5N1) Vaccine, J.J. Treanor and Others [Free full text of this article]

    Vaccines against Avian Influenza — A Race against Time G.A. Poland, [Free full text of this article]

    New England Journal of Medicine March 30, 2006 editorial (retrieved 2006mar29)

    The editorial has useful references for the Congressional study and definition of pandemic. Pam Read the rest of this entry »

    World TB Day — March 24, 2006

    preparedness, science sources, history Comments Off

    Today is World TB Day. Many people in our area remember the TB impacts and prevention of their childhood. Some of the lessons learned then will be useful in preparing for any new pandemic. Unfortunately, younger people do not know that history; others have forgotten it. Remember the caution not to spit? Now that it is still sub-zero temperatures, check out the funny-looking little cones of ice in the AC store parking lot. Pam

    Virulent Drug-Resistant TB Strain Emerges
    By Thomas H. Maugh II, Times Staff Writer
    March 24, 2006 Read the rest of this entry »

    Pandemic Influenza: The Inside Story

    science sources, history, H5N1 Comments Off

    This is a good general introduction. The scientific references (bibilography) are useful. He also mentions the important role of historical Alaska Native tissue samples from 1918.

    Nicholls H (2006) Pandemic Influenza: The Inside Story. PLoS Biol 4(2): e50
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0040050

    The origin of the 1918 pandemic strain, by contrast, has been harder to crack. Nearly a decade ago, Taubenberger and his colleagues made a real breakthrough; they found isolates of the 1918 pandemic virus in the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded lungs of an American serviceman [5] (Figure 4). They subsequently retrieved further samples of this deadly virus from a second soldier and also from a flu victim exhumed from a frosty mass grave in Alaska. Since then, they carefully sequenced one gene after another until they completed the task last year [6].

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Science and medical portals

    science sources, H5N1 1 Comment »

    Connotea is a free website to help researchers and clinicians manage and share information. http://www.connotea.org/

    The information is primarily research papers, but also news. Anyone can search for keywords, such as “bird flu” or “H5N1″ or “immunity”. Similar keywords will also appear that you can also search. This is a good bibliographic research tool.

    What are related tags?

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Cell barrier shows why bird flu not so easily spread among humans

    science sources, H5N1 1 Comment »

    Press release announcing publication of the research in Nature, a referreed journal. While the paper has been peer-reviewed before publication, the research also needs to be verified by other scientists. See also the BBC story here. Pam
    Public release date: 22-Mar-2006
    http://www.eurekalert.org/

    Contact: Yoshihiro Kawaoka

    608-265-4925
    University of Wisconsin-Madison

    Although more than 100 people have been infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus, mostly from close contact with infected poultry, the fact that the virus does not spread easily from its pioneering human hosts to other humans has been a biomedical puzzle.
    Read the rest of this entry »

    Why cover sneezes?

    science sources, sanitation, H5N1 Comments Off

    From slide collection, Department of Medical Microbiology, Edinburgh University
    Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

    “Airborne microorganisms

    Airborne particles are a major cause of respiratory ailments of humans, causing allergies, asthma, and pathogenic infections of the respiratory tract. Airborne fungal spores are also important agents of plant disease, and the means for dissemination of many common saprotrophic (saprophytic) fungi.

    Here we consider:

    * some important respiratory diseases of humans
    * the roles of airborne spores in crop diseases
    * the methods used to monitor spore populations in the air”

    http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/microbes/airborne.htm#crest

    also from
    WELCOME TO FUNGAL BIOLOGY
    This website provides learning and self-assessment resources, and many colour images to supplement the information in the book, FUNGAL BIOLOGY,
    A Textbook by JIM DEACON, Blackwell Publishing 2005″

    http://helios.bto.ed.ac.uk/bto/FungalBiology/index.htm

    Influenza vaccine: Could good enough be better than perfect?

    science sources, sciencing, H5N1 Comments Off

    [14apr2006, The Why Files are another excellent source of science explanation, from the University of Wisconsin. Pam]
    http://whyfiles.org/231flu_vaccine/

    The bird flu has killed millions of birds and more than 60 people in Asia. So far, the virus does not seem to infect one person directly from another. …

    Three strategies have been discussed to fight an avian influenza once it starts to spread between people: Drugs, quarantine, and vaccines.

    Each strategy has major pitfalls….

    Read the rest of this entry »

    Influenza Virus Resource (GenBank)

    science sources, H5N1 Comments Off

    Need to know which hemagglutinin proteins were carried last year by influenza viruses in Asia? Users can dissect viral proteins and nucleotide sequences from all over the world and from a variety of hosts, inlcuding humans, opigs, anbd birds.

    Virus sequences are gathered here at the US National Center for Biotechnology Information.
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ genomes/FLU/FLU.html


    reference from www.sciencemag.org/netwatch

    YK Bird Study Protocol

    birds, science sources, help wanted, H5N1 2 Comments »

    This is contained in a pdf file, obtainable from the excellent US Fish & Wildlife website for Alaska issues. http://alaska.fws.gov/media/ avian_influenza/index.htm

    Could someone please critique the research design and share its strengths and weaknesses?

    Could someone or group translate the bird names into their local and scientific names?

    The sampling document is here

    SAMPLING PROTOCOL FOR HIGHLY PATHOGENIC ASIAN H5N1 AVIAN INFLUENZA IN MIGRATORY BIRDS IN ALASKA
    Alaska Interagency HPAI Bird Surveillance Working Group, March 1, 2006

    Here is the list of birds to be sampled–
    Read the rest of this entry »

    Risk Communication: self-instruction course

    science sources, haz com, H5N1 Comments Off

    Self-instruction course or tutorial (also in pdf form)

    I have not had time to review this course. However: the credentials are good (PanAmerican Health Organization); it’s been on the Internet for awhile. The site includes links to further readings and a glossary. Topics list is comprehensive, too.

    Introduction
    Basic aspects of communication Read the rest of this entry »

    Professional Literature (H5N1)

    science sources, H5N1 4 Comments »

    http://www.plosmedicine.org/
    PLoS Medicine is an open-access journal

    http://www.plosbiology.org/ PLoS Biology
    has an introductory article Pandemic Influenza: The Inside Story

    The Public Library of Science (PLoS) is a non-profit organization of scientists and physicians committed to making the world’s scientific and medical literature a freely available public resource. http://www.plos.org/
    ================================

    SCIRUS Search for scientific information
    http://www.scirus.com/srsapp/

    Where is Bethel (year 2050)

    science sources, maps, H5N1 1 Comment »

    Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us

    The Global Spread of Malaria in a Future, Warmer World
    D. J. Rogers, and S. E. Randolph
    in
    Science
    8 September 2000: Vol. 289. no. 5485, pp. 1763 - 1766

    The frequent warnings that global climate change will allow falciparum malaria to spread into northern latitudes, including Europe and large parts of the United States, are based on biological transmission models driven principally by temperature. These models were assessed for their value in predicting present, and therefore future, malaria distribution. In an alternative statistical approach, the recorded present-day global distribution of falciparum malaria was used to establish the current multivariate climatic constraints. These results were applied to future climate scenarios to predict future distributions, which showed remarkably few changes, even under the most extreme scenarios.


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