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World not ready for mass flu outbreak

Agence France-PresseMay 21, 2013 20:30
The world is unprepared for a massive virus outbreak, the deputy chief of the World Health Organization warned Tuesday, amid fears that H7N9 bird flu striking China could morph into a form that spreads easily among people. Keiji Fukuda told delegates at a WHO meeting that despite efforts since an outbreak of another form of avian influenza, H1N1, in 2009-10, far more contingency planning was essential. "Even though work has been done since that time, the world is not ready for a large, severe outbreak," Fukuda said.

H7N9 bird flu outbreak costs more than $6.5 billion so far -U.N

May 21, 2013 17:46
GENEVA (Reuters) - The H7N9 bird flu outbreak in China has caused economic losses of more than $6.5 billion so far, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's chief veterinary officer said on Tuesday. "The economic impacts of H7N9 have been astounding," Juan Lubroth said during a presentation at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. "Over $6.5 billion has been lost in the agriculture sector because of prices, consumer confidence and trade. So poultry industry losses in China have been high," he said.

NK- bird flu

Yonhap News AgencyMay 20, 2013 10:45
SEOUL, May 20 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Monday confirmed a bird flu outbreak at a Pyongyang duck farm and said it has killed as many as 160,000 ducks to contain the virus. Authorities who conducted examinations on May 7 found that ducks in the Tudan Duck Farm were infected with the H5N1 virus, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. "They briefed UN bodies concerned on this situation while taking steps to kill as many as 160,000 ducks in the farm and quarantine and disinfect it," the news agency said.

CORRECTED: Bird flu costs China industry $6.5 bn: state media

Agence France-PresseMay 20, 2013 04:00
China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak has cost the country's poultry industry more than 40 billion yuan ($6.5 billion) as consumers shun chicken, government officials said according to state media Monday. The sector has been losing an average of one billion yuan a day since the end of March, the Beijing Times said, citing Li Xirong, head of the National Animal Husbandry Service. H7N9 avian influenza has infected 130 people in China, killing 35, since it was found in humans for the first time, according to latest official data.

NK-bird flu

Yonhap News AgencyMay 20, 2013 03:32
SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has set up an emergency committee as part of a country-wide effort to cope with the bird flu threat, a media report monitored in Seoul said. The Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers’Party of Korea (WPK) said anti-bird flu measures have been implemented at all administrative levels of the government.

Bird flu costs China industry $65 bn: state media

Agence France-PresseMay 20, 2013 01:15
China's human H7N9 bird flu outbreak has cost the country's poultry industry more than 400 billion yuan ($65 billion) as consumers shun chicken, government officials said according to state media Monday. The sector has been losing an average of one billion yuan a day since the end of March, the Beijing Times said, citing Li Xirong, head of the National Animal Husbandry Service. H7N9 avian influenza has infected 130 people in China, killing 35, since it was found in humans for the first time, according to latest official data.

Mexico slaughters 55,000 chickens to contain bird flu

Agencia EFEMay 9, 2013 17:00
Mexico City, May 9 (EFE).- Authorities slaughtered 55,000 chickens at a farm in the central state of Puebla where avian flu was detected, Mexico's agriculture department said. The Senasica food-safety agency ordered the birds sacrificed after laboratory tests confirmed the presence of the H7 virus at the farm in Palmar de Bravo. Senasica suspects the virus was spread to Puebla by chickens from other Mexican states affected by the avian-flu outbreak that began in 2012, the department said.

Basic disinfectant could halt bird flu spread

Agence France-PresseMay 6, 2013 16:46
Live poultry markets can act as hotbeds for H5N1 bird flu, but simple measures such as disinfecting trucks, equipment and market space could help stop the virus from spreading, researchers said Monday. A team of French, British and Vietnamese researchers interviewed vendors at live bird markets in northern Vietnam and tracked how outbreaks could move as if via social network, even into remote areas.

China reports 27th death from H7N9 bird flu

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 06:01
The death toll from the H7N9 bird flu virus has risen to 27, state media said Thursday after a man died in central China's Hunan Province. The 55-year-old whose surname was given as Jiao died on Wednesday after receiving medical treatment, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities. More than 120 people have been diagnosed with the virus since it was first reported in late March, with most cases confined to eastern China.

China reports 25th death from H7N9 bird flu

Agence France-PresseMay 2, 2013 03:01
The death toll from the H7N9 bird flu virus has risen to 25, state media said Thursday after a man died in central China's Hunan Province. The 55-year-old surnamed Jiao died on Wednesday morning after receiving medical treatment, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities. More than 120 people have been diagnosed with the virus since it was first reported in late March, with most cases confined to eastern China. The only one reported outside the mainland has been in Taiwan, although that victim was infected in China.
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