Influenza A virus subtype H5N1

N. Korea sees let-up in bird flu outbreak

Yonhap News AgencyJune 11, 2013 01:36

SEOUL, June 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has reported to the international agency on animal health that the country has seen no new bird flu cases since early last month, agency officials said Tuesday. Ri Kyong-gun, the North's agricultural department chief, said, in a report sent to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), "There are no new outbreaks" as of May 22, some 10 days after a duck farm near Pyongyang reported animals showing symptoms of avian influenza, known as the H5N1 virus.

Only 14 China H7N9 patients left in hospital

Agence France-PresseJune 10, 2013 02:33

Only 14 patients from China's H7N9 bird flu outbreak are still in hospital, national health authorities said in their latest update on the disease. A total of 131 confirmed human infections of the virus have been recorded on the Chinese mainland, the National Health and Family Planning Commission said. Of those, 39 died and 78 had been released from hospital, with 14 still being treated, it said in a statement late Sunday, adding it would no longer report figures weekly, switching instead to monthly updates. One other case was recorded in Taiwan.

Quack shot: Duck genome takes aim at bird flu

Agence France-PresseJune 9, 2013 15:40

An international team of scientists said on Sunday they had sequenced the genome of the duck as part of an investigation into a natural source for avian influenza. Ducks and other fowl are carriers of bird flu virus, which can mix among pigs and humans in close proximity, mutating into more dangerous forms. But, intriguingly, these birds are often immune to the virus they carry, as appears to be the case with the newly emerged H7N9 strain in China.

Dutch authorities to cull poultry after avian influenza outbreak

Thomson ReutersJune 1, 2013 09:45

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Health authorities will cull 11,000 chickens at a farm in the Netherlands after an outbreak of a mild form of avian influenza, the Dutch Economic Affairs Ministry said on Saturday. The chickens were believed to have the low pathogenic H7 strain, the ministry said in a statement. They would be culled as a precaution because the strain can mutate into a form that is fatal for poultry.

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

Thomson ReutersMay 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.