Asia experiencing worrisome avian flu outbreak; birds being slaughtered

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Asia experiencing worrisome avian flu outbreak; birds

being slaughtered

Health officials have long feared the spread of avian

influenza among the susceptible human population.

 

February 2004

 

An avian influenza strain spreading throughout Asia

has already caused the death of at least eight humans,

leading officials to warn of a threat that could prove

even more problematic than the severe acute

respiratory syndrome (SARS) that spread last year.

 

WHO is reporting avian influenza in chickens and ducks

in several Asian countries: Cambodia, China, Japan,

South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Laboratory testing

has confirmed that the avian influenza strain, an H5N1

strain, directly caused the death of at least six

individuals in Vietnam and at least two individuals in

Thailand.

 

Local health officials are acting to prevent further

spread of the avian influenza strain, slaughtering

hundreds of thousands of chickens and ducks across

Asia.

 

If avian influenza is allowed to spread unchecked

among avian and human populations, WHO officials said,

it could develop into a pandemic.

 

According to WHO, the M2 inhibitors (amantadine and

rimantadine) and the neuraminidase inhibitors

(oseltamivir [Tamiflu, Roche] and zanimivir [Relenza,

GlaxoSmithKline]) are available for treatment. These

drugs have been licensed for the prevention and

treatment of influenza in some countries, and are

thought to be effective regardless of the causative

strain.

 

However, initial analysis of viruses isolated from the

recently fatal cases in Vietnam indicates that the

viruses are invariably resistant to the M2 inhibitors.

Further testing is under way to confirm the resistance

of amantadine. Network laboratories are also

conducting studies to confirm the effectiveness of

neuraminidase inhibitors against the current H5N1

strains.

 

Health officials are concerned that the avian

influenza strain could mix with human influenza

strains circulating in Asia, creating a highly

efficient killer of people. Currently there has been

no human to human transmission, but the avian

influenza strain could potentially pick up that

charWHO has also begun the process of developing a

pandemic influenza prototype vaccine strain, but that

is in the early stages of planning possible.

 

Back in the United States, CDC is also taking steps to

address the potential pandemic spread of avian

influenza. CDC officials are warning clinicians to

take travel histories from all patients complaining of

influenza symptoms and to be wary of influenza-like

symptoms in travelers returning from affected

countries. CDC is also updating domestic infection

control guidance to ensure proper measures are in

place to handle a case.

 

The most severe outbreak occurred in Hong Kong in

1997, when an influenza A H5N1 outbreak caused 18

cases and six deaths among people. Health officials

quickly called for the slaughter of 1.5 million

poultry and the situation was resolved.

 

A separate outbreak of H5N1 influenza in Hong Kong in

2003 led to one death and two cases overall. Also in

2003, an H7N7 avian influenza strain killed one

veterinarian in the Netherlands and mild illness in 83

others.

 

WHO is also aware of at least two other minor

outbreaks of avian influenza among people. Two

children in Hong Kong fell ill from an influenza A

H9N2 strain in 1999, and in December 2003, one case of

H9N2 influenza was reported in a human in Hong Kong.

 

For more information:

Visit www.who.int/csr/don/en/

 

 

 

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