Bird-Flu-Free Zones to be set up in Pakistan

Do you remember the time, when there were Smoking and No Smoking sections in all of the flights?

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This meant that of the, ten rows of seats in the Business Class of an aircraft, the first few were Non Smoking and the remaining seats immediately behind those seats, were Smoking seats, or vice verse.

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No body seemed to have mentioned the above arrangement to the smoke from the cigarettes however.

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The smoke would naturally waft along the entire section of the business class.

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Pakistan is one of the few places on the planet, where smoking is still pretty much allowed in most places.

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May be that is why the Government of Pakistan has come up with a brilliant plan to fight the Bird Flu virus in that country.

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The powers that be in Pakistan (not sure if any one knows who they are at this time) have decided that they are to create Bird-flu-Free-Zones in the country.

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These Bird-Flu-Free -Zones will be areas of Pakistan,  where the Bird Flu virus will be banned.

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I guess that means that the rest of Pakistan will be free to have the H5N1 virus roam around at will!

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Exactly how this Moses like separation of natural elements is to be managed is not very clear.

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However, here are excerpts from a report from The News: 

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The Government of Pakistan is considering setting up ‘bird flu free zones’ and ‘poultry disease free units’ containing all bio-security measures in order to control the avian influenza .

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The sources said that all possible steps would be taken at the proposed zones to prevent the virus and diseases.

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The main focus will be on disposal of birds, restriction of wild birds and visitors, disinfection of vehicles, proper vaccination techniques, use of anti-viral spray and maintenance of health environment.

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Moreover, the sources said that there were (currently) no rules and regulations for registration of poultry farms though in the past there was some procedure wherein the Agriculture Development Bank used to grant loans for setting up farms with requirement to produce feasibility report.

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However, if the number of birds (at a poultry farm) was 100,000 or over, then a feasibility report as well as induction of a doctor was deemed necessary.

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Director Poultry Production and Research Sindh (PPRS), Dr Ali Akbar Soomro said that they have trained 16 ‘master trainers’, who have been provided necessary kits to conduct regular surveillance of poultry farms, he told The News.

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Moreover, the institute has set up three laboratories in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur respectively, while seven teams are engaged in creating awareness against the diseases across the province.

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They are working in 14 districts and do not have staff in the newly-created nine more districts of the province, Soomro said.

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However, their areas of concerns are commercial layer farms, commercial broiler farms, backyard poultry and pet birds, where they are stressing for adopting preventive measures. Dr Ali Akbar Soomro added.

Barack Obama takes that “3 AM” Call (Electing Bird Flu President USA)

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Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US President, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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It was last week, when that dreaded 3AM (BIG PROBLEM) call came to the phone sitting on Barack Obama’s desk.

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The time of the call may not have been exactly 3 AM, but that is not the point here.

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Barack Obama was asked about a report that a senior official had given back-channel reassurances to Canada soft-pedaling Mr. Obama’s tough talk on Nafta.

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CTV, a Canadian television network, had reported that an Obama official had called the Canadian ambassador in Washington to play down the significance of Mr. Obama’s criticism of Nafta.

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There was was a firm reaction from Obama, as befits a Commander-In-Chief-in-Waiting.

With his usual look of sincerity and absolute honesty, he denied that any such conversation had taken place.

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“It did not happen.” He said.

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When WKYC-TV in Ohio asked Mr. Obama about the CTV report, he said: “I don’t have to clarify it. The Canadian Embassy already clarified it by saying the story was not true. And our office has said the story was not. And so I think it’s important for viewers to understand that it was not true.” When pressed, he said, “It did not happen.”

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Obama’s campaign mobilized as well to strongly refute the above mentioned report of any back-channel reassurances to Canada.

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“At no point did anyone in our campaign convey to anyone that there had been any backing away from Obama’s position on Nafta,” a campaign spokesman, Bill Burton, said Monday.

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That is of course, how a strong Comander-In-Chief-in-Waiting and his campaign should act, immediately and decisively.

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The only thing is, that the denials by Obama and his campaign were er… less than the truth.

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On Monday,a memorandum surfaced, obtained by The Associated Press, showing that Austan D. Goolsbee, a professor of economics at the University of Chicago  who is Mr. Obama’s senior economic policy adviser, met officials last month at the Canadian consulate in Chicago.

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According to the writer of the memorandum, Joseph De Mora, a political and economic affairs consular officer, Professor Goolsbee assured them that Mr. Obama’s protectionist stand on the trail was “more reflective of political maneuvering than policy.”

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It also said the professor had assured the Canadians that Mr. Obama’s language “should be viewed as more about political positioning than a clear articulation of policy plans.”

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So that was how Senator Barack Obama, the Commander-In-Chief-in-Waiting responded to his first Big Problem “3 AM” call.

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Source: The New York Times

“OBAMA SPEAK” Electing Bird Flu President USA

Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US President, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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One of the most interesting things to have come to light recently is the “Obama Speak” for lying to the nation, about his proclamations about NAFTA.

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What did his man tell the Canadians?

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“It is more politics than policy”

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Now that is what I call eloquent!

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Normally that would be OK. We all know how politicians are!

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However, when some one like Obama, who has nothing else to show for but his “honesty”, shows him self to be less than honest, then it really, really hurts. 

Electing the Bird Flu President USA

It is clear to us all that the next President of the USA is likely to encounter all kinds of serious problems.

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Many believe that in addition to all the domestic, economic and diplomatic disasters facing the next US Presidet, there could well be an added disaster of the Bird Flu pandemic looming just over the horizon.

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So we have been taking a look at the candidates for the job of the President of America and the way we all feel about them during the election process.

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During the last few months one thing has become very clear about the way the Americans elect their President.

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The US election 08 clearly tells us that in America, no matter how qualified a woman is, she has very little chance of getting the top job, against a man who wants the same job.

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It is much more important for the Americans to see how the woman looks, sounds or pleases them in some other way, than it is to see if she is the best qualified for the job.

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We can all deny this but if we are really honest about it, we would all have to admit this as a fact.

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It is like getting a male pilot with only one year training to fly a jumbo jet, because he is a man and “he inspires us”, as opposed to a woman who has flown jumbo jets for decades and has weathered all kinds of storms, but “we do not like her”.

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But then that is how George W was elected.

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Was he not the guy you could have a drink with?

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Of course the fact that GW had no idea about running a country, was no problem as he could always “surround himself with the best”!

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We deserve what we get and should not moan about it after the fact.

Is Anjalina Paslain from India, infected with the Bird Flu Virus?

Is Anjalina Paslain, the 21 year old girl from Shillong, infected with the Bird Flu Virus?

National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi is “not ruling out the possibility of bird flu”

Via The Times of India

SHILLONG: A girl suspected to be suffering from bird flu was admitted at Shillong Civil Hospital on Thursday sending Meghalaya health department into a tizzy. State Director of Health Services Dr K H Lakiang said the 21-year-old girl, Anjalina Paslain was admitted with fever and rashes and had been kept in the isolation ward.

The girl, who hails from Sipung in the Jaintia Hills district was first admitted at the local health center, after which she was taken to a private hospital in Shillong, which during the day referred her to the government civil hospital.

Dr Lakiang said: “The blood and stool samples have been collected and will be sent for tests for bird flu virus to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases in Delhi on Friday,” he said.

“Nothing can be said as of now,” he said, while not ruling out the possibility of bird flu.

District Surveillance Officer (Integrated Diseases Surveillance Cell) Dr M Basaiawmoit and other senior officials of the health department also did not rule out the possibility, but said nothing could be confirmed till the test results were received.

Sources:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Suspected_bird-flu_case_in_Meghalaya/articleshow/2802452.cms

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

Free Chicken Curry for all In Calcutta

The outbreak of the bird flu virus has had a devastating effect on the poultry industry in India.

Eight districts in West Bengal have been hit by the virus — more than 100,000 bird deaths have been reported — with teams racing to cull two million chickens and ducks.

The fear of the possibility of a human bird flu outbreak, has resulted in a large number of peaple removing chicken from their diet.

“I would not like my children to eat chicken right now” Said Mayawati Dogra, a house wife in Calcutta. (now known as Kolkata) “I know they say that it is safe to eat chicken, but why take a chance?” said Mayawati.

Although the flu is restricted to West Bengal, crashing wholesale prices and ban on exports, internal and external, are affecting the industry across the country.

Venkateshwara Hatcheries, the largest poultry group in Asia, says its wholesale price across the country dropped from an average of Rs 38 to Rs 26 a kg.

Another reason for falling prices is the ban on movement of eggs and poultry to and from West Bengal, creating a surplus of eggs in the market.

The glut in market is also due to an export ban following the outbreak of bird flu.

Before the outbreak, India was exporting 110 million table eggs and 1.2 million hatching eggs.

The Poultry industry in West Bengal is facing a major crises.

As a solution for the above, the state government of West Bengal is trying to make chicken meat the preferred choice of people in Kolkata.

A ‘mahabhoj’ or a grand feast was organised in Kolkata where, 2000 kilogrammes of chicken were cooked and distributed for free. Ranges of delicacies were on offer, from succulent kebabs to creamy curries and delicious biryani. More than 4000 people attended the costly feast.

 

 

“Chicken is very healthy. It has less cholesterol and is very nutritious,” says Exec Member, WB Poultry Forum, Amlan Mahajan.

West Bengal’s Minister for Animal Husbandry, Anisur Rehman, who ordered culling of chicken when bird flu was first reported, is now working with poultry farmers to re-assure people that this meat is safe to consume.

Sources:

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/after-bird-flu-a-chicken-feast-in-kolkata/59398-3.html

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

US Government Pandemic Warning to US Citizens abroad

If the WHO declares a pandemic, Americans who are overseas should be prepared to remain in country for an extended period.

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You should avoid non-essential travel beyond your home and workplace and you should limit activities that could expose you to others who may be ill.

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Based on varying conditions abroad, Americans should prepare contingency plans and emergency supplies (non-perishable food, potable water or water-purification supplies, medication, etc.) for the possibility of remaining in country for at least two and up to twelve weeks.

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Visit www.pandemicflu.gov to see examples of comprehensive planning checklists for individuals, businesses, schools, and other groups.

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During a pandemic, people should practice social distancing measures such as teleworking, limiting face-to-face meetings, avoiding crowds, and maintaining a distance of six (6) feet or more from other people.

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“whoever wrote this has never been to China. Probably only in Tibet, Xinjiang, or Inner Mongolia could one possibly get more than 6 feet away from another human being…

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Source:           GlobalizeThis.  A great blog

from the blogs section of www.birdflubreakingnews.com

         

Of Sunni, Shia, black Americans & US Election08 (Electing BirdFlu President Part 2)

The Sunnis of Iraq will only vote for a Sunny candidate.

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Not because of proven ability. Just because he is a Sunny.

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The Shia of Iraq will vote only for a Shia candidate.

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Not because of proven ability. Just because he is a Shia.

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The black Americans will only vote for the black candidate.

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Not because of proven ability. Just because he is black.

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The election08 has uncovered the real racial divide that exists in America.

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So how would this effect America and the rest of the world over the next four or even eight years?

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Well, let us look back to the election in the year 2000.  

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When good old W was elected for the first time, every one in the entire world was flabbergasted, that a person with no experience with the nations of the world, who had given in to drugs and alcohol in his “week moments”, (but he was now born again and so was all better) was elected in to the most powerful job in the world.

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It was said W would have the best advisers in the world, so he did not really have to have any experience of his own.

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And more importantly, he said that he was a “uniter” and not a divider.

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The Americans swallowed it all.

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As a result there is conflict every where you look and millions around the world have paid with their lives.

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The USA is more divided than it has ever been in recent history.

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So did we learn a lesson?  

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Oh no, not Americans.

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Now we want to elect another “UNITER” who will have the best advisers and so it does not matter that he has no real experience of global politics (or even much of local politics).

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Surely no one can pull the same stunt again?

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Oh yes he can!

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The only problem is that this time the stakes are much higher than they were back in 2000 or even in 2004.

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There is a global war, world wide crash of the Dolloar, credit crunch, National health care disaster, BirdFlu and a lot more.

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This is a time for effective action and not fire side discussions, in a smoking jacket and a pipe, making thoughtfull comments on things can be.

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So will the Americans wake up to the crisis facing us all?

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Well, Americans have an amazing talent for self destruction.

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So, here is what is likely to happen.

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The I-so-want-to believe lot in the Democratic party will try and purge their collective guilt of life long prejudice (kept totally repressed in the subconscious) by voting for a man just because he is black!

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The black Americans will vote for the black candidate, not because he has proven abilities in face of real problems and crisis, but just because he is black.

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The republicans will NOT do that.

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A large number of the Democrats will also NOT vote for the black candidate.

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That is because there is a real racial Divide in America.

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I know that hurts, but that is the truth. (we are on our way to a color blind, no prejudices society, but we are not there yet.)

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So as a result the Republicans will be back in power again, this time apparently  with an agenda to be in Iraq for a hundred years!

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And there will be no one to blame for all this will there?

BIRD FLU VIDEO

With all the doom and gloom about the increasing spread of the Bird Flu virus, here is a funny video related to the dreaded subject:

http://revver.com/video/650116/doreen-bird-flu/

Now a Human Victim of Bird Flu in India?

VIA Statesman News Service

BALURGHAT. Jan, 31: Panic broke out at Mangalpur More, Jogomaya Para in Balurghat today, over the illness of a 17-year-old girl.

The victim, Ms Priyanka Malakar has been admitted to the Balurghat Hospital with breathing trouble, high fever and rashes all over her body her body.

Neighbours fear that the girl has fallen a victim to Bird Flu but the doctors are still not certain about it.

Admitting the matter, the CMOH, South Dinajpur Mr BB Mahapatra said that the symptoms were similar to human flu and measles.

 “Nothing can be said for certain at this point. We are sending her blood samples for tests to Bhopal. She would be under observation till the test results reach us,” the CMOH, said.
Doctors treating the victim refused to comment on the matter, which has stoked further imagination and rumour.

The CMOH’s version has not been able to convince the Mangalpur residents, who suspect the girl has been contaminated with avian flu.

“Since we stay close to the victim’s house, people are avoiding us,” lamented Priyanka’s next door neighbours Mrs Swagata Saha and Mrs Bandana Guha.

The neighbours alleged that the culling teams engaged by the district administration had not visited their area although almost every house in that area had some chickens or ducks.

The South Dinajpur district magistrate Mr Swapan Chatterjee, said that he had not been informed of the development. He was also unhappy to learn that culling teams were yet to visit the Jogomaya Para area. The DM assured to look into the matter.

Mini Lakes Of Egg Yolk as Bird Flu Panic Grows.

In a clear display of panic, hundreds of thousands of Eggs are being destroyed in the state of West Bengal in India, creating mini lakes of rapidly decaying egg yolk, in hastily dug ditches.

Meanwhile India’s worst outbreak of bird flu spread as health authorities battled to stop it reaching the densely populated city of Kolkata amid heavy rain that hampered culling efforts.

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Authorities reported the disease had affected two more districts, bringing the number hit by avian flu to 12 out of West Bengal state’s total of 19.The fear of the H5N1 virus is spreading to other parts of India as well.–                                                                                                                                               –                                                                                   –

In neighbouring Bangladesh from where the Indian outbreak is believed to have spread, health teams slaughtered a large number of birds in a border area amid a worsening bird flu situation across the country.

Some 2,646 chickens, ducks and pigeons were culled and 1,140 eggs destroyed in Bangladesh’s southern Patuakhali district, about 160 km south of capital Dhaka Thursday night after detection of avian influenza.

There are also reports of a large number of Crows dying of the H5N1 virus in Patuakhali in southern Bangladesh.

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The deadly bird flu virus has also killed 30 chickens in Thailand, marking the second outbreak of bird flu in 10 months, livestock officials said yesterday.

This is the second outbreak of bird flu in Thailand since March 18, 2007.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed that a 34-year-old man from Vietnam has died of H5N1 avian influenza.

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While in Indonesia, a 30-year-old man has died of bird flu, the health ministry said Thursday, bringing the toll to 98 in the nation worst hit by the H5N1 virus.

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In the UK, a sixth swan from a bird sanctuary has tested positive for avian flu, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) confirmed.The news comes after restrictions on the movement of poultry or other captive birds in the Wild Bird Monitoring Area around Abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset, England were lifted at 3pm on Friday.-                                                                                                                                                    –The Bird Flu Virus has spread to 15 countries since the beginning of this year!

Bird Flu Panic In India

The Bird Flu virus is creating a growing sense of panic in India.

For the first time, there is a real sense of fear of the killer virus, not only in the effected states of Bengal and Bihar but all over India.

 The Times Of India Editorial put it this way- An Excerpt:

More than 6,00,000 eggs are piling up in Namakkal, the poultry capital of Tamil Nadu, even as egg prices slide with the fall in demand.

Thousands of broiler chickens are waiting in the wings as poultry entrepreneurs pray for importers to resume buying. The avian flu outbreak in West Bengal has simply devastated the poultry farmer in Tamil Nadu — setting the industry back by over Rs 500 crore — though the distance between the two states is thousands of kilometres and there is absolutely no sign of the virus in the south. Meanwhile, the government of West Bengal — where the H5N1 flu virus has now infected poultry in half the state — is unable to contain the outbreak.

It is wasting precious time sparring with the Centre, which has accused the state government of not doing enough on time.

The West Bengal government must act quickly to contain the outbreak, before it spreads to neighbouring states. Five persons have been quarantined in West Bengal as they have shown symptoms of avian flu, but as yet there are no confirmed cases.

Right now the impact on the poultry industry is much more disconcerting. It is losing out on huge export orders to countries in the Gulf among others. Fear of a possible pandemic is turning consumers away from chicken and eggs.

This is a pity since they are a relatively affordable source of protein. Poultry exporters say that they want the central government to divide the country zone-wise so that there is a clear understanding of which parts are affected and which are not. Zoning would help producers label their products.

This proposal should be implemented. Zoning and labelling would help revive exports somewhat. The World Health Organisation says this is the worst outbreak of H5N1 virus in India till date.

But the infrastructure and laboratory facilities to enable documentation, testing, detection and research in both animal/bird and human samples are inadequate.

Iran admits to Bird Flu! Could Homosexuals in Iran be the next revelation?

The world woke up yesterday, to find that Iran was not after all,  immune to the Bird Flu “due to the country’s moral strength”.

“Iran filed with the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) yesterday says the outbreak occurred in Mazandaran, a northern province that fronts on the Caspian Sea.”

The above was an amazing case of no doubt “pure coincident” as this admission of the bird flu outbreak, followed a news item from MEMRI, that was published by the birdflubreakingnews.com !!

The news item from MEMRI reported that the Iranian authorities had prohibited the country’s media from covering the problem of avian flu in Iran.

Iranians have since then accused the MEMRI, of having political motives to report news “to make Iran look bad. “.

I do not know about the political leanings of MEMRI but that was the ONLY source other than the Glorious Iranian Press about what is going on in that darkened country.

birdflubreakingnews has thousands of blogs and bird flu related news items on its site, from every country in the world (even from an imprisoned country like Burma) but almost nothing from Iran!

I have had “unconfirmed reports” about cases of H5N1 for a long time now, but I have not been able to get a confirmed source for such outbreaks.

We would not need MMRI, if only the Iranian Government sources had been able to tell the world, the truth about what is going on in that country.

Is it possible that now the Iranians will also admit to have homosexuals in their distinctly non-pink country?

J M Tom

Kill the Birds & Save the World

Here is a blood thirsty little game for you for the new year, from Galaxy Graphics.

You have to kill the birds (chickens actually) and stop the Bird Flu traveling from Thailand to the UK, via China and Turkey! 

Here is the link to the game:

http://www.galaxygraphics.co.uk/games/birdflu.php

Enjoy:)

Bird Flu from the Mother-In-Law

A tourist sparked a bird flu panic at the New Year celebrations at one of the hotels in Abu Dhabi.

According to a statement released by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), “The visitor caused a state of panic and confusion as he told the management of the hotel that he suffered from avian influenza,”.

The tourist claimed that the Bird Flu infection was transmitted to him from his mother-in-law.

Warning hotel employees from coming near him, the visitor, who came to the country few days back, said he needed urgent medical attention.

But then, to make matters worse, he refused to be examined by a doctor from a private hospital who was called in for help by the hotel management, saying that he did not wish to transmit the disease to anyone.

The hotel authorities then called the police who contacted the National Committee for Emergency Response to Bird flu, headed by the EAD.Specialist physicians from the Department of Preventive Medicine rushed to the hotel, accompanied by a team of experts. Entry and exit to the hotel were blocked by the authorities.

At the end of clinical tests, the man was found to be intoxicated and not suffering from any form of disease and certainly not suffering from avian influenza!

Finally, results of tests and clinical examinations proved that the man was just intoxicated.

Almost an hour later, public was allowed to enter the hotel. However, the floor the man stayed was kept isolated.

Source:

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/General/10178695.html

Bird Flu in Pakistan – The real story.

I have been watching with amused admiration, the energy and the effort spent by all of the Flu news/blog folks, on the Pakistani H5N1 outbreak.

To begin with, even at the best of times, it is very unlikely that any reliable news would be able to seep out of even the main cities of Pakistan, let alone the North West Frontier area of that country.

That is the region after all, where you-know-who has been hiding all these years without a trace!

To top all that, the Pakistani Government has had its hands full for many months with matters that it thinks are much more important than a simple pandemic.

I mean, in pandemic a few million people can die. That is all.

What is that to a country with one of the largest populations in the world?

As all of you must know, the State of Emergency imposed by General Musharraf (now a civilian but still in charge) has been “removed” from Pakistan TODAY, by its now civilian President.

So does that mean that now we will be able to get all the news from the newly “free Pakistan”?

Certainly not.

Now Pakistan is in the process of holding a general election for the post of the Prime Minister.

That is a very important post.

Lots of money can be made if you are the PM of Pakistan.

All those lovely Billions from the US to start with.

In fact the two main candidates have both been accused by several international bodies of corruption at a huge scale.

So I am afraid a pandemic or two is not really important at this time for that country, where it is now the time to play Politics.

British Lords to look in to the spread of infectious diseases

The British Lords have now decided to examine the effectiveness of action by intergovernmental organisations, to control the spread of infectious diseases.

Their Lordships are to examine how cross-border policy issues are being addressed through UK membership of intergovernmental bodies.

The Committee, which is chaired by Lord Soley, has chosen for its first inquiry to examine how effectively the global spread of communicable diseases is being controlled through action by intergovernmental organisations. 

The Committee will be looking not only at what medical agencies, such as the World Health Organisation, are doing but also at how other bodies, such as the UN Children’s Fund and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, are involved and will be assessing, among other things, whether there is adequate synergy between the various participants.

The Labour peer Lord Soley, Chairman of the new Committee, said:

“Infectious diseases are no respecters of national frontiers.  Much good work to prevent or control them is being done by a range of intergovernmental organisations of which the UK is a member.

“Our Committee wishes to assess how effective these efforts are proving to be and how well coordinated they are. We also want to see what intergovernmental preparations are being made to cope with emerging diseases.

“We will be focusing initially on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Avian Influenza, all of them actual or potential killers on a large scale.

Our Call for Evidence has gone to a wide range of bodies with acknowledged expertise in the subject, but we would welcome evidence from anyone who feels he or she can contribute”.

Of course with the recent accusations of “Money for titles” leveled at the British Government, added to the practice of the ex Prime Minister Blair of “stuffing the House of Lords with his labour cronies”, the Noble House of Lords is considered by some, to be not as NOBLE as it once was!

Sources:

http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_press_notices/pn101207igo.cfm

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

BirdFlu NewsFlashes Dec 11, 2007

Additional Bird Flu Victim Tissue Samples For Indonesia

There is yet another human death resulting from the Bird Flu virus in Indonesia.

A 28-year-old woman from the outskirts of the Indonesian capital has been confirmed as dying of bird flu, raising the toll in the nation worst affected by H5N1 to 92, the health ministry said Tuesday.

The victim, named Mutiah, lived in the satellite city of Tangerang, just west of Jakarta, where three other bird flu deaths have been reported since October.

Mutiah, who sold ornamental plants has died here with officials suspecting she may be the nation’s 92nd bird flu death, an official from the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.

Two laboratory tests on the woman, who died on Monday at a hospital in Jakarta, showed that she was infected with the highly pathogenic virus, a statement from the ministry’s bird flu information centre said.

Unkind people in Indonesia are (no doubt maliciously) suggesting that the Indonesian Health Minister, Siti Supari is now boasting the largest amount of tissue samples in the world, from the Bird Flu victims, in the Indonesian Bird flu Human Tissue Bank.

http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2007/12/11/indonesian-plant-seller-suspected-of-bird-flu-death-ministry/ 

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gGA9CiE7_wp_PvqOkvdQhNtDEeyA

http://www.france24.com/france24Public/en/administration/afp-news.html?id=071211174315.xz87pds3&cat=null

Bird Flu case suspected at South Korea Poultry Farm.

Here we go again!

Even though its neighbour is protected from the Bird Flu virus due to the devine powers of its dear leader, South Korea has no such protection and has once again succumbed to the killer virus.

A report today Tuesday, from Reuters (Yonhap news agency)  tells us that ducks at a poultry farm tested positive for an antibody to a bird flu virus.

There was no information on which strain of bird flu, at the farm in Paju, around 24.85 miles north of Seoul, had been identified. Results of further testing should be known in about two weeks, a local official told Yonhap news agency.

South Korea’s agriculture ministry was unable immediately to confirm the Yonhap report.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUKSEO9157220071211

Bird flu outbreak reported from farm in Russia’s Rostov region

A total of 35,000 chickens have died of flu at the Gulyai-Borisovskaya farm since December 5. The farm had 500,000 chickens. Lab tests confirmed it was the bird flu.

Marina Abramchenko, a spokeswoman for the local emergencies ministry said Tuesday.

Marina Abramchenko said the birds started dying November 29 from the lethal H5N1 virus at the farm, which holds some 500,000 birds, adding that quarantine restrictions have been introduced in the area.

“We have received the preliminary results of analysis,” Abramchenko said adding that the results showed traces of the H5N1 virus.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12169841&PageNum=0

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20071211/91905749.html

How to find the cheapest Christmas turkey in UK?

No. It is not by calling Barnard Matthews for one of his “Turkey Specials”.

It is suggested by “This is Money” (Part of the Daily Mail group) that even though the availability of organic birds in the UK has been hit, elsewhere the predictions that the price of a turkey would soar have failed to materialise.

After the recent bird flu outbreaks in the UK, there were fears that the cost of Christmas lunch could rocket this year – with Waitrose announcing it would have no organic turkeys this year. But while the availability of organic birds has been hit, elsewhere predictions that the price of a turkey would soar have failed to materialise.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/consumer/article.html?in_article_id=427456&in_page_id=5

British Lords to look in to the spread of infectious diseases

The British Lords have now decided to examine the effectiveness of action by intergovernmental organisations, to control the spread of infectious diseases.

Their Lordships are to examine how cross-border policy issues are being addressed through UK membership of intergovernmental bodies.

The Labour peer Lord Soley, Chairman of the new Committee, said:

“Infectious diseases are no respecters of national frontiers.  Much good work to prevent or control them is being done by a range of intergovernmental organisations of which the UK is a member.

“Our Committee wishes to assess how effective these efforts are proving to be and how well coordinated they are. We also want to see what intergovernmental preparations are being made to cope with emerging diseases.

“We will be focusing initially on HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis and Avian Influenza, all of them actual or potential killers on a large scale.

Of course with the recent accusations of “Money for titles” leveled at the British Government, added to the practice of the ex Prime Minister Blair of “stuffing the House of Lords with his labour cronies”, the Noble House of Lords is considered by some, to be not as NOBLE as it once was!

http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/lords_press_notices/pn101207igo.cfm

STRANGE ABSENCE of BIRD-FLU from IRAN and NORTH KOREA.

Even though almost all the countries neighbouring the Islamic republic of Iran and also that of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea the DPRK have reported several outbreaks of the H5N1 virus, Iran and North Korea have not had a single case of the killer virus reported any where.

What is the secret that has provided protection from the dreaded Bird-Flu virus for these two great countries?

According to the Iranian authorities, it is due to the Righteous Path followed by the Government and by the Iranian people that God has spared Iran of this plague.

It is well known that there are no homosexuals in Iran.

Could that be another reason for the absence of the Bird-flu virus in that country?

“Iran has taken serious steps to prevent the bird flu outbreak,” Veterinary Organization chief Mojtaba Norouzi said.

It has obviously worked for the Iranians since there has been NO report of any bird flu there.

Well, at least not since the two officials who had annmounced two human fatalities a while back only to dissappear and be never heard from again.

The North Koreans strongly believe that it is due to the power of Kim Jong-Il their Dear Leader, that their land has proved to be too tough a nut for the H5N1 virus to crack.

Kim Jong-Il the Dear Leader     

                   The Fighting Forces of North Korea

Of course, their immediate neighbour South Korea, has reported seven cases of infection by the H5N1 strain of bird flu between November 2006 and March this year, hitting its poultry exports to Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and elsewhere.

About 13,000 ducks were culled last month in Gwangju, 330km south of Seoul, after health officials discovered a low-virulence H7 strain of avian influenza.

To the North of North Korea is China, the original source of the H5N1 virus and host to repeated outbreaks of the Bird Flu virus.

Sources;

www.tdaxp.com/…/08/10/totalitarian-chicks.html

Fear of Birds

Fear of Birds

The other day I watched “Birds” the great 1963 Hitchcock’s classic, about repeated attacks by all kinds of birds on a woman (Tippi Hedren) in an isolated California community.

 

It was amazing to see the great director creating a real sense of fear, from a subject that is as ordinary as can be.

I mean, Birds are to be looked at and admired.

Birds are not to be feared.

But then that was before there was the Bird-Flu!

I wonder what the master director cold have done with the H5N1 virus!

Here is a short clip about a guy who is hand feeding seagulls!

“Hand Fed Seagull By Scarpace”.

 Hitchcock would have loved it:

http://www.fargone.com/2007/04/03/hand-fed-seagull-by-scarpace/

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com  

http://hitchcock.tv/mov/birds/images/hbirds.jpg

Be careful of what you wish for in Pakistan. You may get your wish!

Adolf Hitler believed in democracy.

Almost through out the time that he ruled them, Hitler had a huge majority of German people backing him up to the hilt.

But then he had sold them a story about how they were a super race, above all others and they had all loved it.

So Hitler was a much loved, democratically elected leader of his people.

(until right at the end of course, when he was loved only by only those who died along with him in that bunker)

The West has this thing about Democracy as the panacea for all the ills of the world and they could not be more wrong.

(What about the Hammas in the Palestinian territories then!)

The ul-Wahhab’s sect of Islam also has a growing majority of Muslims all over the world backing it, because they believe in what they have been told by the Wahhabis.

So a democratic but Wahhabi Fundamentalist Pakistan will follow the Taliban and the al-Quieda in their all-conquering-Jihad around the Globe, until all are part of the same belief.

There is no other choice offered by Wahhabism.

You heard their leader say that from his cave recently.

He said that the solution to all problems for the West was to convert to Islam.

 It is like the “Borg” of the Star Trek.

You assimilate or you die.

And as we know, the Borg do this because they only want to “raise the quality of life” of the species they “assimilate.

So we can either raise the quality of our life, by the assimilation offered to us by the al-Qaeda and the Taliban, or we do not and die. Those are the only two options available to us.

      

The Borg – Resistance is Futile. 

The IRA terrorists fought the Brits, for their rights, in their country. This is nothing like that in any way what so ever. This is a policy to either convert or kill. There is no negotiation. No compromise.

President Pervez Musharraf

Democracy in Pakistan (or removal of Musharraf) at this time, means either letting  some one like an ex playboy cricket player, turned celebrity son-in-law, turned Islamic politician like Imran Khan, in to power.

Or, allowing the educated-in-the-West (with all corruption charges involving millions of Dollars in secret bank accounts against her recently deleted) Ms. Bhutto to take over Pakistan.

It seems that the West has decided to Let Ms. Bhutto take her turn to rule the country, as they believe that she would be more controllable for them.

Even though she has a large following within her own party, the Pakistan of today is not that of ten years ago and she would be totally out of her depth in that country today.

If Musharraf was hated by the al-Qaeda and the Taliban, then Ms Bhutto will be a deeeeeep red rag to the bull of the Wahhabis and will provide the fundamentalists in Pakistan, all the fodder they need to light up a fire that will not be put out easily.

Imagine if the Taliban (or a political clone of Taliban) was to be officially elected in Pakistan and have control of the Nuclear weapons in that country! 

So please be careful of what you ask for in Pakistan, as you may get you wish!

Bird-Flu in Osama Bin Laden’s Back Yard?

Bird-Flu in Osama Land?

Bird-Flu has been found in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, the current abode of Osama Bin Laden.

The Post, the Pakistani News source is reporting from Abotabad, that over 45 thousands chicks were burnt and buried by Buttle Ehtsham Breeder Farm after having confirmed that they were suffering from Bird Flu.

According to details, on October 26, the Ehtsham poultry farm got a report about the spread of Bird Flu, the Livestock Director Mansehra Ali Akbar Khan sent the samples to Islamabad for testing.

Later after receiving positive reports, over 45 thousands chicks were burnt and buried so that the virus might not affect other poultry farms.

The farm manager informed the media people about the loss and said that if the poultry farms owners do not take proper measures, the virus can cause huge losses.

Could it be a cunning plan by the powers-that-be, to finally get the Most Wanted Fugitive in the world?

Source:

http://thepost.com.pk/NatNewsT.aspx?dtlid=126587&catid=2

Apologies to Professor Kilian for the UN Bird-Flu story.

Apologies to Crof the Prof for the UN Bird-Flu story. 

I apologize to Professor Kilian, if my comments in my last post, “Political Correctness from the UN Bird-Flu Boss?” were in any way taken as suggesting the “bombing of Indonesia”.

I have spent may years in Indonesia and around that region and love all of it.

Well, almost all of it.

There have been some very radical changes recently, that have brought a certain amount of nastiness in that country and in part of that region in my opinion.

But I digress!

The situation in Indonesia is a lot more complex than it appears on the surface.

The current “Bird-Flu policy” is not the result of a strong united Government.

As an example, during the infamous haggling with the WHO for the tissue samples of the victims of Bird-Flu, Siti Fadilah Supari, the Health Minister was fiercely opposed by a number of the other Ministers.

The Bali outbreak finally gave the chance of the opponents of the Health Minister (who were increasingly concerned about the image of the country around the world) to be able to over rule her mad policy.

The secrecy that prevails all things related to the Bird-Flu virus at this time, has resulted in a similar war of opinions raging in the highest echelons of power in that country.

The world can help those in the Government with better judgement, to prevail over the current H5N1 policy makers in Indonesia.

Very strong action must be taken without delay by the global community, against the apparent current policy of hiding of the facts related to the H5N1 virus in Indonesia.

No developmental aid, medical aid, or any other aid of any kind, should be made available to Indonesia, until the Government opens up completely as far as the H5N1 is concerned.

That kind of firm action from the rest of the world would be a great help to those in the Government who understand that H5N1 can not be contained or eliminated by any one country and want to share all their data related to the killer virus with the world.

Surely it is not a lot to ask of the virus inflicted country, to be simply honest about what is really going on in that country, as far as the H5N1 is concerned?

I would like to respectfully request that Dr Nabarro stops pussy footing around with false praise and other “diplomatic” gestures and gets down to the serious business of finding out the true facts about this killer dangerous virus in that country.

In the far east, FACE is the most important factor and basically the current Indonesian policy is all about face.

Some in the Government do not want the country to be seen as the sick nation of the region.

Then there are some factions, who really believe that the H5N1 is nothing but a conspiracy by the West, aimed at vaccinating the Muslim women in Indonesia in to infertility!

Not that Indonesia is the only problem as far as the hidden dangers of the Bird-Flu is concerned.

I believe that Vietnam currently has more cases of the human infection of H5N1 than Indonesia does.

It is just that in Vietnam, they can suppress the news better than they can in Indonesia!

Besides, as we all know, Vietnam has been “Bird-Flu-Free” more times than any other nation on this planet!

Not sure if Vietnam is Bird-flu-Free this week or if there has been another outbreak of the Bird-Flu some where in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

Then there is China, the original source of most viruses in the world, including of course, the H5N1 virus.

We can expect many more viruses originating from and mutating in China, as the millions of starving and omnivorous people in the rural areas of that country, kill and devour all of their exotic wild life.

Of course the non exotic Dogs and Cats do not escape with their lives in China either!

Apparently, boiling the dog alive, is the best way to get the skin off easily.

In fact the St. Bernard breed is the best loved dog meat in China.

But that is another story. 

Sources:

urbansemiotic.com/2006/02/03/dog-food/

geography.about.com/library/maps/blvietnam.htm

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

‘What would it take for the Bird-Flu to change and start killing us?

‘What would it take for the Bird-Flu to change and start killing us?

Here is yet another team of scientists, who have found that the answer to the above question is “Not a Lot”!

Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University have asked “‘What would it take for the bird flu to change and start killing us?”.

To try and find an answer to the above question, the Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University have developed the first three-dimensional, molecular map of the protein, that allows influenza B to infect healthy cells with viral DNA.

The research, which appears this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) Online Early Edition, was conducted on a strain of the Influenza B virus initially isolated from Hong Kong.

Unlike strains of influenza A — which includeBird-Flu, swine flu and others — influenza B affects humans only.

The co-author of the research is Jianpeng Ma, an associate professor in bioengineeringat Rice, who holds a joint appointment at BCM.

Professor Jianpeng Ma

“Since flu B is a distant relative of flu A, the fewer common features among them would allow identifying the critical parts required for infecting humans.” said Professor Jianpeng Ma.

“In terms of sequence, there is only a 25 percent overlap between HA proteins for type A and type B,” Ma said. “But in terms of function, the two are remarkably similar.”

The research is based on more than six years of painstaking experiments by lead author Qinghua Wang, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at BCM.

The experiments focused on a protein called hemagglutinin (HA), the chemical key that allows flu viruses to attach to target cells and infect them with viral DNA.

There are 16 HA proteins, but only flu B and H1, H2 and H3 of flu A are found in human-transmissible strains.

Scientists know H5, the HA key used by bird flu, is very similar to the chemical keys used by human strains of flu A. Like all proteins, the HA keys consist of a precise sequence of amino acids.

Wang said, “It would be better if there were more differences. The similarities suggest that only minor mutations are needed for bird flu to become transmissible to humans.”

Scientists know the precise 3D structure of several HA keys for flu A, but Wang and Ma’s work represents the first mapping of an HA key for flu B. Wang said it is not for lack of trying.

“People have been working on this problem for 30 years,” she said. “It is a very, very difficult problem.”

The structure was revealed with X-ray crystallography, a method in which scientists decipher the exact three-dimensional arrangement of atoms inside a crystal based upon the way the crystal scatters X-rays.

Getting proteins to form crystals is often one of the most difficult challenges in crystallography. Wang said it took years to develop a process capable of yielding the highly pure, concentrated liquid form of the HA protein that’s required to make crystals.

To form the crystals, Wang and postdoctoral fellow Xia Tian created thousands of test jars of solution and placed a single droplet of concentrated protein on the underside of each jar lid.

Most droplets never form crystals, but as the liquid in the droplets evaporates, a crystal of pure protein is occasionally left behind. However, it can take months, or even longer, for these crystals to form.

“I have kept some jars for a long time,” Wang said. “Random factors play a big role in determining whether a crystal forms, and since we never know which ones will yield crystals, we never want to give up on a sample too soon.”

Once Wang and Tian found a solid method for making useful crystals, X-rays were used to determine the precise structure of atoms in the crystals. 

Currently, Ma and Wang are working out the precise molecular mutations that will be required for bird flu’s HA to change into a human transmissible form.

The research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Welch Foundation.
 

Sources:

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://www.media.rice.edu/media/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=10120&SnID=918396487

Brits learn from Bernard Matthews Bird-Flu Outbreak?

“Avian influenza lessons learned report published”!

The British Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has today published the lessons learned from the report following the outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Suffolk in February this year.

You remember, the Bernard Matthews Bird Flu outbreak in his factory farm in Suffolk England.

So I suppose the two main lessons from the Barnard Matthews Bird Flu outbreak would be:

1. Hold no one responsible for any wrong doing what so ever. Pretend that the virus arrived from no where.

2. Not only that, pay lots of money to the company where the Bird Flu outbreak started for having to kill the birds that had been infected by the virus for which no one was responsible. 

3. While the above policy is carried out let the Government Minister mutter some thing about being “uncomfortable” about it all, for any future deniability that may be needed.

Image Credit Chris Shipton

The above points are thought to be a “given” in the future policy of UK.

There are some other space filling and time wasting stuff that can be seen here:

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=321752&NewsAreaID=2

Sources:

http://www.gnn.gov.uk/content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=321752&NewsAreaID=2

www.shiptonblog.com/?m=200703

Eight Indonesian suspected bird flu patients hospitalised

Eight Indonesian suspected bird flu patients hospitalisedThe Bird-Flu toll seems to keeps growing and growing in Indonesia!May be because of all the criticism of the Indonesian Government for the secrecy and lack of any information related to the progress of the H5N1 virus, today we have an unusual announcement from Indonesia.

The Vietnam News Agency is reporting that Eight suspected bird flu patients were admitted on October 7, to the Adam Malik hospital in the North Sumatran city of Medan.

The hospital spokesman Nur Rasyid Lubis said that the conditions of six of the patients had improved while that of the two others, including a pregnant woman and a three-year old toddler, remained serious.

Professor Luhur Suroso, at Medan’s Adam Malik Hospital.

Lubis added that there were no indications that the eight patients had bird flu because their conditions were improving.“We are still waiting for laboratory test results to determine whether they are bird flu positive or not,” Nur Rasyid was quoted as saying.Meanwhile, a 44-year-old Indonesian woman who died on October 6 in Riau province of Sumatra Island was positively infected by avian influenza, bringing the country’s death toll from the disease to 87

Sources:

http://www.vnagency.com.vn/Home/EN/tabid/119/itemid/217057/Default.aspx

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

www.internews.org/prs/2006/20060616_indo.shtm 

http://www.cnn.com

627- The number of the Flu Pandemic Devil

An influential study has identified the key mutation of the H5N1 influenza virus, needed for it’s efficient replication in the upper respiratory tracts of mice as a mammalian model.

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison report the identification of a key trigger for the virus to facilitate its easy transmission from person to person.

Mutation of PB2 amino acid 627 could be the trigger for the Flu Pandemic.

 

As in the case of most of the flu and other viruses, H5N1 originated in China.

The first outbreak in humans caused by the highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus was reported in Hong Kong in 1997, and resulted in the deaths of six of 18 infected people.

This event demonstrated for the first time the direct transmission of a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus from birds to humans with a fatal outcome.

At the end of the year 2003, this virus began to spread widely in poultry in Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand and has since spread to over 60 countries around the world.

This has raised serious worldwide concern about their pandemic potential, in the minds of most people who use logic in their thinking.

Of course, not all use logic in their thinking and there are still a few people, who think that the H5N1 is an illusion at best and some kind of a global conspiracy at worst.

The name of “What-Bird-Flu-Fumento” comes to mind here.

But I digress.

Even though efficient human-to-human transmission of this virus has not yet occurred, (other than a few “family clusters” of infection reported over the years) the potential of these viruses to acquire the ability is evident to thinking minds.

However, it was discovered that certain H5N1 viruses isolated from humans that possess human receptor specificity, have still failed to spread efficiently among humans.

Therefore it was thought that an additional amino acid substitutions in viral proteins, other than the receptor-binding the haemmaglutinin HA protein, (which is considered to be a main factor affecting efficient transmission of H5N1 viruses) must be necessary for efficient growth and person-to-person transmission of avian H5N1 influenza virus.,

Now a study has confirmed the above and has identfied defined the contribution of a single Amino acid to the efficient replication of H5N1 influenza viruses in the upper respiratory tracts of mice as a mammalian model.

Writing in the journal Public Library of Science Pathogens, a team of researchers led by virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine has identified a single mutation of the Amino Acid at position 627 of the PB2 , which could greatly enhance the virus’ ability to infect the cells of the upper respiratory system in mammals.

Because efficient viral growth in the upper respiratory tract of humans can facilitate virus excretion by coughing and sneezing, a mutation of PB2 amino acid 627, which contributes to efficient growth at this site in a mammal, may be prerequisite for efficient human-to-human transmission. 

As a result of the mutation of the PB2 amino acid 627 the virus could adapt to the upper respiratory system, and be capable of spreading widely, potentially setting the stage for the dreaded global flu pandemic.

Here is the original Research Article, “Growth of H5N1 Influenza A Viruses in the Upper Respiratory Tracts of Mice”  which is available under Open Access:

http://pathogens.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.0030133&ct=1

Sources:

http://pathogens.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.0030133&ct=1

www.birdflubreakingnews.com

http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/How-Does-the-Bird-Flu-Virus-Attack-the-Human-Body-2.jpg