Faculty Bibliography

Guinea and Mali are outside a ring of countries that had conducted synchronized polio vaccination programs last winter in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease from Nigeria and Niger. Polio was last reported from Guinea in October 1999 and from Mali in January 1999. In addition to Guinea and Mali, the countries to which polio has spread from Nigeria are: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Sudan and Togo. Map of Africa highlighting polio-endemic countries (Niger and Nigeria) and countries reporting new cases (Guinea, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Central African Rep. and Botswana)

Guinea's last polio case was in October of 1999; Mali's was in January 1999. Before the latest cases were confirmed, the World Health Organization had planned additional synchronized vaccination programs in 22 countries, including Guinea and Mali, in October and November. The program aims to immunize 74 million children younger than 5 years old. The outbreak originated in northern Nigeria, where the government of the Kano state had banned polio immunizations, the health organization said. Religious and political leaders there opposed polio immunization, contending that the vaccine made girls sterile and could spread the AIDS virus. As of Aug. 24, there were 602 polio cases worldwide. Of them, 476, or 80 percent, were in Nigeria. Ninety percent were in Africa, where all but two countries Nigeria and Niger had been freed of polio

The spread of polio to Guinea and Mali brings to 12 the number of previously polio-free African countries that have experienced an outbreak of the disease since January 2003. The spread also deals another serious setback to the agency's efforts to eradicate the disease by year's end, a goal that is hampered by a funding gap of $100 million

The ostrich outbreak was detected on Aug. 2 in Eastern Cape Province, but infection probably began on July 21. Of 9,000 susceptible ostriches on the two farms, 1,500 became ill and 1,000 died, said Dr. Emily Mmamakgaba Mogajane, assistant director general in National Regulatory Services of the National Department of Agriculture. United Nations officials have warned that the strain found in Southeast Asia is a potential threat to human health. In a worst-case situation, if an individual became infected with both the A(H5N1) avian virus and a human influenza virus, the viruses could swap genes to create a new virus and cause a global epidemic

A deadly strain of avian influenza virus has killed more than 1,500 ostriches on two farms in South Africa in recent days and health officials are preparing to kill 30,000 ostriches to stop transmission elsewhere, South African and United Nations health officials said yesterday. The strain affecting ostriches has never been known to infect humans, Dr. Klaus Stohr, the World Health Organization's chief influenza specialist, said by telephone from its headquarters in Geneva. Nevertheless, United Nations officials are urging South Africa to impose strict biosafety measures to prevent spread of the virus and to closely monitor people for possible A(H5N2) infections. The A(H5N2) strain was detected at the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in South Africa by identifying certain amino acids in the virus that characterize it as highly pathogenic, or deadly strain, Dr. Stohr said. The findings were confirmed at the Veterinary Public Health Laboratory in Weybridge, England, which is part of an international network

Scientists have recently found that the strain of the avian influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), seems firmly rooted among domesticated ducks and wildlife and so cannot be wiped out by culling, quarantines and other standard measures alone, [Joseph Domenech] said. He spoke at a meeting attended by health officials from 10 Asian countries that the FAO convened in part to deal with a resurgence of avian influenza in China, Thailand and Vietnam and the virus' continuing spread in Indonesia. At the same time, many influenza experts and public health officials fear a scenario in which an individual becomes infected with both the A(H5N1) avian virus and a human influenza virus. Under such circumstances, the viruses could swap genes to create a new virus to cause a global epidemic that would be difficult to control. In the A(H5N1) epidemic in Southeast Asia, health workers are dealing with a situation that differs significantly from outbreaks of other strains of avian influenza. Those outbreaks, in developed countries in temperate regions, have been stopped by using vaccines as a short-term emergency measure in tandem with culling and other standard measures, said Mike Nunn, who manages Australia's Animal Health Science department, and Sarah Kahn, an Australian veterinary consultant to the Food and Agricultural Organization

The strain of the avian influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), is gaining a stronger foothold in Asia, health officials said on Friday at the end of a three-day meeting on the disease. The United Nations has called the scope of the spread of avian influenza in Asia and its effect on the livelihood and nutrition of people there 'unprecedented.' UN officials have also called continued presence of A(H5N1) a threat to human health because it has become increasingly virulent and because it could combine with a human influenza virus to create a new one that could cause a worldwide influenza epidemic. 'The epidemiology of avian influenza is very complex' in part because of the differences in geography, culture and farming systems, [Joseph Domenech] said. 'This makes it very difficult to obtain a precise understanding of the crisis and definition of required control plans.' Theories include biological changes in the virus; premature restocking of poultry farms, and improved surveillance and awareness with earlier detection and more prompt reporting of cases

The strain of the avian influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), is gaining a stronger foothold in Asia, health officials said Friday at the end of a three-day meeting. The United Nations has called the scope of its spread in Asia and its effect on the livelihood and nutrition of people there ''unprecedented.'' Dr. He said experts did not know whether the new outbreaks were part of the continuing incidence of avian influenza or were brought by wild and migratory birds. Scientists also do not know precisely how the virus is transmitted or how it produces disease in animals and humans. In general terms, it is spread by exposure to infected poultry, their feces and contaminated soil. In addition to Thailand, the countries taking part in the new network are Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, East Timor and Vietnam. The Food and Agricultural Organization said it would create two more networks for other Asian regions

Scientists have recently found that the strain of the avian influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), seems firmly rooted among domesticated ducks and wildlife and so cannot be wiped out by culling, quarantines and other standard measures alone, Dr. [Joseph Domenech] said. He spoke at a meeting attended by health officials from 10 Asian countries that the F.A.O. convened in part to deal with a resurgence of avian influenza in China, Thailand and Vietnam this month and the virus's continuing spread in Indonesia. At the same time, many influenza experts and public health officials fear a scenario in which an individual becomes infected with both the A(H5N1) avian virus and a human influenza virus. Under such circumstances, the viruses could swap genes to create a new virus to cause a global epidemic that would be difficult to control. The vaccines, however, are not magic bullets. Each dose costs about five cents, and each bird may need up to three doses. Because the vaccines must be injected, the major cost is from administering them. Participants stressed the urgent need for a vaccine that birds and animals can swallow. The vaccines are made by killing the A(H5N1) virus. Like most other vaccines, the A(H5N1) vaccines are not 100 percent effective

Scientists have recently found that the strain of the avian influenza virus, known as A(H5N1), seems firmly rooted among domesticated ducks and wildlife and so cannot be wiped out by culling, quarantines and other standard measures alone, [Joseph Domenech] said. The vaccines are made by killing the A(H5N1) virus. Like most other vaccines, the avian flu vaccines are not 100 percent effective. They protect against symptoms. But a small percentage of healthy vaccinated animals exposed to the virus can still become silently infected and excrete the virus, although in smaller amounts than sick birds. Scientists believe that the benefits of vaccinating outweigh its risks because the amount of virus that the recipient animal excretes. So the measure 'decreases tremendously' the amount of virus that can circulate on farms and elsewhere, Domenech said. But he and other scientists urged health officials to monitor for evidence of potential harm to people. In making such analyses, he said, scientists 'must compare vaccinating to doing nothing.' There are two marketed vaccines, and Chinese and Indonesian scientists have developed others. Indonesia has vaccinated 21 million birds, initially using a Chinese vaccine derived from virus isolated in Indonesia, said Dr. Anak Agung Gde Putra, director of regional veterinary laboratories in Bali. Then Indonesia switched to a vaccine made in Indonesia, Agung said. The government is providing the vaccine free to small commercial poultry companies and to subsistence farmers with backyard chickens