Nigeria, human BF confirmed

[HenryN]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

FG Confirms Human Bird Flu in Nigeria

Daily Trust (Abuja)
NEWS
February 1, 2007 </B>
Posted to the web February 1, 2007

By Andrew Walker
Abuja

A Nigerian woman who died of flu symptoms has tested positive to the H5N1 bird flu virus, Information Minister, Frank Nweke, said on Wednesday, the first reported death from the virus in West Africa.
Three other deaths are suspected to be from bird flu, but are awaiting confirmation.
The woman from Lagos is the first confirmed human victim of bird flu in sub-Saharan Africa, after the deadly disease was first found in poultry in Nigeria a year ago.
"Last night, our team of 13 scientists were able to conclusively identify the case of avian influenza in a 22-year-old female who died in Lagos," Nweke told a news conference.
The woman was one of 14 people from whom samples were taken for tests that were concluded on Tuesday. Four of the samples were from people who died. Samples are now being sent to foreign laboratories for confirmation.
The victim of the confir-med case is among the other three suspected fatalities. The other people who died are a poultry worker from Taraba state and a man from Borno state
Nigeria is one of the three countries regarded by experts as the weakest areas in the global attempt to stem the spread of the virus.
Bird flu has killed at least 164 people around the globe since it reemerged in Asia in 2003, according to the most recent figures from the World Health Organisation. The death toll includes 11 fatalities in Egypt.
Officials in Maiduguri said they culled 1000 birds as a precaution after suspected outbreaks in six farms. Samples were sent to the Veterinary Research Institute (VOM), in Plateau state and results are being awaited.
Tuesday, Daily Trust reported a WHO spokesman in Geneva who said the samples had tested negative for H5N1. That report was based on an international agency report from Geneva. By Wednesday morning, the news agency had corrected the report to say the samples were "inconclusive". The Nigerian authorities had declined comments until yesterday.
Dr Abdulsalam Nasidi, Ministry of Health official, said the woman victim from Lagos died not as a result of eating chicken infected with the disease. He said: "She died as a result of contact with the birds."
He said it will be difficult to contract the disease through eating as our mode of cooking is different from the western pattern, but advised that all birds must be properly cooked before consumption.
Dr Nasidi said his commi-ttee will collaborate with the health ministry to regulate the influx of chickens into Lagos.

http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200702010426.html

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[HenryN]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Nigeria chicken markets open a day after first human bird-flu death
The Associated PressPublished: January 31, 2007
LAGOS, Nigeria: Young men standing in pools of gore beheaded chickens in Nigeria's biggest city on Thursday as marketgoers expressed fears of more bird-flu infections after the first human death, although no health panic was apparent.
Officials reported the first human fatality from bird flu in Africa's most-populous nation on Tuesday and the news filled newspapers and radio waves a day later, but Nigerians who are focused on escaping poverty showed only a few frayed nerves.
"Here, our relations with chickens are cordial. We keep them in cages in the backyard, sometimes up to 20 of them," said Philip Selli, a 32-year old business man in one of Lagos' main chicken markets.
"I'm worried about bird flu. I'm only going to eat the chickens in good health, not the slow-walking ones, the ones with fluid coming from their noses," he said.
Selli, like others, said the first bird-flu fatality was unlikely to interrupt business in a city of 14 million people where most residents live in crowded slums, often together with poultry that is an important food source.
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Experts say ingesting well-cooked chicken poses no health risk, but that close contact with sick birds ? like plucking and cleaning chickens ? can transmit the disease.
There was no sign that the Jan. 17 death of the 22-year old student in Lagos had set off any kind of health panic. Health officials were investigating other possible cases.
Under a highway overpass, chicken vendors carrying upside-down birds bound by their feet walked through the market situated .
Shirtless young men swinging machetes plucked and beheaded the birds, standing in blood and pouring buckets of it down an embankment into a trash-clogged brook where white pilot birds dipped their beaks.
The chicken vendors said they would continue to sell their product, each of which sells for about US$7 ? far more than the average wage for Nigerian workers.
An outbreak of H5N1 bird flu hit Nigeria last year, but no human infections had been reported until Wednesday. Until the Nigerian report, Egypt and Djibouti were the only African countries that had confirmed infections among people. Eleven people have died in Egypt.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/01/africa/AF-GEN-Nigeria-Bird-Flu.php

[HenryN]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Some Nigerians Unfazed by Bird Flu-Related Death

February 01, 2007
VOA Top Stories, VOA, VOA Africa
By voanews
The Nigerian government?s announcement earlier this week that tests confirmed the country?s first human death from the bird flu virus appears to have left Lagos residents unfazed. Sarah Simpson reports for VOA it was business as usual at Lagos? poultry market Thursday.
In Breweries Market in Lagos, Biola Saheed haggles over the price of the flapping chicken the young market boy holds by its feet. Around them other customers, despite recent reports of a human case of bird flu, are waiting to purchase other chickens.
The Nigerian government said Wednesday tests confirmed that a young woman from Lagos died from the H5N1 virus after plucking an infected chicken for cooking. She is believed to be the first victim of the bird flu virus in Nigeria.
The World Health Organization has said samples from the dead woman have been sent to a London laboratory for testing.
At the Lagos market, Saheed has heard about the young woman?s death. Though she admits she would not be able to recognize a bird infected with avian flu, she says she is not worried as she has a special way of preparing chicken.
?The way I can cook mine is different from others, you understand? Like me if I get home now I kill the chicken, I have to use lime to clean everything to, you know, clean the body before I can cook it. That will make it nice,? she said.
Another customer, Sodangi Dogari, who is 35 years old and a trained vet, says the government should educate people better about bird flu, so like him, they can recognize a sick bird so they do not buy them.
He said, ?I buy chicken, I eat chicken and I take my time to buy chicken and know the type of chicken I am buying.?
One vendor at the market explains a sick bird is easy to spot. He says ill birds look lethargic; normally red cockscombs turn a bluish black when sick and when the birds are held upside down fluid runs from their beaks.
According to the World Health Organization, eating well cooked chicken meat does not carry a risk of bird flu infection for humans. However, handling live or dead chickens infected with bird flu or living in close quarters with infected birds, is risky, the WHO warns.
Young boys in ragged clothes and flip-flops earn money slaughtering, plucking and chopping birds at the back of the market. They have no access to clean water or soap to wash the blood that covers their hands and shirt-fronts.
At least 164 people have died of bird flu worldwide according to the World Health Organization. The health expert?s greatest fear is that the virus will mutate and be able to jump from one infected human to another, causing a global pandemic.
Dr. Marcus Eruaga is a general practitioner in the Lagos neighborhood where the woman who died of bird flu had lived. He says that people in the area have so many other pressing daily problems that they are unlikely to have paid much attention to the bird flu virus.
?They might not have heard about bird flu because I believe there are other major primary issues confronting them, especially the down-trodden ones,? he said. ?The struggle for daily survival, for their food for their meals, for health care, water etc. etc.?
Nigeria reported its first case of bird flu in February last year. The virus has spread to 17 of Nigeria?s 36 states despite culling and quarantine measures.

http://mensnewsdaily.com/2007/02/01/some-nigerians-unfazed-by-bird-flu-related-death/

[HenryN]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Nigeria tests another 11 human samples for bird flu <!-- END HEADLINE -->
<!-- BEGIN STORY BODY -->1 hour, 3 minutes ago


Health officials in Nigeria, which this week announced its first human death from bird flu, have said they were testing 11 fresh human samples gathered from the nation's economic capital Lagos.
"The new samples have links with the initial 14 which we have tested. Some of them have interraction with the deceased," the director of public health of the federal health ministry, Abdullahi Nasidi, told AFP.
Nigeria's first bird-flu fatality was a 22-year-old woman who died on January 17 in Lagos, the biggest urban metropolis in Africa, after helping pluck and disembowel a chicken her family bought.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said Friday in Geneva that it hoped to have results within days from tests on samples from the woman who is believed to have died from bird flu.
Preliminary tests have shown that the woman was positive for H5 type influenza A, WHO spokesman Dick Thompson said Friday.
He said a WHO-approved laboratory in Britain was testing to see if the 'N1' component was present, which would confirm Nigeria's first human case of the most virulent strain of bird flu, H5N1.
"We're not contradicting what the Nigerian ministry of health said, but for us it's important to have the test results," the spokesman told AFP.
"It's possible we could get the results today, they could be delayed for a couple of days," he added, while also raising the possibility that the samples might be flawed and could not yield a result.
The Nigerian government has said it would reinforce surveillance measures with a particular emphasis on monitoring human contact with poultry flocks.
Information Minister Frank Nweke promised to step up controls on hospitals, including private ones, and urged the population to alert the authorities to any fowl presenting symptoms of bird flu.
Radio and television stations across the country have this week mounted sensitisation blitz as part of government measures to curb the spread of the disease, residents said.
Health officials are also telling the population to eat only well-cooked poultry meat and eggs, even though none of the 160 deaths from bird flu worldwide has been traced to the consumption of meat from an infected fowl.
Authorities in Lagos said that around 700,000 birds have been culled since the disease was found in the city last year.
A government hospital has been especially dedicated for the treatment of those infected, Lagos health ministry permanent secretary Jide Idris said in a televised interview.
Three neighbouring countries -- Benin, Niger and Cameroon -- have said they are stepping up border controls.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070202...HE0BHNlYwN0bWE-

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Nigeria's first human death from bird flu confirmed by WHO, says minister

February 3, 2007

LAGOS, Nigeria: Nigeria's first case of a human death from the deadly bird flu virus has been confirmed by the World Health Organization, the country's information minister said Saturday.

Lab tests conducted by WHO in London confirmed initial Nigerian tests that had indicated the 22-year-old woman was infected with H5N1 when she died on Jan. 17, Information Minister Frank Nweke Jr. said in a statement. He did not say when the London tests were conducted or when the results were conveyed to the government.

Health officials in Nigeria reported several human cases of bird flu on Wednesday, saying one woman had died and a family member was infected but responding to treatment.

With WHO's confirmation, Nigeria's public health authorities are now focused on finding out if any other people have been infected and taking measures to prevent further spread, Nweke said.

"It bears restating, therefore, that H5N1 is widespread and continuing in the poultry population in Nigeria," he said, with sick birds found in 19 of Nigeria's 36 states.

Nigeria reported Africa's first cases of H5N1 a year ago. Cases have since been reported in Cameroon, Djibouti, Niger, Ivory Coast, Sudan and Burkina Faso, and human casualties in Egypt and Djibouti.

There are fears that it may have spread even farther, monitoring is difficult with Africa's weak infrastructure.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/02/03/africa/AF-GEN-Nigeria-Bird-Flu.php

[Anne]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_02_03/en/index.html

Avian influenza - situation in Nigeria - update
3 February 2007
The government of Nigeria has announced today the presence of A/H5N1 avian influenza virus in a 22-year-old deceased female from Lagos. The initial positive test findings from a laboratory in Nigeria were confirmed by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in London (see previous report). Further investigations are under way to identify the source of her infection.
All samples from contacts of the deceased have tested negative by the WHO Collaborating Centre.
H5N1 virus has been identified in poultry outbreaks in Nigeria and similar to other affected countries, sporadic cases of human infection with avian influenza are not unexpected. WHO is working with the government of Nigeria to carry out intensive surveillance and reports of additional suspected cases may occur as people with influenza-like symptoms seek medical advice.
The H5N1 avian influenza virus is not transmitted to humans through properly prepared and cooked food. Cases of human infection with H5N1 have frequently been linked to the home slaughter and subsequent handling of diseased or dead birds prior to cooking. These practices represent the highest risk to human infection and are the most important to avoid. When handling raw poultry or live or dead birds, it is imperative to disinfect hands and surfaces with soap and water. Consumers also need to be sure that during the cooking process, poultry reaches temperatures of at least 70?C in all parts and that eggs are fully cooked throughout. Detailed recommendations concerning food safety are available here.

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[HenryN]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/02040702/H5N1_Lagos_WHO_Confirm.html

[Mingus]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

http://www.cattlenetwork.com/content.asp?contentid=103245

<TABLE><FORM id=detail_content name=detail_content action=content.asp method=get><TBODY><TR><TD align=right>CattleNetwork_Today 2/5/2007 8:23:00 AM</TD><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=2>
<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 1st Bird Flu Death Confirmed By WHO – Minister<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Health officials in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region> reported several human cases of bird flu on Wednesday, saying one woman had died and a family member was infected but responding to treatment. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
With WHO's confirmation, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s public health authorities are now focused on finding out if any other people have been infected and taking measures to prevent further spread, Nweke said. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
"It bears restating, therefore, that H5N1 is widespread and continuing in the poultry population in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>," he said, with sick birds found in 19 of <st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s 36 states. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<st1:country-region><st1:place>Nigeria</st1:place></st1:country-region> reported <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>'s first cases of H5N1 a year ago. Cases have since been reported in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Cameroon</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Djibouti</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Niger</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Ivory Coast</st1:place></st1:country-region>, <st1:country-region><st1:place>Sudan</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Burkina Faso</st1:place></st1:country-region>, and human casualties in <st1:country-region><st1:place>Egypt</st1:place></st1:country-region> and <st1:country-region><st1:place>Djibouti</st1:place></st1:country-region>. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
There are fears that it may have spread even farther, monitoring is difficult with <st1:place>Africa</st1:place>'s weak infrastructure. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Bird flu has killed at least 164 people worldwide, though most victims were infected directly by sick birds. The virus is difficult for humans to catch, though scientists fear a mutation could make it easier for the virus to be transmitted between people, possibly sparking a pandemic. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Source: Dow Jones Newswires<o:p></o:p>
</TD><TD>

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[Mingus]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=21446&Cr=bird&Cr1=flu

Human bird flu death confirmed in Nigeria, first in sub-Saharan Africa – UN

<LEFT><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=120 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=VALIGN=TOP></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>5 February 2007 – The United Nations health agency has confirmed a fatal human case of bird flu in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, only the second incidence of the H5N1 virus in humans in the sub-Saharan region, and is working with the Nigerian authorities to identify the source of infection.
All samples from contacts of the victim, a 22-year-old woman from Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, have so far tested negative, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said. The women’s infection with the H5N1 virus was confirmed by the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in London.
The agency noted that H5N1 has been identified in poultry outbreaks in Nigeria and, as in other affected countries, sporadic cases of human infection are not unexpected. The only other sub-Saharan African country to report human bird flu is Djibouti with one non-fatal case. North of the Sahara only Egypt has had human cases – 19 with 11 of them fatal.
There have so far been 271 confirmed cases worldwide, 165 of them fatal, the vast majority in South-East Asia. Ever since the first human case of H5N1, linked to widespread poultry outbreaks in Viet Nam and Thailand, was reported in January 2004, UN health officials have warned that the virus could evolve into a human pandemic if it mutates into a form which could transmit easily between people.
The so-called Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1920 is estimated to have killed from 20 million to 40 million people worldwide. More than 200 million birds have died worldwide from either the virus or preventive culling.
There is one other suspected death from the virus in Nigeria and WHO is working with the Government to carry out intensive surveillance. Reports of additional suspected cases may occur as people with influenza-like symptoms seek medical advice.
The agency stressed that H5N1 is not transmitted to humans through properly prepared and cooked food. Cases of human infection have frequently been linked to the home slaughter and subsequent handling of diseased or dead birds prior to cooking and these practices represent the highest risk of human infection. When handling raw poultry or live or dead birds, it is imperative to disinfect hands and surfaces with soap and water, WHO said. Consumers also need to be sure that during the cooking process, poultry reaches temperatures of at least 70 centigrade in all parts and that eggs are fully cooked throughout.

[Gert van der Hoek]

Re: Nigeria, human BF confirmed

Bird flu virus tests on two more Nigerian deaths negative so far

ABUJA (AFP) - Tests on samples from two people feared to have died of bird flu in Nigeria have so far proved negative, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found, according to a senior Nigerian health official.


"The WHO said the two samples are negative but that does not preclude further investigation", Abdullahi Nasidi, the federal director of public health, told AFP.

Nigeria last week reported its first human bird flu death and laboratory tests carried out in Britain on Saturday confirmed that a 22-year-old woman who died in Lagos on January 17 weeks after plucking and disembowelling a chicken was indeed a victim of the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

One of the two people whose samples have so far tested negative is the late mother of the young woman who died. The other is a woman from Taraba State, bordering on Cameroon in eastern Nigeria, health officials have said.

Meanwhile, a team of WHO epidemiologists was in Nigeria Monday working with federal health and agriculture officials following confirmation of the country's first human victim of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

"The two-man team, both epidemiologists, who arrived in Nigeria at the weekend are already working with officials of the federal ministry of health," said an official of the world health body, who requested anonymity.

"While in Nigeria, they will assess the avian flu situation in the country and assist the Nigerian officials in terms of surveillance," the official added.

Health experts in Lagos warned that human cases in Nigeria could be difficult to contain given the poverty in which many Nigerians live and the rampant corruption that makes measures and bans difficult to enforce.

Immediately after the announcement of the deadly case in Lagos, Benin, Cameroon and Niger intensified surveillance at their borders.

The H5N1 strain of avian influenza was first detected in Nigeria in a poultry farm in Jaji, outside the northern city of Kaduna, in February 2006, from where it spread to other parts of the country.

Nigeria's poultry population is estimated at 140 million. Backyard farmers account for 60 percent of all poultry producers, commercial farmers for 25 percent and semi-commercial farmers for 15 percent.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070205/hl_afp/healthflunigeria_070205192341