South Korea: Recent bird flu outbreaks may have come from midwestern China

Mellie · #1 December 14th, 2006, 10:19 PM

http://english.yna.co.kr/Engnews/200...5113621E7.html

Recent bird flu outbreaks may have come from midwestern China, ministry says

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean officials said Friday the two cases of bird flu viruses discovered last month in the country were likely to have originated from the midwest of China.

South Korea confirmed a highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak on Nov. 25 at a poultry farm in Iksan, about 230 kilometers south of Seoul, the country's first case in three years. Two additional cases of highly virulent avian influenza were discovered Nov. 27 and earlier this week, respectively, in nearby poultry farms.

HenryN · #2 December 15th, 2006, 03:05 AM

Recent bird flu outbreaks may have come from midwestern China, ministry says SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korean officials said Friday the two cases of bird flu viruses discovered last month in the country were likely to have originated from the midwest of China.

South Korea confirmed a highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak on Nov. 25 at a poultry farm in Iksan, about 230 kilometers south of Seoul, the country's first case in three years. Two additional cases of highly virulent avian influenza were discovered Nov. 27 and earlier this week, respectively, in nearby poultry farms.

Genetic analysis of the N5H1 virus sample specimens from the first two cases showed traits similar to ones found in China's midwestern province of Qinghai, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries said, citing test data from quarantine officials.

Officials said the genetic traits are different from those found in Southeast Asia, which reportedly caused human infections in some cases.

Test results of the latest virus discovered are scheduled to come out later in the month.

The ministry said it plans to request the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention this week for in-depth analysis to assess the likelihood of human infection from the first two viruses.

South Korea remains on alert after the outbreak of the fatal virus, which is believed to have killed some 250 people worldwide since its outbreak in 2003.

The Geneva-based World Health Organization believes the virus may mutate into a highly virulent strain that can easily be transmitted among humans if left unchecked.

odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)

http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engn...5113621E7.html

gsgs · #3 December 15th, 2006, 03:59 AM

they'd better show us the sequences, so we could decide
by ourselves where the virus probably came from.

HenryN · #4 December 15th, 2006, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

they'd better show us the sequences, so we could decide
by ourselves where the virus probably came from.

It's Qinghai.

HenryN · #5 December 15th, 2006, 04:14 AM

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/12...a_Qinghai.html

gsgs · #6 December 15th, 2006, 05:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niman

It's Qinghai.

you mean, it's the Qinghai-strain.

That doesn't mean it came from Qinghai.
The strain existed before it entered Qinghai and it spread
over Siberia,Europe,Africa,India since then.
It would be interesting to know how/why it entered Korea
and where it will go next.

HenryN · #7 December 15th, 2006, 05:54 AM

It flew into South Korea via migratory birds. The 404 HA sequences from southern China in 2005/2006 had ONE Qinghai sequence (from Shantou).

gsgs · #8 December 15th, 2006, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niman

It flew into South Korea via migratory birds. The 404 HA sequences from southern China in 2005/2006 had ONE Qinghai sequence (from Shantou).

the Chinese would presumably be trying to hide the origin of the
Korean outbreak

HenryN · #9 December 15th, 2006, 06:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

the Chinese would presumably be trying to hide the origin of the
Korean outbreak

Why would you say that (identifying a Qinghai sequence is VERY easy)? How could they possibly hide its origin?

HenryN · #10 December 15th, 2006, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

the Chinese would presumably be trying to hide the origin of the
Korean outbreak

You might be interested in test results for tin foil hats

http://people.csail.mit.edu/rahimi/helmet/

gsgs · #11 December 16th, 2006, 01:45 AM

South Korea should release the sequences now, so we could
figure out from where it came and which birds are likely
carriers.
So other countries at risk could prepare accordingly now.

When the paper is published in a journal months later,
then it's too late.

HenryN · #12 December 16th, 2006, 04:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

South Korea should release the sequences now, so we could
figure out from where it came and which birds are likely
carriers.
So other countries at risk could prepare accordingly now.

When the paper is published in a journal months later,
then it's too late.

Too late for what?

It is Qinghai in wild birds, which was known as soon as the sequence of the cleavage site was known November 25

http://www.oie.int/eng/info/hebdo/AIS_68.HTM#Sec6

*Laboratory where diagnostic tests were performed*	*Species examined*	*Diagnostic tests used*	*Date*	*Results*
National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, Anyang, Kyonggi	avi	PCR⁽¹⁾	22 Nov. 2006	positive for H5
		haemagglutination inhibition test	23 Nov. 2006	positive for H5
		neuraminidase inhibition test	24 Nov. 2006	positive for N1
		sequence analysis	25 Nov. 2006	amino acid sequence at cleavage site reveals a HPAI profile
		cytopathic effect on cell culture	26 Nov. 2006	positive

HenryN · #13 December 16th, 2006, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

South Korea should release the sequences now, so we could
figure out from where it came and which birds are likely
carriers.
So other countries at risk could prepare accordingly now.

When the paper is published in a journal months later,
then it's too late.

The sequence story is clear. Not only was it clear on November 25, when the cleavage site sequences was known, but it was clear on November 23, when the details of the outbreak were known when the Qinghai link was predicted

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11...ea_Likely.html

HenryN · #14 December 16th, 2006, 05:31 AM

Here's the prediction from November 23, 2006

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/11...ea_Likely.html

2006 isolates of H5N1 in Afghanistan, Mongolia, and Tyva in southern Siberia have been Qinghai, signaling the continued dominance of Qinghai in migratory birds, which are the likely source of the outbreak in South Korea. Similarly, the sequence of the H5N1 from the recent fatal infection in Egypt was also the Qinghai strain, signaling more Qinghai outbreaks this season in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in birds and people

H5N1 evolves via recombination, so the sequence database provides a history of transmission and dual infections involving H5N1. This database predicts that the isolates in South Korea will share many polymorphisms with the 2006 isolates in Mongolia and Tyva. However, many additional serotypes (H3N2, H6N1, H9N2) were found in live markets in South Korea, so sharing of polymorphisms with these isolates is also possible.

gsgs · #15 December 16th, 2006, 05:31 AM

too late to lock the chickens in their stables.

not all Qinghai are the same, there are substrains.
It's not about the cleavage site or such, just to determine
how it went to Korea. Compare e.g. the paper how it went
to Nigeria, this is important to know for the countries
in the region. But it took many months until this was published.
They should speed up the process and release the sequences now.

Why do you allow Korea to keep the sequences secret, while requiring
Indonesia to release them ?

HenryN · #16 December 16th, 2006, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgs

too late to lock the chickens in their stables.

not all Qinghai are the same, there are substrains.
It's not about the cleavage site or such, just to determine
how it went to Korea. Compare e.g. the paper how it went
to Nigeria, this is important to know for the countries
in the region. But it took many months until this was published.
They should speed up the process and release the sequences now.

Why do you allow Korea to keep the sequences secret, while requiring
Indonesia to release them ?

The series of isolates from Azerbaijan to Italy to Afghanistan, to Tuva/Mongolia are quite clear.

Indonesia held the human sequences for over a year. The outbreak in Korea is less than a month old. Those sequences will come out, but have nothing to do with your earlier comments of China "hiding" data, which really isn't practical, since the sequences flying into and out of China do not have passports and don't read the "no H5N1 allowed" signs.

HenryN · #17 December 19th, 2006, 05:10 PM

Bird flu in South Korea unlikely to cause human infection Sat Dec 16, 4:10 PM ET

The two bird flu outbreaks reported last month in South Korea were caused by a strain of the virus that has not led to any human infection, a senior official said.
Health authorities have culled 771,000 chickens near Iksan City, 230 kilometers (140 miles) southwest of Seoul, after two poultry farms were hit by the virus last month.
Kim Chang-Seob, chief veterinarian of the agriculture and fisheries ministry, said initial analyses of the samples from the two farms showed that the strain shares the same genetic characteristics as those found in western China.
"This means that the chances of the virus infecting human beings are slim," Chief Veterinarian Officer Kim Chang-Seob of the ministry said.
In May 2005, wild birds were infected by the same strain of virus in Qinghai, China's midwestern province. Bird flu outbreaks in Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan were also later caused by the same strain of H5N1 virus, the ministry said.
The government's efforts to curb the flu suffered a setback when a third outbreak was reported on Monday. The latest outbreak was reported from a farm in Gimjae, 260 kilometers southwest of Seoul.
The ministry said it had asked the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct further analyses on the first two samples to determine the possibility of human infection.
The analysis for the third outbreak will be carried out at the end of this month, it said.
Health authorities have completed the culling of 365,000 birds, mostly quails, in Gimje as of Saturday, Kim added.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061216...1028&printer=1

HenryN · #18 December 19th, 2006, 05:13 PM

Bird flu virus here a different strain from deadly outbreak

December 16, 2006 ㅡ The bird flu outbreaks last month in Iksan, North Jeolla province, were caused by a virus strain different from the one in Southeast Asia that infected and killed dozens of humans, the nation's health authorities said yesterday.
South Korea will ask U.S health authorities next week to help assess the potential threat to humans of the most recent strain.
Two farms were infected last month by a highly pathogenic form of the virus. A third outbreak was reported in the region Sunday.
The ministry said the first two outbreaks were caused by the H5N1 strain. An analysis of the samples from the two poultry farms showed that the strain shares the same genetic characteristics as those found in western China. In May 2005, wild birds were infected by the strain in Qinghai, China's midwestern province. Bird flu outbreaks in Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan were also later caused by the H5N1 strain, the ministry said.
Human infections have been reported in Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. None have been reported here.
"The virus found in Iksan originated from birds, it was not influenced by human influenza virus," said an official from the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, according to the Ministry's statement. "The genetic analysis of the virus for the specimen collected from another outbreak in Gimje earlier this month will be available at the end of this month."
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will ask the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention this week to conduct further analysis on the first two samples to determine the possibility of human infection.
Meanwhile, food sales at local discounters and department stores declined in November, dragging down the retailers' overall sales, as the latest outbreak of bird flu scared consumers away from chicken and egg counters, according to Korea's Commerce Ministry.
According a Commerce Ministry survey, the combined sales of the discount chains in November shrank 0.7 percent from a year earlier, despite brisk sales of household goods and apparel. The sales of household goods and apparel climbed 6.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively. But the sales of food, a major component of discounters' overall sales, shrank 2.3 percent compared to November 2005.
"The sales declined largely because of sluggish sales of chicken and eggs," the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

by Ser Myo-ja, Jung Ha-won <myoja@joongang.co.kr>

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/20061...090409041.html