Azerbaijan: 5 People Dead of 7 Cases Confirmed BF

[DB]

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=16710

36 People Registered with Avian Flu-Like Symptoms in Azerbaijan

BakuToday 21/02/2006 19:14

The monitoring of wild fowl and poultry continues, though there has yet to be laboratory-registered case of poultry infected with avian flu, TURAN was told by Emin Shakhbazov, deputy chairman of the State Veterinary Service

However, he stated that analysis has revealed the infection of wild fowl with avian flu virus H5N1 in the Beilagan region.

Samaya Mamedova, Health Ministry press officer, told TURAN that there has yet to be a registered case of human infection with avian flu, though 36 people with avian flu-like symptoms have been sent to Hospital No 1 in Baku in the past several days. Their diagnosis with avian flu has yet to be confirmed.

February and March is the most dangerous period for the spread of avian flu, due to the mass migration of millions of wild fowl from the south to the north.

Azerbaijan is among the main routes for migratory birds, resulting in a high probability for bird flu infection.

Dozens of dead birds found along the migration route on the Caspian Sea Coast once again indicate that the situation is very serious.

[DB]

Azerbaijan: 5 People Dead of 7 Cases Confirmed BF

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/20...nt_4236162.htm

MOSCOW, Feb. 27 (Xinhuanet) -- Azerbaijan reported its first case of bird flu in domestic poultry on Monday.

The virus was detected in samples taken at the Kilyazin poultry farm near Baku where mass deaths of fowl have occured, the government commission on fighting the virus said, a<!--ADV_CONTENT-->ccording to the Itar-Tass news agency.
"Quarantine, sanitary and veterinary work is under way now at the farm and around it," the commission said in a statement. It did not specify if the virus found was the H5N1 strain, which can be fatal to humans.
Earlier, the H5N1 virus has been found in wild birds on the Caspian coast. The commission urged the population to prevent contact between domestic poultry and wild birds and recommended destruction of dead birds.
In its most highly pathogenic form, the H5N1 virus has devastated poultry populations and killed at least 92 people, mostly in Asia, since 2003. The bird flu virus has also been detected in neighboring Georgia and Russia. Enditem

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Bird flu detected in domestic poultry in Azerbaijan

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr><td>
</td><td></td></tr><tr class="news"><td></td><td style="text-align: justify;">
BAKU, March 3 (Itar-Tass) -- Another bird flu location has been detected in Azerbaijan.
The virus was confirmed at the Bilyasuvar poultry farm, 250 kilometers south of Baku, and a private holding in the Fizuli district in southwestern Azerbaijan, the bird flu prevention commission said on Friday.
Azerbaijani, London and Kiev laboratories are identifying the virus type. “Sanitary and veterinarian measures have been taken on the locations,” the commission said.
Despite the intensified preventive measures, people have not been informed enough, recommendations to keep domestic birds indoors are sometimes neglected, and local veterinarian services are not notified about large-scale bird deaths, the commission said.
Bird flu was found at a poultry farm near Baku early this week. Tests confirmed H5N1 virus, which is the most dangerous for humans. The Agriculture Ministry said that up to 500,000 birds had been disposed at the poultry farm.
</td></tr></tbody> </table>

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=3938338&PageNum=0

[DB]

Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=17451

Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link

</TD></TR><TR><TD class=spot1>AFP

Azerbaijan said Sunday it was investigating whether the recent deaths of two young children of pneumonia may have been the result of infection with the bird flu virus.
</TD></TR><TR><TD> 05/03/2006 21:37

The two children, whose ages and genders were not released, were among six members of a single family that have been hospitalized with a preliminary diagnosis of pneumonia but whose symptoms "are a cause of concern" to health authorities in the ex-Soviet republic.
</TD></TR><TR><TD>"They all lived in a village and had direct contact with poultry," a spokeswoman for the Azerbaijani health ministry told AFP.

One report quoted Azerbaijan's health minister as saying the deaths were both of young girls in the family and describing them as "suspicious."

Samples from the family had been sent to a laboratory for further analysis, the spokeswoman said.

News of the deaths came after authorities said two new cases of bird flu among poultry were discovered Friday in Azerbaijan, though analyses were still under way to determine which strain of the disease had infected the birds.

The cases were discovered in a poultry farm in the southeastern Bilyasuvar region, and in a village in the southwestern Fizuli region, the statement said.

Experts fear the virus could mutate into a strain that could be transmitted easily among humans, leading to a global pandemic. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link


Photo from www.dni.ru
<hr noshade="noshade" size="1"> Azeri Doctors Blame Bird Flu for Death of 2 Girls


Two girls from a family hospitalized on suspicion of contracting bird flu have died in Azerbaijan, Interfax news agency reported.

Six members of their family were rushed to a hospital earlier this month. ?Those hospitalized have been diagnosed with acute pneumonia, but the cases arouse a great deal of suspicion,? Azerbaijan?s Deputy Health Minister Abbas Velibekov said. Girls, the daughters of the head of the family, died few days ago, he reported.

Experts continue laboratory tests. Blood samples have also been sent to London.

The family lives in Azerbaijan?s Salyany district and keeps poultry.

Azerbaijan, which lies at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, discovered the H5N1 strain of bird flu among wild birds last month. Bird flu has since affected a poultry farm near the capital Baku.

http://www.mosnews.com/news/2006/03/05/azerbirdflu.shtml

[zkurmus]

10 people in hospital in Azerbaijan with BF suspicion

BF Suspicion in Azerbaijan - from anatolianagency.com
10 people have been hospitalized in Azerbaijan with BF suspicion.

AZERBAYCAN'DA KUŞ GRİBİ Ş?PHESİ
BAK? - Azerbaycan'da kuş gribi vir?s? kaptığından ş?phelenilen 10 kişi hastaneye kaldırıldı.

[zkurmus]

Re: Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link

BF Suspicion in Azerbaijan - from anatolianagency.com
10 people have been hospitalized in Azerbaijan with BF suspicion.

AZERBAYCAN'DA KUŞ GRİBİ Ş?PHESİ
BAK? - Azerbaycan'da kuş gribi vir?s? kaptığından ş?phelenilen 10 kişi hastaneye kaldırıldı.

[zkurmus]

Re: Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link

10 people in hospital with BF suspicion - From zaman.com

10 people have been hospitalized with BF suspicion in Azerbaijan.

Officials from the ministry of health said that there are 8 people in Baku haopistals and 2 in the city of Salyan with high fever, and 2 people are listed in critical condition.

The patients' blood samples have been sent to labs in Cairo and London, said the officials, with no results yet.

On the other hand, officials said there were no inications pointing to BF in the two young girls' deaths tw days ago, after being taken to the hospital with high fever.

Regional Central Hospital head Ibrahim Caferov said that the two people from Salyan region's Dayikend village were 17 yr-old Hatira Abbasova and 20 yr-old Nebat Asgerova, and initial findings show that their deaths were linked to lung cancer and cold. (lung cancer in a 17 or 20 yr old??? - zk)

Azerbaycan'da kuş gribi ş?phesiyle 10 kişi hastaneye kaldırıldı

Azerbaycan'da kuş gribi vir?s? kaptığından ş?phelenilen 10 kişi hastaneye kaldırıldı.

Sağlık Bakanlığı yetkilileri, y?ksek ateş nedeniyle Bak?'deki hastanelerde 8, g?neydoğudaki Salyan kentinde 2 kişinin tedavi g?rd?ğ?n?, hastaların ikisinin durumunun ağır olduğunu bildirdi.

Hastaların kan ?rneklerinin Kahire ve Londra'daki laboratuarlara g?nderildiğini belirten yetkililer, hen?z sonu? alınmadığını kaydettiler.

?te yandan, y?ksek ateş nedeniyle kaldırıldıkları hastanede ?nceki g?n hayatını kaybeden iki gen? kızın ?l?m nedeninin kuş gribi olduğunu g?steren herhangi bir bulguya rastlanmadığı bildirildi.

B?lge Merkez Hastanesi Başhekimi İbrahim Caferov, Salyan b?lgesi Dayıkend k?y? sakinlerinden 17 yaşındaki Hatira Abbasova ile 20 yaşındaki Nebat Asgerova'nın ?l?m nedenlerinin ilk belirlemelere g?re akciğer kanseri ve soğuk algınlığı olduğunu s?yledi. [12:10:00]

[zkurmus]

Re: Azerbaijan checks 'suspicious' deaths for bird flu link

From haberturk.com (mostly the same info as the previous article, I translated only the new info)
...

The 7 patients being treated in Baku hospitals were brought in from Dayikent, and the village has been quarantined and all the health screenings have been started.

The two young girld who have passed away and the 7 people being treated are from the same village, and are either relatives or neighbors.

Azerbaycan'da kuş gribi vir?s? kaptığından ş?phelenilen 10 kişi hastaneye kaldırıldı.

Sağlık Bakanlığı yetkilileri, y?ksek ateş nedeniyle Bak?'deki
hastanelerde 8, g?neydoğudaki Salyan kentinde 2 kişinin tedavi
g?rd?ğ?n?, hastaların ikisinin durumunun ağır olduğunu bildirdi.
Hastaların kan ?rneklerinin Kahire ve Londra'daki laboratuarlara
g?nderildiğini belirten yetkililer, hen?z sonu? alınmadığını
kaydettiler.
?te yandan, y?ksek ateş nedeniyle kaldırıldıkları hastanede ?nceki
g?n hayatını kaybeden iki gen? kızın ?l?m nedeninin kuş gribi olduğunu
g?steren herhangi bir bulguya rastlanmadığı bildirildi.
B?lge Merkez Hastanesi Başhekimi İbrahim Caferov, Salyan b?lgesi
Dayıkend k?y? sakinlerinden 17 yaşındaki Hatira Abbasova ile 20
yaşındaki Nebat Asgerova'nın ?l?m nedenlerinin ilk belirlemelere g?re
akciğer kanseri ve soğuk algınlığı olduğunu s?yledi.
Halen Bak?'deki hastanelerde tedavi g?ren 7 hastanın da Dayıkend
k?y?nden getirildiklerine işaret eden yetkililer, k?y?n karantina
altına alındığını, gerekli sağlık kontrollerine başlandığını
belirttiler.

Hayatını kaybeden iki gen? kız ile halen tedavi g?ren 7 kişinin
aynı k?yden komşu ve akraba oldukları haber veriliyor.
Vatandaşların kuş gribi kapmış olabileceğini belirten Azerbaycan
Sağlık Bakanı Yardımcısı Abbas Valibayov da, hayatını kaybeden iki
gen? kızın ?l?m nedenlerinin kesin olarak saptanması y?n?ndeki
?alışmaların s?rd?r?ld?ğ?n? bildirdi.

[Mellie]

False Negatives?

Thanks zkurmus! There's nothing like hearing from Turkey!

We all know that timing is everything for false negatives. If the throat swab was taken after the virus descended to the lungs, it's likely to give back a false negative. Only way to get the positive after that is test the lungs after death or test the blood at least 2 weeks later for antibodies.

[DB]

Eleven suspected human bird flu cases in Azerbaijan: WHO

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=17681
Eleven suspected human bird flu cases in Azerbaijan: WHO


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=spot1>AFP

GENEVA, March 9, 2006 - Eleven suspected human cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus, three of them fatal, are under investigation in Azerbaijan, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

</TD></TR><TR><TD> 09/03/2006 19:27

Maria Cheng, spokeswoman for the UN health agency, told AFP that the suspected victims, including eight members of a single family, all came from the same village near the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

</TD></TR><TR><TD>"It is possible that they caught H5N1, because we already know that poultry were hit by the virus in neighbouring areas," said Cheng.

Flocks belonging to the patients had also been infected, but experts had yet to identify by what, she added.

Samples from the suspected human victims were being sent to a WHO-accredited laboratory in London to establish whether they had the H5N1 virus, Cheng said.

The results could be available in 24 hours or within two weeks, depending on the sample quality, she noted.

On Sunday, Azerbaijani authorities said they were investigating whether the deaths of two young children in the republic were caused by bird flu.

The two children were part of a family whose six members had been hospitalised with suspected pneumonia.

Several days earlier, Azerbaijani authorities had said that the H5N1 virus had hit poultry flocks, and ordered the slaughter of half a million birds.

Since it resurfaced in 2003, the virus has infected 175 people in seven countries and killed 96 of them, according to the WHO.

H5N1 spreads from birds to people in close proximity, but experts fear that it could mutate into a form that transmits easily among humans, leading to a global pandemic that could claim millions of lives.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[zkurmus]

1 person dead in Azerbaijan with BF suspicion

From anatolianagency.com (sorry, missed it from last nights news)

ONE PERSON DEAD IN AZERBAIJAN FROM BF
Baku - Gunel Gasimova who had been hospitalized with bird flu suspicion has passed away today.
March 8, 2006, Wednesday

AZERBAYCAN'DA KUŞ GRİBİNDEN BİR KİŞİ ?LD?
BAK? - Azerbaycan'da, kuş gribi ş?phesiyle hastaneye kaldırılan G?nel Gasımova bug?n hayatını kaybetti.
08 Mart 2006 ?arşamba -- 21:05:00

[Goju]

Eleven suspected human bird flu cases in Azerbaijan: WHO - 3 dead

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=17681

Eleven suspected human bird flu cases in Azerbaijan: WHO

09/03/2006 19:27

GENEVA, March 9, 2006 - Eleven suspected human cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus, three of them fatal, are under investigation in Azerbaijan, the World Health Organisation said Thursday.

Maria Cheng, spokeswoman for the UN health agency, told ?F? that the suspected victims, including eight members of a single family, all came from the same village near the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

"It is possible that they caught H5N1, because we already know that poultry were hit by the virus in neighbouring areas," said Cheng.

Flocks belonging to the patients had also been infected, but experts had yet to identify by what, she added.

Samples from the suspected human victims were being sent to a WHO-accredited laboratory in London to establish whether they had the H5N1 virus, Cheng said.

The results could be available in 24 hours or within two weeks, depending on the sample quality, she noted.

On Sunday, Azerbaijani authorities said they were investigating whether the deaths of two young children in the republic were caused by bird flu.

The two children were part of a family whose six members had been hospitalised with suspected pneumonia.

Several days earlier, Azerbaijani authorities had said that the H5N1 virus had hit poultry flocks, and ordered the slaughter of half a million birds.

Since it resurfaced in 2003, the virus has infected 175 people in seven countries and killed 96 of them, according to the WHO.

H5N1 spreads from birds to people in close proximity, but experts fear that it could mutate into a form that transmits easily among humans, leading to a global pandemic that could claim millions of lives.

[Bruce]

Re: 1 person dead in Azerbaijan with BF suspicion

It was just 2 days ago---->
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="533"> <tbody><tr><td rowspan="3" width="262"> </td> <td rowspan="3" width="12">
</td> <td valign="top" width="259"> Russia
</td></tr> <tr> <td class="mainnewstitle" valign="middle">Devastating bird flu pandemic one step away - expert


</td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" valign="bottom"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td class="maintime">15:39</td> <td class="maindatedelim" width="1">|</td> <td class="maindate">07/ 03/ 2006</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> <td align="right">
</td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> MOSCOW, March 7 (RIA Novosti) - The world is one step away from a bird flu pandemic that cannot be averted by quarantine or vaccination, a Russian expert said Tuesday.
"One amino-acid replacement in the genome remains to make the virus transferable from human to human," said Dmitry Lvov, the director of a virology research institute at the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20060307/43989397.html

---and now a family again, hope its not BF

[Sally Furniss]

Re: 3 dead in Azerbaijan cluster

Two suspected human bird flu deaths reported in Azerbaijan

BAKU. March 5 (Interfax) - Bird flu is suspected to have caused human deaths in Azerbaijan.
Six members of the same family were hospitalized on suspicion of contracting bird flu. Two girls, the daughters of the head of the family, died a few days ago, presumably from bird flu, Azerbaijan's Deputy Health Minister Abbas Velibekov told journalists on Sunday.
"Those hospitalized have been diagnosed with acute pneumonia, but the cases arouse a great deal of suspicion," Velibekov said.
Experts continue laboratory tests and blood samples have also been sent to London.
The family lives in Azerbaijan's Salyany district and keeps poultry. sd md