China: Qinghai - Dead goose tested positive for bird flu

[Theresa42]

Dead goose tested positive for bird flu
(AP)
Updated: 2006-05-01 11:34

A wild goose found dead in northwestern China has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in a region known as a stopping point for migrating birds, the government said Monday.

China's national bird flu laboratory on Saturday confirmed the diagnosis of the goose found in Qinghai province, the Xinhua News Agency said on its Web site, citing the Agriculture Department.

Qinghai veterinary authorities sterilized an area where the dead bird was found and stepped up monitoring of migratory birds, Xinhua said. The virus has so far not surfaced in domestic poultry in the area, the agency said.

Qinghai is a known transit point for migratory birds, and the virus killed thousands of bar-headed geese at a nature reserve in the province in mid-2005, raising fears that the virus was on the move, jumping among hosts in the wild.

Researchers believe that wild birds from that region may have carried the virus along migratory paths into Russia and elsewhere. The H5N1 virus later found in two human cases in Turkey, which were fatal, was virtually identical to the versions isolated in Qinghai, the World Health Organization said.

The H5N1 virus has spread to people in isolated cases in several countries, killing 113 people worldwide, mostly after they handled infected poultry, WHO said.

Experts fear that the H5N1 virus may mutate into a form easily passed between humans, sparking the world's next deadly pandemic.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2...ent_581814.htm

[AlaskaDenise]

Today is the 1 year "anniversary" of bar-headed geese deaths a Qinghai, but I didn't expect THIS!

see here and here and Chinese news here:

Posting date: 06-JUL-2005

Bird Flu Found in Wild Geese in China By Amanda Gardner, HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- A deadly strain of the avian flu has been found in wild geese in western China, raising the possibility that the birds could spread the virus far and wide when they migrate. Although wild birds have contracted the virus before, they have not been known to actually transmit it. It's unclear whether this development brings the possibility of a human pandemic of avian flu closer to reality. "Maybe yes, maybe no," said Dr. Susan McLellan, an associate professor of medicine in the infectious diseases section at Tulane University's School of Medicine in New Orleans. "As other experts have pointed out, dead birds don't migrate very well." "This incident may cause the expansion of the geographic distribution of this highly pathogenic H5N1 to those regions currently H5N1-free, such as India," added Dr. Yi Guan, senior author of a paper appearing in the July 6 online issue of Nature . "But I do not think that this development would take us one step closer to the human pandemic, at least not immediately. However, the opportunity seems to be increased." Guan, an associate professor of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong, was the first person to detect SARS in civets from animal markets in 2004, thus helping to avert a new SARS outbreak. Reports of the avian flu outbreak among wild birds appear this week, both in Nature and in Science , authored by two separate research teams. Although this strain of avian flu, H5N1, has only infected a small number of humans, it has produced an inordinately high number of deaths. Should the virus undergo additional genetic changes, experts fear it could acquire the ability to jump from human to human with more ease, potentially leading to a global influenza outbreak similar to the one in 1918-19 that killed an estimated 40 million people. Since the H5N1 virus first appeared in 2003, it has affected poultry farms in 10 Asian countries, including China, Thailand and Vietnam. At least 53 people have died of the virus, apparently becoming infected after close contact with poultry. So far, wild birds that have tested positive for H5N1 were within flight range of infected poultry farms, suggesting the wild birds were "dead-end" hosts, having picked up the virus from the poultry but not transmitting it any farther. But there are no poultry farms near Qinghai Lake, a protected nature reserve that is a breeding center for migratory birds from Southeast Asia, Siberia, Australia and New Zealand, the researchers reported. Qinghai Lake is a sort of terminus for bar-headed geese and other migratory birds. They alight at the lake to breed in early April. Starting in September, they migrate south to Myanmar (formerly Burma) and over the Himalayas to India, and then return again to the lake the following year, the researchers said. According to the Nature article, the virus was first detected on April 30, 2005, in bar-headed geese at the lake. By May 4, about 100 birds a day were dying. By May 20, the virus had killed about 1,500 birds, mostly geese but also brown-headed gulls and great black-headed gulls, according to the Nature report. Genetic sequencing revealed that the Qinghai virus did not exactly match the sequence for known H5N1 genomes (it has been characterized as genotype "Z"), and it also seemed to be more virulent in mice and chickens. This implies that the new samples had undergone some genetic "reassortment" and perhaps originated in wild birds, Guan said. "The viruses found in the migratory birds at Qinghai Lake are different from those from Vietnam or Thailand," Guan said. The authors of the Nature article said they felt it was unlikely that the outbreak would "burn itself out." They also pointed out that the virus could move to other migratory species, and then on to chickens and perhaps humans. Farmers in Europe and the Indian subcontinent, they warned, should watch for signs of the disease. What might happen beyond Qinghai Lake is an open question. "This may not be too much of an issue," McLellan said. "There have been no [known] human infections connected to this outbreak. The question is where do you have the cross between wild animals and farm poultry. They need to keep the husbandry hygiene very, very good, and keep farm birds away from wild birds." On Wednesday, United Nations health officials said it could take up to 10 years to rid Asia of the bird flu virus. The researchers put forward a master plan to fight bird flu that includes educating backyard farmers and vaccinating poultry to prevent the disease from becoming a human pandemic, the Associated Press reported. More information

[Theresa42]

Originally Posted by AlaskaDenise

Today is the 1 year "anniversary" of bar-headed geese deaths a Qinghai, but I didn't expect THIS!

Happy Anniversary, AD! :p

Here we go again...?

[AlaskaDenise]

Don't you hate it when history repeats itself? We're supposed to LEARN, however in this case, we can't change the birds - but now we know what to expect!

[Goju]

How Bout This...

NDIAGNOSED ILLNESS, GEESE - CHINA (FUJIAN)
*******************************************
A ProMED-mail post

ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases


Date: Mon 4 Apr 2005
From: Dan Silver
Source: Jianning County Animal Husbandry and Fishery Bureau Website,
February 2005 [translated from Chinese, edited]


[The following report, translated from the Chinese original, has been
kindly sent by Dan Silver. He adds that its contents might be relevant to
ProMED-mail's posting 20050311.0725 on Newcastle disease virus in geese in
China.]


An outbreak of goose disease in Jianning County of Fujian Province, China
-----------------------------------------------
Jianning County Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine Station Authors:
Tong Hongsheng, Ding Meixian, Xie Jinxian

Over the last few years, with restructuring of the rural economy, goose
breeding has become a short-cycle, high-return breeding activity that has
gained popularity in our county. However, local breeds of geese are
relatively uncommon and the supply of goslings inadequate. Large volumes of
goslings must be brought in from Jiangsu Province, Jiangxi Province, and
elsewhere.

With frequent movement of geese, new goose diseases have continuously
arisen in recent years. Since November 2003, our county has experienced an
infectious goose disease characterized mainly by diarrhea, rapid death,
caseous scabbing, and necrosis causing serious economic damage to goose
production. Through an epidemiological survey, combined with clinical
symptoms, postmortem examination and laboratory analysis, the preliminary
diagnosis is suspected goose paramyxovirus illness. This is a report on
relevant observations in our country:

1) Circumstances of Illness

In November 2003, 700 geese fell ill at 3 goose breeding farms in Junkou
Village. From then on, this illness gradually spread. Out of a total of
4300 geese from 14 breeders, 2176 geese fell ill and 1715 of these died.
The incidence rate was 50.6 and the mortality rate was 78.8 percent. Within
about 3-7 days, the illness spreads throughout entire flocks, while sick
geese generally die within 1-3 days.

The incidence among goslings of younger age is relatively high, at its
highest reaching 80-90 percent. Among flocks of relatively older age, the
illness and death rate are relatively low.

In a goose breeding facility in Xikou Village, 7 chickens that lived among
geese developed similar symptoms and the entire group died. Post-mortem
findings were essentially consistent with those of the geese.

Our understanding is that affected goslings were brought in from other
provinces. Some were purchased by rural households after 15 days in
collective brooding. Others were raised by breeders themselves. At one day
old, the suppliers used gosling hyperimmune serum to vaccinate [The term
immunize should be used when referring to hyperimmune serum. - Mod.AS].
Some flocks were given an inactivated binary [bivalent?] paramyxovirus
goose vaccine (from a supplier in Jiangsu Province).

After illness, geese were treated with multiple antibiotics, antivirals [?]
and many types of traditional Chinese medicine. These were not clearly
effective.

2) Clinical symptoms

In the early stage, ill geese are listless, reduce food intake, stand about
or squat and lie. At grazing time, they often lag behind the others. Thirst
increases (this is especially obvious in caged flocks; liquid consumption
rises 3-5 fold). [Ill geese] excrete white loose stool, in later stages
excreting yellow-green or dark brown loose stool (a minority excrete
coagulated blood). Some ill geese stand unsteadily, lean forward, fall on
their sides, move slowly, roll, contort their necks and [display] other
neurological symptoms.

3) Post-Mortem Exam

The spleens of dead geese were enlarged, cyanotic, and the surface and
sections were full of yellow-white necrotic spots the size of sesame seeds.
Livers were enlarged, cyanotic and had bruised or necrotic spots.
Pancreases were lightened in color and had punctiform and patchy necrosis.
The mucosa of the glandular stomachs had patchy or belt-shaped areas of
hemorrhage. The envelopes of the muscular stomach cuticles were easily
separated. Layers of the sarcoplasm had hemorrhage and ulcer. The
intestinal walls had become thin and a part of the intestines was
abnormally enlarged and protruding. On observation, bruising could be seen.
On dissecting the intestinal tract it was possible to see serious
exuviations [?] of the mucosa. In some, the surface of the mucosa of the
entire intestinal tract seemed as if covered in a layer of a yellow-white
bean dreg-like substance. From the duodenum to the rectum were irregularly
sized and numerous caseous scabs extending from the surface of the mucosa
in a granular or belt shape. Scabs, ulcers and bruising could be seen.

In some, similar encrustation and ulcerating lesions were seen in the lower
intestines. The caecal tonsils were turgescent [edematous?!] and
hemorrhaging. In some ill geese, engorgement [congestion?] of the brain was
observed. Other organs did not show obvious lesions.

4) Lab Analysis

Liver, spleen and cardiac smear were negative on gram stain microscopy.
Using asceptic technique, samples were transferred to an ordinary broth
medium and cultured at 37 degrees for 24 hours then plated in ordinary agar
for 24 hours. There was no bacterial growth. Because of resource
constraints, further lab investigation was not possible.

5) Diagnosis

Epidemiology, disease circumstances, clinical symptoms, and post-mortem
exam show classic conformity with a characteristic intestinal diagnosis of
suspected paramyxovirus.

6) Conclusion and Discussion

According to reports, the source of goose paramyxovirus illness is goose
paramyxovirus. This disease was discovered in 1997 and became epidemic in
Zhejiang Province, Jiangsu Province, and other areas where goose breeding
is relatively common. In those places, the disease caused heavy losses to
geese production. In our province, there had not been a report of such an
occurrence.

The occurrence in our county of paramyxovirus since November of last year
(2003) may be due to the arrival of goslings from outside which had not
undergone strict quarantine and isolation.

From analysis of clinical data, [it seems that] the disease affects
mainly the age groups of 20-30-day-old goslings and mature geese older than
120 days. No disease has been observed in geese younger than 20 days. It is
possible that those goslings younger than 20 days have relatively high
levels of maternal antibody. It is relevant that some geese flocks received
injections of inactivated binary [bivalent?] paramyxovirus goose vaccine,
providing immune antibodies; and the antibody levels remained for 120 days
or more.

It is advised that goslings in the production system be vaccinated early,
at about 10 days of age. Those geese that are reared for relatively long
periods of time and those flocks that are kept indefinitely should be given
vaccine boosters at 100 days.

Upon occurrence of this illness, those with resources can try using
hyperimmune serum (or hyperimmune yolk) for treatment; proper isolation and
sterilization activities should be applied. At the same time, employ
compound vitamins, electrolytes, and antivirals etc. According to reports,
injections of type-I (1?) Newcastle disease vaccines at 5-10 times dose may
be tried.

--
Dan Silver


[The described clinical and pathological observations lead to serious
suspicion that pathogens such as avian influenza or Newcastle disease -- or
both -- might be involved.

Unfortunately, no virological diagnostic techniques have/could have been
applied during the investigations of the described syndrome in geese. This
should urgently be remedied. The report includes some unclear terminology,
especially regarding vaccines and treatment procedures. Any additional
information and clarifications and, particularly, results of further lab
investigations -- which, hopefully, will exclude avian influenza -- will be
appreciated.

Vaccination of geese against avian influenza has been widely implemented in
China during the recent outbreak; reportedly, the H5N1 inactivated vaccine
has proved immunogenic for ducks and geese. It may be assumed that geese
are vaccinated against Newcastle disease as well. Fujian province is
situated in southeast China, on the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait. - Mod.AS]

[see also:
Avian influenza, poultry vaccines - China (03) 20050402.0954
Avian influenza, poultry vaccines - China (02) 20050210.0456
Newcastle disease virus, geese - China 20050311.0725]
..................arn/msp/dk

[AlaskaDenise]

Interesting how they said it was a paramyxovirus, not referring to an ortho.....virus. Seems they didn't have all the facts straight last year.
But then, co-infections happen.

...results of further lab investigations -- which, hopefully, will exclude avian influenza -- will be appreciated....

Here they sound like Dr. Niman!

,

[Vibrant62]

My question is, as birds regroup at quinghai, how many of them will have become asymptomatic carriers, and, how many different substrains are going to be meeting, mixing and matching and from where? How many of these substrains carry important, but different mutations?

Then a Dr. Niman input would be welcome, to see if this convergence of infected carrier birds could result in a dominant sub strain carrying all or most of the mutations needed for a pandemic. If the Boxun reports are right, it may suggest this is what happened last year - therefore what are the chances of this event happening again now? There are of course no definitive answers, but an educated guess would be welcome.

[AlaskaDenise]

Vibrant - you have the picture well in focus. There is little hard data available because of lack of testing, but there certainly will be more mixing of strains. I would suggest reading the Recombinomics history starting about January 2005. I hope you've seen some of the great flyway maps, like the East Asian-Australasianworld-wide (red dot overlain by 3 flyways is Qinghai Lake).

I hope Dr. Niman has time to give you thorough answers.

.

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05...ghai_2006.html

[myredchinablues]

Qinghai has other sick animals.


China Discovers Outbreak of Foot-And-Mouth Disease (Update1)
May 1 (Bloomberg) -- China discovered the second outbreak in two months of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock in the western province of Qinghai.
Symptoms of the Asian I strain of foot-and-mouth were discovered in four dairy cows on a farm in Haiyan County on April 26, the Ministry Of Agriculture said in a statement on its Web site yesterday. The national foot-and-mouth disease reference laboratory confirmed the outbreak, it said.
The ministry and the provincial government are taking emergency measures to contain the outbreak, disinfect the area and cull the sick animals, the statement said. The province's veterinary office also culled 34 cattle, pigs and goats, it said.
Foot-and-mouth, harmless to humans, is a highly contagious viral disease that causes hogs, sheep and cattle to blister on their mouths and tongues, and reduces milk and meat production. It can be carried by the wind and on the vehicles and clothes of people who come into contact with infected animals.
Qinghai province reported on March 12 a separate outbreak of the disease in Guinan County. A cow showed symptoms of the disease on March 4 and the national reference laboratory confirmed the outbreak. The veterinary office culled 19 cattle and two pigs, the ministry said.
The outbreak in Haiyan Country is the fifth reported case in China this year, according to the agriculture ministry. The country reported outbreaks in the northern provinces of Gansu on March 8 and Ningxia on Jan. 16 and in the eastern province of Jiangsu in January.
Globally, 3,575 outbreaks of the disease were reported in 2004, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health's Web site. It didn't give figures for 2005.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=ay1lvc.BTBNI

[HenryN]

China finds dead goose H5N1 positive 05/01/2006 -- 20:41(GMT+7)

Beijing (VNA) - China on May 1 announced the discovery of a bird flu outbreak amongst wild migratory geese in its northwestern Qinghai province, the Agriculture Ministry said. Veterinary experts confirmed that a dead bar-headed goose found in Gangcha county was carrying the H5N1 strain of the bird flu, Xinhua News Agency quoted the Agriculture Ministry's report on its website. Qinghai agricultural authorities have taken disinfection and quarantine measures in the area where the dead goose was found on April 23, according to the report. Last week, China reported its 18th case of human bird flu, an eight-year-old girl in the southwestern province of Sichuan who is being treated at hospital. Twelve of the previous human cases reported by China have died, Xinhua reported.-Enditem

http://www.vnagency.com.vn/NewsA.asp...NEWS_ID=197361

[HenryN]

Originally Posted by niman

http://www.vnagency.com.vn/NewsA.asp...NEWS_ID=197361

519 Bird Flu Deaths in Qinghai China

Recombinomics Commentary
May 23, 2005

> Location of the outbreak: Niannaisuoma village, Quanji town, Gangcha county, Qinqhai province (in the central part of the country). The place is an important rendezvous of migratory birds on one of their Asia-Europe routes.

Description of affected population: migratory birds found dead, including bar-headed goose (Anser indicus), great black-headed gull (Larus ichthyaetus), brown-headed gull (Larus brunnicephalus), ruddy shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea) and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo).

Total number of birds found dead: 519. <<

Initial reports several weeks ago indicated 178 bar headed geese had died at the Qinghai Lake Nature Reserve in early May. The official report from China to the OIE estimates that the outbreak may have begun April 15 and the number of dead birds was 519, including at least 5 species.

The more extensive H5N1 outbreak may explain why 3 million doses of vaccine were rushed to the area. However, at least one of the species does winter in the northern plains of India which are about 1000 miles southwest of the reserve, which can be flown in one day by the bar headed goose.

China has recalled envoy from meeting in Japan with prime minister.

Media source

[Theresa42]

Surveillance Tightened in Bird-Flu-Hit Qinghai
2006-05-02 14:00:26 Xinhua

Local veterinary officials in Qinghai province were asked to step up bird flu surveillance efforts during the May Day holiday, after a wild goose was killed by bird flu virus in the region.

A bar-head goose was found dead in Gangcha County of the western Qinghai province, being tested positive for the H5N1 strain, according to an announcement from the Ministry of Agriculture's on Sunday.

The ministry, saying the area where the dead bird was found had been sterilized, ordered local authorities to tighten virus surveillance on areas where large number of migratory birds rest, China Daily reported on Tuesday.

"Dozens of teams of people are sent every day to monitor areas where lakes abound," the paper quoted Sun Yingxiang, an official with the provincial agriculture department, as saying.

Even though it is the May Day holidays, the hundreds of observers would not be relaxing their surveillance duties, said Sun, according to the paper.

"We send people to regions that we have access to, and telescopes will be used in areas out of reach, such as wetlands," Sun was quoted as saying.

Qinghai is known as a stopping point for migrating birds and thousands of bar-headed geese were killed by the virus in 2005 at a nature reserve in the region.

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/811/2006.../301@84183.htm

[AlaskaDenise]

See the area of Qinghai Lake that is so famous (in both 2005 and 2006. !st the map below, the the google link so you can see all the farms.

Attachment 246

[Theresa42]

The Google map is beautiful. Thanks, AD!

[Treyfish]

Nature follows through.The blender is on high.An event worthy of front page news for weeks at a time.I my opinion.

[HenryN]

Commentary at

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05...Revisited.html

[Susie]

Susie: latest news from ChinaDaily - I don't know if it adds anything significant...

Bird flu outbreak confirmed in China
(Xinhua/chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-05-05 15:42

The Chinese Ministry of Agriculture Friday confirmed outbreak of bird flu among wild birds in a remote areas Qinghai Province, northwest China.

The outbreak was confirmed by the national bird flu laboratory on Wednesday, and the number of dead wild bird had risen to 123 by Thursday, the ministry said on its website.

Seventeen dead wild geese were found in the wetlands in Yulin county, Yulin prefecture in Qinghai Province on April 23, and samples from the dead birds were sent to the state bird flu laboratory for tests.

On May 3, the laboratory confirmed that these wild birds died of H5N1 virus of bird flu.

The wetlands are more than 800 kilometers from the Qinghai Lake, where the bird island is located. This plateau area is sparsely populated.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Qinghai Province, after the dead geese were found, have taken all necessary measures to monitor and sterilize the area, and to prevent human contacts with the wild birds.

This is the second time H5N1 has turned up in Qinghai, a region of high-altitude plains and mountains that sits on a prime migration route for birds between Siberia and South Asia.

The first outbreak, a year ago, was seen as a warning that the virus was poised to spread beyond China and Southeast Asia. In the year since, outbreaks have occurred as far away as Europe and Africa.

So far H5N1 has not evolved into a virus easily transmissible among humans. The virus has been detected among birds in more than 50 countries, while nine countries have reported human cases, 113 of them fatal, according to U.N. agencies.

The worry among disease experts is that the farther the virus spreads, the greater the chances of contact between infected birds and humans and the greater the likelihood it will mutate into a more virulent form.

"Since this outbreak is in wild birds, it will increase the sense of emergency," said Noureddin Mona, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's representative in Beijing. "Wild birds are difficult to control. All countries have to be on alert."

Countries astride major migration routes should set up observation posts to check for sick birds, Mona said, and the FAO was looking to improve coordination with other agencies to monitor wetland areas.

Unlike the first outbreak a year ago when China delayed allowing outside experts into Qinghai, authorities appeared to respond relatively quickly this time. Mona said FAO experts are scheduled to investigate the disease zone next week.

The Agriculture Ministry said that after herders and forestry officials first reported finding dead bar-headed geese on April 23 in Qinghai's Yushu county, the local government immediately dispatched a group of veterinary experts to the area.

The area is lightly populated. The ministry said no homes were raising domesticated fowl - a factor that decreases the risks of further transmission. Herders were told to take their livestock a few weeks early to summer grazing grounds, far away from the infected area, the ministry statement added.

The government has also disinfected the area and set up observation posts to monitor the migratory fowl. In addition to bar-headed geese, a brown-headed gull and a ruddy shelduck were also found dead, the statement said.

[HenryN]

More commentary

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/05...5N1_Yushu.html