Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
Mon, Jan 26, 2015 -
INTERVIEW: Veterinary expert critical of avian flu steps
Three new highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza were discovered in Taiwan this month. Lai Shiow-suey, an honorary professor of veterinary medicine at National Taiwan University, tells Jennifer Huang, a staff reporter for the ‘Liberty Times’ (the sister newspaper of the ‘Taipei Times’
, that the government and poultry industry have been negligent in their efforts to combat the flu epidemic.
...
Lai Shiow-suey (賴秀穗): The H5N8 subtype had never before been seen domestically. According to the Council of Agriculture, the “H5” hemagglutinin genome sequence of the local H5N8 strain is more than 90 percent similar to the one seen in South Korea, and the South Korean subtype shares the same origin with the ones found in Japan and China.
...
What worries me is that H5N8 must have existed in Taiwan for more than three months, and its contact with local viruses must have engendered another series of genetic reassortments.
The new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 that are affecting Taiwan have not been seen in neighboring nations, so it is unlikely that the new strains have their origins outside Taiwan.
The “H5” hemagglutinin component of the new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 is almost the same as that of the H5N8 seen in South Korea, which suggests the new strains could result from the mutation prompted by the local viruses’ contact with H5N8 transmitted from abroad.
The new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 have evolved into a highly pathogenic version of their low-pathogenic subtypes due to the introduction of the highly pathogenic H5N8.
...
The recent subtype has caused a high mortality among waterfowl, with the death rate of geese at about 90 percent. It is obvious that Taiwan is dealing with a highly pathogenic subtype that overshadows anything the nation has ever seen.
...
Every avian flu virus might mutate into a form that could transmit itself to humans. The Ministry of Health and Welfare should therefore carefully monitor the physical conditions of farm staff and epidemic prevention personnel. The ministry should also ensure that no anomalies could go unreported.
...
National Taiwan University [Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine] professor King Chwan-chuen (金傳春) investigated more than 300 employees at a farm where chickens were infected with a known strain of H5N2, and he found that more than 60 people carried the antibody to the subtype, suggesting that human infection with H5N2 is possible.
...
Full text:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiw...6/2003610115/1
INTERVIEW: Veterinary expert critical of avian flu steps
Three new highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza were discovered in Taiwan this month. Lai Shiow-suey, an honorary professor of veterinary medicine at National Taiwan University, tells Jennifer Huang, a staff reporter for the ‘Liberty Times’ (the sister newspaper of the ‘Taipei Times’
, that the government and poultry industry have been negligent in their efforts to combat the flu epidemic....
Lai Shiow-suey (賴秀穗): The H5N8 subtype had never before been seen domestically. According to the Council of Agriculture, the “H5” hemagglutinin genome sequence of the local H5N8 strain is more than 90 percent similar to the one seen in South Korea, and the South Korean subtype shares the same origin with the ones found in Japan and China.
...
What worries me is that H5N8 must have existed in Taiwan for more than three months, and its contact with local viruses must have engendered another series of genetic reassortments.
The new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 that are affecting Taiwan have not been seen in neighboring nations, so it is unlikely that the new strains have their origins outside Taiwan.
The “H5” hemagglutinin component of the new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 is almost the same as that of the H5N8 seen in South Korea, which suggests the new strains could result from the mutation prompted by the local viruses’ contact with H5N8 transmitted from abroad.
The new strains of H5N2 and H5N3 have evolved into a highly pathogenic version of their low-pathogenic subtypes due to the introduction of the highly pathogenic H5N8.
...
The recent subtype has caused a high mortality among waterfowl, with the death rate of geese at about 90 percent. It is obvious that Taiwan is dealing with a highly pathogenic subtype that overshadows anything the nation has ever seen.
...
Every avian flu virus might mutate into a form that could transmit itself to humans. The Ministry of Health and Welfare should therefore carefully monitor the physical conditions of farm staff and epidemic prevention personnel. The ministry should also ensure that no anomalies could go unreported.
...
National Taiwan University [Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine] professor King Chwan-chuen (金傳春) investigated more than 300 employees at a farm where chickens were infected with a known strain of H5N2, and he found that more than 60 people carried the antibody to the subtype, suggesting that human infection with H5N2 is possible.
...
Full text:
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiw...6/2003610115/1
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