Indonesia Reports 57th Bird Flu Death

This hit the wires before the South Korean outbreak did and as such got a wee bit buried (much like the birds culled in South Korea), as well as confusion since its lately been a string of 30-something females dying in Jakarta and reports get mistaken for others... Indonesia is still the worst offender and weakest link in the fight against H5N1, as illustrated by this CIDRAP report:

"Nov 28, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – A 35-year-old Indonesian woman died of H5N1 avian influenza today, marking the country's 57th death from the virus, according to news services.

The Associated Press (AP) said the woman died after almost 3 weeks of treatment in a Jakarta hospital and that her case had been confirmed on Nov 13. But it was not entirely clear whether the woman was the same 35-year-old who the World Health Organization (WHO) described as a confirmed case-patient in a Nov 13 statement.

Several news reports said the woman was from Tangerang, on the western outskirts of Jakarta, where the patient described by the WHO was from. A Bloomberg News report identified the deceased woman as the same person, but several other news reports stopped short of that.

While the AP quoted an official as saying the dead woman had been treated in a Jakarta hospital for 3 weeks, an Agence France-Presse report quoted Indonesia's avian flu information center as saying she had first been hospitalized for more than a week in Karawang, east of Jakarta.

Joko Suyono, an official with the avian flu information center, said diseased poultry was the likely source of the woman’s infection, according to the Bloomberg report.

By the WHO's tally, last updated Nov 13, Indonesia has had 74 H5N1 cases with 56 deaths. The global count is 258 cases with 153 deaths. Indonesia has the most deaths, though Vietnam has had the most cases with 93."

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There's that Indonesian Avian Flu Information Center again!! Its almost like they are deliberately sending out conflicting information about patients to news sources. I hope the WHO isn't reliant on them for their intelligence.

Anyway, its clear that the H5N1 present in Jakarta is non-responsive to antivirals and standard hospital care.

H5N1 Confirmed in Second S.K. Outbreak

So sayeth the Reuters:

"SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Tuesday confirmed a second outbreak of the H5N1 strain of bird flu at a poultry farm, after confirming over the weekend it had its first outbreak in three years of the strain that can kill people.

The agriculture ministry said about 600 chickens died in the latest outbreak at a farm 3 km from where the first case had been confirmed in poultry in North Cholla province in the country's southwest.

There were no reports to suggest residents or quarantine officials had been infected in or around both infected farms, an agriculture official said by telephone.

"The test results have shown that we had a second case of highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu," the ministry said in a statement.

Quarantine authorities would cull all poultry within a 500 metre radius of the latest infected farm.

The farms lie on a path for migratory birds that are heading south from Russia, Mongolia and Kazakhstan and sparked concern that other parts of South Korea might have also been hit.

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Was there really anyone thinking it would be anything but the bird flu? Confirmation is necessary though, I suppose.

Second Farm Suspected in South Korean H5N1 Outbreak

So that answers the question of "was it contained," what about it's specific type? I suppose we'll have to wait on that. Amidst the news of S.K.'s suspiciously odd culling of dogs and cats comes a news flash to you, straight from all that is pure and untainted, Reuters AlertNet:

"SEOUL, Nov 28 (Reuters) - South Korea's farm ministry said on Tuesday it had found a suspected case of highly pathogenic bird flu at a second poultry farm, after confirming on Saturday it had its first outbreak in three years of the H5N1 strain.

The ministry said about 200 chickens at a farm near where the first case had been found in North Cholla province had died this week. The farms in the southwest of the country lie on a path for migratory birds.

"The results of our testing should be known late this afternoon," said an official at the ministry.

The ministry is also checking to see if the H5N1 virus, which is potentially deadly to human beings, has spread through the country.

South Korea had by Monday completed culling 75,500 poultry within a 500 metre (1,640-ft) radius of the farm in North Cholla province about 170 km (100 miles) south from Seoul. It plans to destroy a remaining 160,500 birds in the same area by Thursday."

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Why aren't they burning the bird carcasses? Shallow burials after killing them??? Are they nuts? BURN THE BIRDS you idiots!!

Anthrax Scare at the Lincoln Memorial

I wish I had one of those siren .gifs like Drudge... This is breaking news, using FOX News for copy, it had the most sensational write-up I could find (World News Daily hasn't hit it yet):

"WASHINGTON — The FBI is helping the U.S. Park Police and Washington, D.C. police investigate what is described as the discovery of an "anthrax threat letter" and a suspicious package at the Lincoln Memorial.

A strange liquid was found in the women's restroom on the property Monday afternoon. Authorities would not confirm what the note said or what the substance may have been.

There are no reports of anyone being sick, nor have any ambulances been called.

One citizen reported seeing a suspicious bottle, which police never found. There was a letter in a clear plastic sleeve with threatening language found in the restroom, along with a thermos found on the memorial steps.

After testing, the fire department later determined that the substance in the thermos was not harmful."

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"We don't have this anthrax... uh, BOO!"

More to be released shortly, I'm sure.

Iowa Outbreak Given Scapegoat Swiftly

That's right, apparently over 1000 infections were caused by one employee of one restaurant. Makes so much sense, doesn't it? From the Des Moines Register:

"State inspectors suspect an infected employee accidentally caused scores of people to become ill after they ate at a Johnston restaurant.

The unidentified food-preparation worker reportedly was at Trostel's Greenbriar Restaurant Friday and Saturday, when the affected patrons ate there.

The Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals learned Tuesday that the man had been ill, and told him to leave the Greenbriar and not return until a doctor gave him medical clearance, department Director Steven Young said.

An inspector learned later Tuesday that the man was working at a second job at the West End Diner in West Des Moines, Young said. The man then was ordered out of that restaurant. No illnesses had been reported from the West End Diner by Wednesday afternoon.

The list of sick people continued to grow Wednesday. Public-health officials had said Tuesday afternoon that they knew of 71 Greenbriar patrons who had become ill. They said they continued to receive new reports Wednesday, but they did not have an updated tally. Most ill patrons suffered vomiting or diarrhea. At least two were hospitalized, officials said.

Authorities suspect the cause was a norovirus, a highly contagious germ that has caused nearly 1,000 illnesses in the state in recent weeks. The virus often is spread when an infected person handles food. Experts are urging Iowans to wash their hands carefully and to avoid preparing food for others for three days after they have had bouts of vomiting or diarrhea.

Young said a close inspection of the Greenbriar kitchen found no cleanliness problems."

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One employee, acting alone and oblivious, spreads norovirus far and wide, via a clean kitchen where he had no interaction with patrons...

Uh huh. Sure, I buy it. Are the health inspectors huffing gas? Possibly corn-grown ethanol?

South Korea Continues it's Culling

From the Jerusalem Post:

"South Korea has killed nearly 100,000 chickens and ducks to try to prevent the spread of bird flu after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 strain at a chicken farm last week, officials said Monday.

Quarantine officials have killed 96,000 poultry within a 500-meter (1,650-foot) radius of the outbreak site in Iksan, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of Seoul, the Agriculture Ministry said.

South Korea plans to cull a total of 236,000 birds and an unspecified number of other animals like pigs, dogs and cats in the area by Thursday, the ministry said. It also plans to destroy some 6 million eggs.

Officials determined Saturday that the outbreak was caused by the H5N1 virus and began culling birds Sunday."

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Either South Korea is hyper-sensitive about this, or the outbreak wasn't contained at the farm. Interesting that the won't specify the numbers of other animals they are going to put to slaughter.

Has there been signs of infection in other animals? If there is, South Korea should be letting the world know. How quickly does it spread? Its 500-meters now, how big is the radius going to be a week from now?

Canadian Hospital Battles C. Diff Outbreak

From the CBC:

"A hospital ward in Joliette, Que., has been closed to visitors as health-care workers fight an outbreak of Colstridium difficile bacteria, which has infected 17 people in the last 12 days.

The Lanaudière regional hospital put strict new measures into place on Friday to help prevent the spread of infection.

Seventeen patients with C. difficile infections at the Lanaudière regional hospital were placed in isolation and were said to be in stable condition on Saturday.

All 17 patients with the infection were placed in isolation in the ward now closed to visitors and were said to be in stable condition on Saturday.

In addition, security guards at the entrances were asking those entering and leaving the hospital to wash their hands, according to a hospital news release."

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Air-borne, hospital-bred. These reports seem to be getting more common.

H5N1 Outbreak Confirmed in South Korea

From the glorious and democratic People's Daily:

"The South Korean government confirmed Saturday that an outbreak of bird flu in Iksan, 230 km south of Seoul, was caused by a highly virulent strain of H5N1 virus. Tests conducted by the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service showed that the outbreak has been caused by the H5N1 virus, said Lee Yang-ho, spokesman for the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry announced Thursday that suspected bird flu cases were found at a poultry farm in Iksan city, Jeollabukdo, where 6,000 out of a total of 13,000 chickens had died suddenly since Sunday.

According to the ministry, all of the chickens and other animals on the farm have been culled and buried, while a tight quarantine has been established around the affected area. All eggs produced in the poultry farm have were destroyed and the transportation of all chickens, birds and eggs within 10 km of the farm had been banned."

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Next questions: Is it contained, and is it the Fujian-type (that China continues to deny exists)?

Hopefully these answers will come in due time. Also notice how all of the animals on the farm were culled, suggestion a pan-zoonotic outbreak. And why did they bury the animals when incineration is the standard post-cull procedure?