Haemorrhagic Fever in DR Congo? 9 Dead

UNDIAGNOSED ILLNESS – DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: (KASAI), REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

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A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: 20 Dec 2008

Source: Independent online, SAPA-AP report [edited] <http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?

set_id=1&click_id=136&art_id=nw20081220081743104C680784>

Haemorrhagic fever hits the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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Medical authorities in Congo [Democratic Republic of the Congo] say 9 people are dead from what could be haemorrhagic fever. District Medical Inspector Edmond Mulamba says it is too early to label the illness. It is also too early to say if the deaths are due to Ebola, a type of haemorrhagic fever. He says tests were being run to determine the cause of the deaths in remote Kasai Province.

At least 14 other people are suffering from symptoms of haemorrhagic fever, including high temperature and violent vomiting. Mulamba says a team of doctors from the World Health Organisation are travelling to the province.

In 2007, at least 167 people died of Ebola [haemorrhagic fever] in the same district where the current illness is being reported, around 700 kilometres [435 miles] south-east of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.

–

Communicated by:

ProMED-mail

<promed@promedmail.org>

[It is not clear whether this outbreak is an extension of the outbreak of undiagnosed illness reported in ProMED-mail which occurred in the same in the same area in early October (see:

Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR: Kasai Occ, Ebola susp, RFI 20081009.3200), and which presumably has not since been confirmed as an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. The description of the illness and the cause of death in the current outbreak are not described in detail and haemorrhage is not mentioned. The location of the outbreak, however, is in that part of the Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo where a large outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever occurred in 2007, and on that basis a diagnosis of Ebola haemorrhagic fever must be given serious consideration. Further information from the region is requested.

A map of the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be accessed at:

<http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/africa/congo_demrep_pol98.jpg>. The precise location of the current outbreak of undiagnosed illness is not stated, other than it is occurring in the same district of Kasai province where the 2007 outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever occurred. A map of the province of Kasai Occidental can be viewed at:

<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/fullMaps_Af.nsf/luFullMap/B83B46E4973E96258525735A0054E6E2/$File/ocha_HLT_cod070918.pdf?OpenElement>,

which identifies the site of the 2007 outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. - Mod.CP]

[see also:

Undiagnosed illness - Congo DR: Kasai Occ, Ebola susp, RFI 20081009.3200 Hemorrhagic fever, fatal - Congo DR: (KA), RFI 20080823.2630 Monkeypox - Congo DR (Bokungu) 20080714.2141 Ebola hemorrhagic fever, suspected - Congo DR (02) 20080702.2017 Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp., corr. 20080604.1790 Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp., corr. 20080604.1789 Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: susp. 20080603.1779

2007

----

Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR (13): 20071121.3758] Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (11): WHO 20071003.3270 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (10) 20071003.3265 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (09) 20071001.3245 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (09): WHO 20070927.3204 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (08) 20070926.3191 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (07) 20070923.3156 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (06) 20070921.3138 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (05): WHO 20070920.3132 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (04) 20070916.3076 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (03): WHO 20070914.3049 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (02) 20070912.3026 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR 20070910.2996 Undiagnosed illness – Congo DR (Kasai Occidental): WHO, RFI

20070901.2882

Viral hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR (Kasai Occidental): susp.

20070829.2837

2006

—-

Ebola, primates – Congo Rep.: 20061208.3462 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Gabon/Congo Rep: prediction 20061119.3308 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo DR: susp. 20060315.0806

2005

—-

Ebola virus, bats – Central Africa 20051201.3467 Ebola Zaire virus – Africa: wave-like spread 20051029.3158 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. (07) 20050622.1756 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. 20050520.1382 Undiagnosed deaths – Congo Rep. (04): Ebola confirmed 20050518.1358 Undiagnosed deaths – Congo Rep. (03): Ebola susp 20050514.1321 Ebola hemorrhagic fever, wildlife – Gabon/Congo Rep. 20050215.0511

2004

—-

Ebola, primates – Congo Rep.: susp. 20040827.2400

2003

—-

Ebola hemorrhagic fever, apes – Congo Rep. (04) 20030404.0824 Ebola hemorrhagic fever, apes – Congo Rep. (03) 20030321.0705 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. (17) 20030310.0587 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. (16) 20030307.0565 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. (15) 20030304.0543 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep. (12) 20030227.0489 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep: suspected 20030205.0315

2002

—-

Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Gabon: suspected 20020624.4593 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Congo Rep: confirmed 20020613.4492 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Gabon/Congo Rep (05) 20020107.3189

2001

—-

Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Gabon: dead wildlife (03) 20011220.3079 Ebola hemorrhagic fever – Gabon: dead wildlife 20011216.3041 Viral hemorrhagic fever, suspected – Congo, DR (03) 20011210.2991] ………………………cp/ejp/lm

Toxic wheat – Afghanistan (02): (HER) – 44 Deaths

‘Charmak’ disease still killing people, livestock in west

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Over 270 people have been diagnosed with a hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), locally known as “camel belly” or ‘charmak’ disease, in the western province of Herat — and at least 44 deaths have been confirmed — since November 2007, provincial health officials told IRIN.

The disease — which causes rapidly filling ascites (an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity), severe abdominal pain, vomiting, and jaundice — killed a 15-year-old boy on 8 Dec 2008, according to local health workers.

“VOD of the liver is a form of toxic liver damage caused by pyrrolizidine alkaloids,” the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Laboratory tests at the National Institute for Public Health in the Netherlands in May [2008] confirmed the disease is caused by exposure to pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in ‘charmak,’ a poisonous weed believed to be growing mostly alongside cereals in Gulran District of Herat Province, and which often finds its way into locally produced wheat flour.

‘Charmak’ disease was first reported in Gulran District in November 2007, and the Health Ministry said “no new outbreak” had occurred since May 2008, largely owing to increased public awareness.

“Diagnosed cases have increased because patients who were infected 5 or 6 months ago are seeking treatment,” said Abdullah Fahim, a spokesman for the Health Ministry.

But Aziz Noorzai, head of Gulran’s 25-bed hospital, told IRIN at least 8 people had been recently infected. “We diagnosed 22 new cases… of which 8 were infected… within the last month.”

Despite the prevalence of the disease for a long time, there is still no effective medication available in Afghanistan to treat patients, health officials in Kabul and Herat said.

Animal husbandry and agriculture are the 2 main sources of income for people in Gulran District. Local people, however, say they now need emergency food aid because `charmak’ has badly affected their grain harvest and livestock.

The outbreak of `charmak’ disease and awareness messages by health workers have prompted local residents to stop consuming locally produced wheat flour, fearing it could be contaminated by the poisonous weed.

Livestock deaths have reportedly increased in the past several weeks causing fear among herders: The fatally toxic `charmak’ weed is suspected to have killed 1,000 sheep, cows and goats over the past month. Thousands of livestock have perished since November 2007.

The head of Gulran District, Golam Farooq Majroh, warned that people would “abandon everything and move to other areas” if animal deaths were not curbed through the urgent provision of safe fodder.

–

Communicated by:

ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

[We are very grateful to Prof Alan Shlosberg, Head, Toxicology department, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan, Israel, for the following background commentary, which he kindly agreed to contribute upon ProMED-mail's request:

"The toxicosis was apparently due to the consumption of wheat contaminated with leaves or seeds of a _Heliotropium_ species, "charmak," one of the many cosmopolitan plants that contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA). There have been several previous instances with high morbidity in humans after similar contamination of food grains. The PA content of plants can vary 100 fold in the same species depending on soil type and differing weather and season.

PA have a bitter taste and this may somewhat preclude ingestion of large doses and acute toxicoses, whereas minor contamination of grains or fodder, where it is impossible to pick out and not eat the bitter components, usually results in chronic toxicoses. In either case, PA are primarily hepatotoxic, with manifestations in humans after acute exposures being reflective of veno-occlusion, liver damage, and subsequent ascites, with chronic exposure culminating in fibrosis and cirrhosis; symptoms of pulmonary lesions may be seen less often.

Sheep are much more resistant to PA toxicosis than cattle and horses and have been used to "clean" contaminated pastures before introducing cattle to graze. PA have caused numerous cases of toxicosis in cattle, often caused by _Senecio_ spp ("seneciosis"), and typically the PA have a chronic anti-mitotic action, resulting in progressive fibrosis and cirrhosis, with a characteristic megalocytosis (liver biopsy can aid diagnosis). In many cases there is a very long period (of several months) after exposure during which cattle show little or no signs of ill-health, which is followed by a sudden onset of central nervous system manifestations and death in a few days, a typical hepato-encephalopathy. This latent period often makes diagnosis of the initial exposure to PA difficult, but the histopathology is pathognomonic. There is no specific treatment regimen."

For the province of Herat in west Afghanistan, see maps at <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/afghanistan_pol_2003.jpg>

and

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Afghanistan_map_Herat.png>.

- Mod.AS

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Afghanistan is available at <http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=1140763&v=35.1,61.667,5>

.

Additional information on the common heliotrope is available at <http://www.e-pelion.com/flora_boraginaceae_heuropaeum.html>. - CopyEd.MJ]

[see also:

Toxic wheat - Afghanistan (Gulran) 20080823.2634 Toxic wheat - Afghanistan (Gulran) (02) 19990524.0861] ……………………………..arn/mj/dk

ProMed as been there since 1994 – from SARS to Avian

Dear Friends: Since ProMED started in 1994, we’ve had first public reports of diseases including SARS in 2003 and avian influenza in Indonesia in 2003; West Nile virus in 1999; Ebola in Zaire in 1995; meningitis in multiple U.S. states and in the UK in 1995.  We believe ProMED mail is a vital service that protects us all. As you are perhaps hoping, our ProMED email Year-end Internet-a-thon and its relentless requests for funds will soon be coming to a close.  Currently, 655 of our 48,000 subscribers have given a total of more than $60,000 to the Internet-a-thon. To all of you have donated already: Thank You! We realize these are financially challenging times. Yet we hope that with the growth in numbers of subscribers ProMED has experienced in the past year, we can come close to equaling the 1300 gifts we received last year. If you haven’t given yet, please do so now. When thinking about your gift to ProMED, please consider the following: · Our content is reviewed by a group of 30+ scientists who vet dozens of emails and reports each day. · We issue our daily reports on multiple topics – animal disease, plant disease, human disease, emerging diseases. And we report in several languages:  English, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian and French. · ProMED Mail reaches over 48,000 public health officials, students, journalists, agricultural specialists and infectious disease professionals around the globe each day. That’s up 15 percent in the past year alone. We alert them to infectious disease threats that they need to know about but which in many cases won’t be reported on widely for many days.  This early warning system gives local experts extra time to prevent disease spread. Please show your support by donating online now or downloading our easy-to-mail-in form. And encourage your friends and colleagues who use ProMED to donate too.  In the U.S. all gifts are tax deductible. Sincerely, Larry Madoff Editor, ProMED Mail P.S. As a small token of our appreciation, donors of US $250 will receive a ProMED computer memory stick.  Donors of US $100 receive a ProMED mug, and donations of US $50 are eligible to receive an environmentally friendly ProMED shopping bag.

Donate Now ProMED Home Read the NY Times on ProMED Read thelancet.com on ProMED All donors of $250 and above will receive a ProMED memory stick to store computer files. Donors of $100 receive a ProMED mug Donors of $50 receive an environmentally sound ProMED grocery bag

EBOLA-RESTON, PORCINE – PHILIPPINES (02)

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Fri, 12 Dec 2008

Source: Fri, 12 Dec 2008

<http://www.gmanews.tv/print/139123>

DA prepares support program for hog industry amid Ebola Reston case

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said it is working on a support program to assist hog producers in farms where the Ebola Reston virus had been detected. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap said incentives will also be provided to other growers to encourage them to participate in the concerted government program to stamp out the disease.

The planned program will include the acquisition of additional laboratory kits needed to check the presence of the virus among swine and a support package to help livestock growers whose infected hogs will be culled or destroyed by quick-response government teams led by the DA’s Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to prevent the spread of the Reston disease among animals.

This developed as executives of international health institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Office International des Epizooties

(OIE) or World Animal Health Organization commended secretaries Yap of the DA and Francisco Duque of the Department of Health (DOH) for their respective offices’ quick and appropriate action in containing the latest resurfacing of the Reston virus, which was earlier detected in 2 swine farms in certain parts of Luzon.

Officials of the DA and DOH along with these international health institutions have pointed out Wednesday night that the Reston virus “does not pose a significant public health risk.”

Duque and Yap said this particular strain of the Ebola virus has been shown in the past to be “non-pathogenic,” which means it is not harmful to humans. Authorities say the Reston virus is entirely different from the 3 other Ebola subtypes, which are all potentially fatal to humans. Unlike the Zaire, Ivory Coast and Sudan strains, the Reston strain has not been found to be fatal like the 3 other strains or to have caused illnesses to humans in contact with the infected animals. It was first discovered in the Philippines in 1989 among crab-eating macaques or monkeys then being exported by the Laguna-based Ferlite Farms to the Hazleton Laboratories in Reston, Virginia.

The WHO and OIE consider the presence of the Reston virus in the Philippines as an “animal health issue and does not consider this a significant public health concern at this time.”

At the end of a 9-hour consultative meeting with livestock industry leaders at the DA last Wednesday, WHO country representative to the Philippines Dr.

Soe Nyunt spoke on behalf of OIE and FAO in thanking Yap and Duque for their efforts in immediately addressing the Reston issue.

The other experts present during the marathon meeting at the DA were Anthony Hazzard, WHO regional adviser for Food Safety; Carolyn Anne Coulombe, WHO technical officer (Risk Communications) Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response; and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine

(RITM) director Remigio Olveda.

AGAP party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones, who represented the subsector of small livestock stakeholders during the consultative meeting, also thanked Yap, Duque and WHO officials for educating the public about the Reston virus. “I would like to thank Secretary Duque and Secretary Yap and the representatives of WHO for making this thing clear to the public so as not to spook our consumers,” Briones said.

Earlier, Yap said that after finding out the presence of the Reston virus in the quarantined farms, 28 pig tissue samples taken from different locations in 4 different periods ­ May, 4 and 26 June, and September ­ were sent to Center Disease Control (CDC) Plum Island in the US for testing.

Only 6 samples were positive of the virus.

Additional samples sent to the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine

(RITM) in Alabang, Muntinlupa, after these earlier tests were all found to be free of the Reston virus.

WHO experts led by Dr Nyunt and Dr Julie Hall, team leader of its Emerging Infectious Diseases Division, have confirmed during the 10 Dec 2008 consultative meeting at the DA that, based on historical evidence, the Reston virus has been found to be “non-pathogenic” and does not cause illnesses to humans in the past.

Yap said the WHO has also declared that pork that is properly handled, washed and cooked is safe for human consumption because heat from adequate cooking kills viruses, including Reston. In fact, Hazzard told a press briefing after the consultative meeting that consumers should be worried of normal bacteria and not of the Reston virus when eating undercooked pork.

“I think that if you undercooked pork, you have much more to worry about with the normal bacteria and normal parasites. Significantly more to worry about than Reston,” he said.

As a matter of precaution, Yap has called on the public to report sick animals to their City and Provincial Veterinarians and to refrain from buying meats from stalls without National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) certifications. Yap said that in general, meat from sick or already dead animals “regardless of whatever viruses these animals had been infected with” should never be eaten by people.

Yap and Duque, BAI Director Davinio Catbagan and Eric Tayag of the DOH National Epidemiology Center along with the international health experts met with officials of industry stakeholders like the National Federation of Hog Farmers, the Philippine College of Swine Practitioners or PCSP, Philippine Swine Producers Association, the Soro-soro Ibaba Development Cooperative, and the partylist organization Agriculture Sector Alliance of the Philippines (AGAP), to brief them on the official findings on the virus.

Yap pointed out that although “no current reports of unusual illnesses nor deaths in pigs have been reported, the DA and the DOH have engaged stakeholders in the hog industry, local and international health and animal experts, to assist the government in the pro-active eradication of this virus” and in the interest of transparency in government.

Besides tissue samples taken from pigs in the affected areas, Yap said tests were also done on the handlers in the farms where the virus originated; and even the butchers in the slaughterhouses where the animals were usually sent, as a precautionary measure. All the tests conducted on human samples yielded negative results for the presence of the Reston virus, he said.

Yap has ordered the BAI, together with the local government units (LGUs), to continually test pigs in their localities. Hogs in farms that have tested positive for the virus will be quarantined and will undergo a comprehensive inventory.

All pigs found to be infected will be destroyed and disposed of properly, Yap said. As a precautionary measure, Yap had also suspended all Philippine pork exports until further notice.

–

communicated by:

ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>

[According to the above statement by Arthur Yap, agriculture secretary of the Philippines, "no current reports of unusual illnesses nor deaths in pigs have been reported". In such case, the problem might be an incidentally detected subclinical infection of pigs. There are still many questions to be attended, such as the reservoir of the virus from which pigs got infected, the route of infection, incubation time preceding viraemia in the pigs, the possible role of vertebrate and/or invertebrate as vectors, etc. Ebola is not included in OIE's list of notifiable animal diseases.

On Wed, 10 Dec 2008, Mr Davinio P Catbagan, chief veterinary officer, Department of Agriculture, Office of the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry, Quezon City, Philippines, sent an "immediate notification" to the OIE, reporting "unexpected increase in morbidity or mortality" allegedly due to Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PPRS) virus. The epidemiological comments, included in the said notification, are of particular interest in relation to the Ebola event. (see <http://www.oie.int/wahis/public.php?page=single_report&pop=1&reportid=7596>).

The full epidemiological commentary says:

"In the district of Sto Nino (Pandi municipality, Bulacan province), the mortality was mostly observed in piglets. In the district of Pinagpanaan (Talavera municipality, Nueva Ecija province), all animals were downers with clinical signs suggestive of Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS)/Classical swine fever/Porcine circovirus type 2.

"The Philippines has experienced a sudden increase in mortalities in pigs in the latter part of the second quarter of 2007 until the first quarter of 2008. The clinical signs exhibited by the diseased animals indicated atypical infection, which can be attributed to more than one pathogen.

"Samples from the outbreaks were sent to the USDA Plum Island laboratory.

Results show that samples were positive for porcine circovirus type 2 and atypical PRRS virus, which is 98 percent homologous to the atypical PRRS virus isolated in China and Vietnam. With high morbidity and mortality observed similar to China and Vietnam, it was concluded that these outbreaks were most likely caused by atypical PRRS virus.

"The USDA Plum Island laboratory also reported to have isolated Reston Ebola virus from swine samples. Although considered of negligible public health importance, as indicated in the literatures and by the previous incident in the Philippines in a monkey farm in early 1990s with no human cases in spite of close contact with the monkeys, as a precautionary measure the BAI-DA (Bureau of Animal Industry ­ Department of Agriculture) and the DOH (Department of Health) immediately organised a team to investigate the affected areas. Samples were collected from people and animals in the affected areas. Serum samples from animal caretakers and other people exposed to the animals were collected and tested at the DOH-RITM (Department of Health - Research Institute for Tropical Medicine), and all indicated negative results to Ebola-Reston antibodies. Results from animals are still pending the arrival of kits for swine testing from CDC Atlanta (Centers for disease control and prevention), which have committed to send in the Philippines. All animals in the affected areas have been put under strict quarantine. The BAI-DA and DOH team will continue to conduct epidemiological investigation."

The inclusion of the above information, pertaining to Ebola infection, in the PRRS Notification can be seen as a reflection of OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code attitude towards "emerging disease", defined as "a new infection resulting from the evolution or change of an existing pathogenic agent, a known infection spreading to a new geographic area or population, or a previously unrecognized pathogenic agent or disease diagnosed for the first time and which has a significant impact on animal or public health".

From the above newswire it seems that the 3 mentioned international organisations, namely the WHO, FAO and OIE, may have, as a precaution, considered this (subclinical!) infection of pigs as having (potential?) impact on animal or public health. This is in need of further clarification. -Mod.AS]

[see also:

Ebola-Reston, porcine - Philippines 20081211.3896

1997

---

Ebola-Reston - Philippines (04) 19970202.0228 Ebola-Reston - Philippines (03) 19970128.0171 Ebola-Reston - Philippines (02) 19970126.0157 Ebola-Reston - Philippines 19970126.0154

1996

---

Ebola Reston - Philippines (5) 19960617.1120 Ebola Reston - Philippines (4) 19960610.1078 Ebola Reston - Philippines (3) 19960430.0832 Ebola Reston - Philippines (2) 19960426.0798

EDR: Ebola Reston - Philippines 19960424.0784] ]

……………..arn/sh

Six Reasons to support ProMed-mail

SIX REASONS

***********

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: 12 Dec 2008

From: Larry Madoff <madoff@promedmail.org>

Dear Colleagues:

Do you want to rely solely on the editors of local or national news media to tell you when an emerging disease is important enough to hear about? Or do you think it’s vital that ProMED-mail’s international network of infectious disease experts have the funding they need to provide up-to-the minute alerts and commentary on disease outbreaks from around the globe as soon as they are detected?

If you value what ProMED-mail provides you every day, please donate now [link] to ensure that this free service continues to survive and protect us all.

By now you may realize that ProMED is in the midst of its year-end Internet-a-thon pleas for funds. Before you shut this email and move on, ask yourself – what worldwide, real-time surveillance system is available to replace ProMED if it ceased to exist?

Here’s six reasons we’ve heard as to why ProMED needs your support, even in financially challenging times:

1) In an era of trillion dollar economic stimulus packages and multibillion dollar bailouts, ProMED’s annual budget is about USD 450 000. That USD 450 000 provides a very important linchpin to a fragile, underfunded worldwide disease surveillance system — a system that seeks to protect us all.

2) ProMED reports on animal, plant AND human diseases, which has helped open the world’s eyes to the relationship between plant, animal, and human health. And, as we recognize now in the wake of SARS and avian flu, 70 per cent of emerging diseases jump from other animals to humans.

3) Last year, Judith Miller at the Los Angeles Times said ProMED is “indispensable in a globalized world where germs travel the planet as fast as email messages. . .” A few weeks ago, the New York Times science writers named nine resources, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet — and ProMED-mail – as their top science sites on the internet.

4) ProMED each day reaches over 48 000 public health officials, students, journalists, agricultural specialists, and infectious disease professionals around the globe.

5) ProMED is free, so subscribers in more than 187 countries have an equal opportunity to know when a disease outbreak occurs — and can spring into action when necessary to prevent or minimize disease spread.

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That enables us to be totally independent from government influence.

But without donations from people like you, ProMED would cease to exist.

Please show your support by donating online now <http://www.isid.org/netathon2008F.shtml> or downloading our easy-to-mail-in form <http://www.isid.org/Downloads/ProMEDNetathon2008F.pdf>. And encourage your friends and colleagues who use ProMED to donate too. In the U.S. all gifts are tax deductible.

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P.S. As a small token of our appreciation, donors of USD 250 will receive a ProMED computer memory stick. Donors of USD 100 receive a ProMED mug, and donations of USD 50 are eligible to receive an environmentally friendly ProMED shopping bag.

……………lm/sh

Please help my making a donation to ProMED

Dear Friends: By now you realize that ProMED is in the midst of its year-end Internet-a-thon pleas for funds.  Before you shut this email and move on, just think for a minute what a valuable undertaking ProMED is.  And ask yourself – what worldwide, real-time surveillance system is available to replace ProMED if it ceased to exist? If you value what ProMED-mail provides you and the world every day, donate now to ensure that this free service continues to survive and protect us all. Why give?  Here’s six quick reasons: 1) In an era of trillion dollar economic stimulus packages and multibillion dollar bailouts, ProMED’s annual budget is about $450,000.  That $450,000 provides a very important lynchpin to a fragile, underfunded worldwide disease surveillance system – a system that seeks to protect us all. 2) Last year, Judith Miller at the Los Angeles Times said ProMED is “indispensable in a globalized world where germs travel the planet as fast as email messages. . .” A few weeks ago, the New York Times science writers named nine resources, including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet — and ProMED mail – as their top science sites on the internet. 3) ProMED reports on animal, plant AND human diseases, which has helped open the world’s eyes to the relationship between plant, animal and human health. And, as we recognize now in the wake of SARS and avian flu, 70 percent of emerging diseases jump from other animals to humans. 4) ProMED each day reaches over 48,000 public health officials, students, journalists, agricultural specialists and infectious disease professionals around the globe. 5) ProMED is free, so subscribers in more than 187 countries have an equal opportunity to know when a disease outbreak occurs — and can spring into action when necessary to prevent or minimize disease spread. 6) ProMED receives NO funding from CDC, WHO, or other official sources. We’re totally independent. But without donations from people like you, ProMED would cease to exist. Please show your support by donating online now or downloading our easy-to-mail-in form. And encourage your friends and colleagues who use ProMED to donate too.  In the U.S. all gifts are tax deductible. Sincerely, Larry Madoff Editor, ProMED Mail P.S. As a small token of our appreciation, donors of US $250 will receive a ProMED computer memory stick.  Donors of US $100 receive a ProMED mug, and donations of US $50 are eligible to receive an environmentally friendly ProMED shopping bag.	Donate Now ProMED Home Read the NY Times on ProMED Read thelancet.com on ProMED All donors of $250 and above will receive a ProMED memory stick to store computer files. Donors of $100 receive a ProMED mug Donors of $50 receive an environmentally sound ProMED grocery bag

China Avian Influenza update H5

AVIAN INFLUENZA (116): CHINA (HONG KONG), H5

********************************************

A ProMED-mail post

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ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

[1]

Date: Wed 10 Dec 2008

Source: Government of Hong Kong Press release [edited] <http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200812/10/P200812100008.htm>

SFH [secretary for food and health] on avian influenza

——————————————————

Following is the transcript of remarks made by the secretary for food and health (SFH), Dr York Chow, at a stand-up media session at the West Wing lobby of Central Government Offices today (9 Dec 2008):

SFH: We have received a report from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) that there was an outbreak of chicken deaths in one chicken farm in Yuen Long yesterday morning [8 Dec 2008]. We have discovered that there were up to 60 dead chickens in that farm, and after a series of tests, we have confirmed this morning that the chickens died from

H5 virus. We had a meeting with all the concerned departments this afternoon including the AFCD, the Department of Health, and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD). And with the recommendation of the AFCD, I have elevated the alert state of avian influenza to “serious”

starting from now.

The AFCD has already declared the affected farm as the index farm. And from that we have drawn a 3 km (1.9 mi) radius, so that any chicken in that area will be considered infected. The total infected farms would be 2, and altogether there were about 80 000 chickens. We shall cull those chickens, starting from the index farm, and then the 2nd farm.

We had also decided that we shall ban all the outlets of chickens from our farms for 21 days, and also suspend all the import of chicken and poultry including birds for the next 21 days.

Since there are also chickens stored in Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Market, they will also be culled starting from tomorrow [10 Dec 2008].

The AFCD and the FEHD would also clean up those retail outlets and the wholesale market, to ensure that there would not be any more spreading of the virus. The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) will contact the owners and the workers of the affected farms, to make sure they are not infected.

So far we have not received any information about people being affected.

Hong Kong is facing a new alert of avian flu. We should be more cautious particularly with the winter coming and also the appearance of H5 virus in our farm. I hope that all the citizens would be more cautious and ensure they look after themselves well, and also ensure they have a good personal hygiene and environmental hygiene.

Reporter: How could this happen again?

SFH: The last time we [had an] outbreak in a farm [was] at the end of 2002.

With all the measures taken in the last 6 years, so far we did not have any outbreaks in any farms. This time round we are concerned about whether it would lead to such an outbreak. Now that the deaths were chickens breeders and also the so-called sentinel chicken, that is, chicken that had not been vaccinated. We also found more vaccinated chickens being affected. We have to investigate the cause of the outbreak, and the sequence of the outbreak.

We have to analyse the whole situation. And obviously we are concerned where the virus [came] from, as you know that virus exists in our natural environment with all the wild birds. This is something that we [are] always aware of. But whether there is any biosecurity lapse in the farm or whether there is any contamination of any sort inside the farm, that requires more investigations.

Reporter: (inaudible)

AFCD assistant director (inspection & quarantine) Dr Thomas Sit: We know the viruses existed in the region especially in the wintertime. The migrating birds and the wild birds will carry the virus. And during our surveillance in the last few years, you know the viruses present in the wild birds and the dead birds surveillance. That’s why we had to investigate whether there will be some contamination from the wild bird species or other means for the virus to get into the farm and [infect the chickens]. We will conduct investigations including taking blood samples and faecal samples in the affected farm.

Reporter: Does that mean the vaccine is useless?

SFH: We cannot confirm this yet, but according to the facts received, there are also [vaccinated] chickens affected. So we have to investigate on both, whether the virus has changed or whether the vaccination has changed [their] immunity.

Reporter: … or any changes of the…?

SFH: We cannot conclude in just a couple of days. Usually, virus sequencing would take actually a few days, or up to 2 or 3 weeks before we can be certain. We will be doing more tests on this virus and we are also working with the Hong Kong University on this.

Reporter: (inaudible)

SFH: We have been using the same vaccine during the last, I think 6 years.

Reporter: Mainland…?

SFH: I think there are always outbreaks [in] chickens everywhere, every now and then. We have not actually received any information from the Mainland.

Reporter: So, we won’t have any fresh chicken immediately?

SFH: 21 days, I think it would be from now until after Christmas.

Reporter: (inaudible)

SFH: We cannot conclude with just the information we got so far. We are investigating on various factors. As I mentioned earlier on, there are quite a number of factors that could actually result in such an outbreak.

Reporter: (inaudible)

SFH: I think in May/April. Actually we have declared Hong Kong is in “serious” state for 21 days, when we have a H5N1 virus in our market. Do you remember that?

Reporter: … infected chickens?

SFH: Since we have tested chickens from this farm last Friday [5 Dec 2008].

And after that, that batch of chickens was already gone into the market.

And I believe it was all sold by now. Any new development after that could be only in a couple of days. So I don’t think there is any delay in the reporting of this farm incident.

Reporter: Financial tsunami…?

AFCD assistant director (inspection & quarantine) Dr Thomas Sit: I think we are very unfortunate to start with. And these are not something related.

The risk of avian flu is always there in our environment. And I think we have been always very vigilant in monitoring various biosecurity of our own farms and also the imported poultry. So in this case, of course I am concerned whether there is any extra factor that would affect us, and any extra measure that we have to take in the future. Unless we have any new information regarding the virus, and also the effectiveness of the vaccination, otherwise, I think the existing measures are basically of the international standards, and these are measures we need to continue. Apart from the policy and the measures, we have to ensure that people comply with them. We will try to investigate and see whether we can find a more probable cause for this outbreak.

Reporter: … sufficient vaccine in stock?

SFH: As we have always prepared for the arrival of a possible pandemic, we have actually quite a sizeable stock of Tamiflu in the Department of Health and it should be quite sufficient for our protection up to about 20 per cent of our population. So for this particular incident, we don’t worry [about] the shortage of Tamiflu. We should have sufficient drugs and medicines to look after anybody who might be exposed to avian flu.

Report[er]: What about the vaccine?

SFH: You mean avian flu vaccine for humans? No, I think it is still in a very early experimental stage.

–

communicated by:

ProMED-mail

<promed@promedmail.org>

[The decision of the Hong Kong Government to declare a "serious alert state" has been applied in line with the territory's "preparedness plan for influenza pandemic". According to the said plan, there are 3 levels of the

response: Alert Response Level, Serious Response Level, and Emergency Response Level. These levels are based on different risk-graded epidemiological scenarios relevant to Hong Kong, and each of them prescribes a given set of public health actions required. They are designed to match with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for pandemic influenza planning. The full plan is available at <http://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/flu_plan_framework_en_20050222.pdf>. - Mod.AS]

******

[2]

Date: Tue 9 Dec 2008

Source: The Wall Street Journal [edited] <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122881648406891161.html>

Hong Kong to cull chickens after detecting bird flu

—————————————————

Hong Kong health authorities said on Tuesday [9 Dec 2008] that they would slaughter 80 000 chickens after 3 dead birds tested positive for the H5 avian flu virus. [These figures pertain to the number of samples sent to the laboratory. For number of cases on the farm, see item 1 above. - Mod.AS] The outbreak, Hong Kong’s first in 6 years, raises fresh questions about the city’s efforts to prevent bird flu.

The news could also hit public sentiment as the financial center struggles with the economic impact of the global slowdown. The city, a special administrative region of China, fell into recession in the 3rd quarter, and the city’s leader warned this week that the territory faces a difficult 2009.

“Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu,” York Chow, Hong Kong’s secretary for food and health, said on Tuesday [9 Dec 2008] at a press conference, according to the Associated Press. Mr Chow said the chickens were found Monday [8 Dec 2008] on a farm with 60 000 birds that has since been designated an infected zone. He added that Hong Kong would suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering 80 000 birds.

Officials said they hadn’t yet determined if the virus they found was the

H5N1 strain of bird flu that has proven deadly for humans. Still, the outbreak raises questions about how birds at the farm were infected. Yi Guan, a microbiologist and avian flu expert at Hong Kong University, said Hong Kong has some of the highest safety standards in the region but warned of “leaking holes” in the system. “We have a high-tech biosecurity system,”

Mr Guan said. “But how the farmer runs the farm is another story.” Mr Guan said it would take scientists “a couple of days” to determine the particular strain of the virus, but warned that several strains within the

H5 family of viruses could pose threats to humans.

In June [2008], a routine inspection of an outdoor food market turned up 5 cases of avian influenza, spurring officials to slaughter chickens and suspend supplies of live chickens from local and Mainland Chinese farms for

3 weeks. An investigation was launched to determine the source of that outbreak, but a government spokeswoman said Tuesday [9 Dec 2008] that the source of June’s outbreak had “posed some difficulties” and wasn’t yet determined. So far, the disease’s impact has been muted by its inability to easily pass from human to human. Since 2003, it has infected 387 people in

15 countries, including China, Indonesia and Viet Nam, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Of those confirmed cases, 63 percent have proved fatal. [The 9 Dec 2008 update of confirmed avian influenza A (H5N1) human cases reported to WHO are 389 cases and 246 deaths; see <http://www.info.gov.hk/info/flu/eng/global.htm>. - Mod.AS] Scientists worry that the flu could mutate into a tougher and more contagious form.

Hong Kong has seen occasional bird-flu incidents but no major outbreaks since 1997, when the virus killed 6 people and led to a slaughter of the territory’s 1.5 million birds. There are currently about 60 000 birds in Hong Kong, according to Hong Kong’s government, which is discouraging vendors from selling live chickens.

The incident comes at a time of heightened scrutiny on food safety in the region. Hong Kong officials have been scrutinizing the city’s food supply for signs of melamine, a toxic chemical that has been found in milk products and eggs from the mainland. Mr Guan, the Hong Kong University microbiologist, said now would be a good time to review current safety standards. “After this event, we will go and check to see whether the system is good or not, or if it can be improved,” Mr Guan said. “I think that will be the next topic to discuss.”

[byline: Jonathan Cheng]

–

communicated by:

ProMED-mail rapporteur Dan Silver

[Hong Kong was the site of the very 1st case of human infection with HPAI

H5N1 in August 1997. Since then, the HK government has been applying the following exemplary measures to reduce the risk of infection spreading from poultry to humans:

a. vaccination of chickens in local farms and imported chickens; b. regulation of local farms including tightened biosecurity measures (for example, all farms should be [wild] bird proof); c. import control (for instance, imported chickens must come from registered farms with health certificates); d. segregation policy (no waterfowl, which are natural carriers of avian influenza viruses, can be sold in retail outlets); e. market rest days to break the virus cycle and reduce the viral load; f. hygiene requirements on wholesale market and retail outlets; and g. surveillance targeted at humans, poultry and wild birds to ensure timely detection of the presence of any avian influenza viruses in our environment.

The said measures and additional background information are described in the document “Hong Kong’s preparedness for influenza pandemic – Prevention and Protection” updated July 2007, which is available at <http://www.info.gov.hk/info/flu/eng/files/hkpippp.pdf>.

It is perfectly understandable that a seriously suspected HPAI (highly pathogenic avian influenza) H5N1 on a commercial farm — in spite of the severe measures applied during several years — will cause grave concern in this densely populated territory, leading to severe control measures of which the 1st one, namely stamping out, has promptly been decided upon and, most probably, already applied.

The final identification of the causative agent is expected soon. – Mod.AS

Hong Kong can be located on the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at <http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=1819729&v=22.284,114.15,5>. – CopyEd.MJ]

[see also:

Avian influenza (106): Bangladesh, China (Hong Kong) 20081019.3312 Avian influenza (87): China (Hong Kong), vaccine efficacy 20080711.2121 Avian influenza (80): China (Hong Kong, Guandong), UK 20080617.1900 Avian influenza (75): China (Hong Kong) 20080607.1814 Avian influenza (41): Viet Nam, China (Hong Kong) 20080308.0951 Avian influenza (34): China (Hong Kong), Laos 20080213.0574

2007

---

Avian influenza (94): Viet Nam, China (Hong Kong) 20070602.1786 Avian influenza (40): Pakistan, China (Hong Kong), Russia 20070222.0658 Avian influenza (32): UK (England), China (Hong Kong), Turkey 20070212.0534

2005

---

Avian influenza A (H5N1) virus - China (Hong Kong): 2003 20050718.2068

2004

---

Avian influenza, falcon - China (Hong Kong)(02): OIE 20040127.0314 Avian influenza, falcon - China (Hong Kong) 20040121.0243

2003

---

Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) (03) 20030204.0300 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong): OIE (02) 20030126.0236 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong): OIE 20030120.0186 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) (02) 20030107.0054 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) 20030105.0036

2002

---

Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) (14) 20021228.6144 Influenza, avian - China (Hong Kong): vaccination 20021228.6143 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) (13) 20021222.6112 Avian Influenza - China (Hong Kong) (03) 20020209.3516 Avian influenza - China (Hong Kong) (02) 20020206.3492

2001

---

Avian influenza, H5N1 - China (Hong Kong) (07) 20010710.1332 Avian influenza, H5N1 - China (Hong Kong) 20010420.0778 2000

---

Avian influenza virus, H5 - China (Hong Kong): NOT 20001122.2025

1999

---

Influenza H5N1, avian - China (Hong Kong) 19990329.0490

1997

---

Influenza, human, avian strain - China (Hong Kong) 19971204.2426]

……………..arn/mj/sh

Peru – potential for Plague outbreak

PLAGUE – PERU: (LAMBAYEQUE), POTENTIAL FOR OUTBREAK

***************************************************

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

Date: Fri 5 Dec 2008

Source: Andina, Agencia Peruana de Noticias [in Spanish, trans. Mod.JG] [edited] <http://www.andina.com.pe/Espanol/Noticia.aspx?Id=hAz1a4CRhtM=>

Mr Manuel Aguinaga-Perez, mayor of Oyotun, reported today [3 Dec 2008] that the city council of Oyotun, a district located 83 km (52 miles) east from Chiclayo [capital city of Lambayeque Department on the northern Peruvian coast], is declaring an emergency alert because of the risk for a potential outbreak of bubonic plague as a result of the presence of a “massive”

number of rats that have destroyed 360 hectares (890 acres) of crops in this area.

Mr Aguinaga reported that specialists from the Ministry of Health had found up to 25 Asiatic rat fleas (_Xenopsylla cheopis_), vectors of bubonic plague, per rat. For this reason, he declared that they fear the occurrence of an outbreak of plague. A similar situation occurred 14 years ago in Morrope District, where more than 100 people died. “This phenomenon alarmed local health authorities, and we are working alongside every involved area in order to prevent the occurrence of a deadly epidemic,” he declared.

Even though Mr Aguinaga pointed out that to date not a single case of plague has been reported in Oyotun, he said “there is a potential threat that may expand and burst like a flame, and this is an important reason for concern.” He indicated that the communities of Campo Nuevo, Zorronto, Pan de Azucar, Macuaco, and Espinal had lost about 360 hectares of crops, mainly cornfields, because of the massive presence of rats, and this has caused serious economical problems for local farmers.

“We are requesting from the regional government financial support, particularly seeds for affected farmers,” Mr Aguinaga added; and he observed that the presence of a massive rat invasion had been reported since last June [2008], and now has spread to the higher parts of the district.

Mr Aguinaga pointed out that, under the leadership of the Ministry of Health, a coordinated plan was elaborated with the participation of the Agricultural sector and the district municipality, since massive rodent elimination may lead fleas to feed on other warm-blooded mammals.

–

communicated by:

ProMED-ESP

<promed@promedmail.org>

[To this point, there has been no identification of the bacterial cause of plague, _Yersinia pestis_, in the rodents or the rodent fleas. Given the large number of rats in the area, however, concern about the possibility of an outbreak of plague is not unreasonable.

Lambayeque can be found on the maps of Peru at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lambayeque_Region> and the HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at <http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=3694197&v=-6.852,-74.304,5>. - Mod.LL]

[see also:

2005

---

Plague - Brazil (Ceara): RFI 20050428.1180

2004

---

Plague, fatal - China (Qinghai) 20041101.2948 Plague - Congo DR (Ituri): susp. 20040730.2083 Plague, fatal - Ecuador (Chimborazo) (02) 20040513.1288 Plague, fatal - Ecuador: RFI 20040510.1264

2001

---

Plague, human - Brazil (Bahia) 20010506.0874

1998

---

Pneumonic plague - Ecuador (05) 19980522.0984 Pneumonic plague - Ecuador 19980501.0852]

……………..jt/jm/ll/mj/sh

DIOXIN CONTAMINATION, PIG MEAT – IRELAND, EUROPE

DIOXIN CONTAMINATION, PIG MEAT – IRELAND, EUROPE

************************************************

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>

[1] Ireland

Date: Sat 6 Dec 2008

Source: Irish Times [edited]

<http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/1206/breaking44.htm>

All Irish pork products have been recalled tonight [6 Dec 2008] because of fears that animal feed has been contaminated with harmful toxins.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland made the announcement shortly before 8 pm after pig meat on a number of farms was found to have had between 80 and 200 times more dioxins that the recognized safety limit.

The recall affects all products produced since 1 Sep 2008, and the public have been advised to destroy all pork bought since that date.

The recall will have very severe repercussions for the State’s pork industry, which is worth close to half a billion euros [USD 500 million] annually.

The announcement was made at a joint press briefing held by the FSAI and the Departments of Health and Agriculture.

The contamination 1st came to light last Monday but was only confirmed by Government officials today [6 Dec 2008].

Agriculture Minister Brendan Smith said an “intensive investigation”

had been underway this week. He said 47 farms, including 38 beef farms, had been restricted because they were identified as having received possibly contaminated animal feed. There was only one feed supplier involved, he said.

“Full prohibition of animal movement from these herds is in place.

We’ve outlined the actions that we’re taking on recall of pork and bacon following the receipt of the laboratory results earlier this evening. The issue of beef involvement is very different. Our assessment on the basis of advice from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland is that no further action at this stage other than what we have done in prohibiting movement off the farms is required. Testing is, however, taking place on a precautionary basis in line with our overall approach to this problem.”

Earlier this week, restrictions were placed on a number of pig farms after organic pollutants known as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are linked to dioxins, were detected in pork fat during routine monitoring.

Dioxins are complex organic compounds released into the atmosphere from fires and other forms of combustion. They are naturally occurring and accumulate in the fat of animal or in plant tissue.

They are mostly found in insignificant levels, but a small number are highly toxic and can cause a range of ailments from cancer to skin diseases and damage to the reproductive and immune systems.

Consumption of dioxins above safe levels over a lifetime may result in an increased risk of cancer. The World Health Organisation and the European Union’s Scientific Committee for Food have determined the levels of exposure to dioxins which are safe. The pork tested this week had up to 200 times more dioxins than is considered safe.

Rod Evans, a spokesman for the FSAI told Irishtimes.com that the health risks were likely to be “very small” and said a short period “of higher level exposure to the dioxins is unlikely to have any health consequences.”

The Minister for Health, Mary Harney, said she and Ministers Smith, Sargent and Wallace had spent the day in discussions with experts.

“I think we’ve acted in a timely fashion given that the confirmation happened at 3.40 this afternoon [6 Dec 2008] from the laboratories in York in the UK,” she said.

“From now on, those products will be withdrawn from the market obviously here and internationally. We hope that non-contaminated pork products can be very quickly back on the market … provided they operate to the highest possible standards as far as public health is concerned.”

The president of the IFA Padraig Walshe said the recall was “an absolute disaster” at an “important time of the year for the pig sector.” Speaking on RTE television, he said he expected “perfectly safe” pork from Irish producers to be on sale again by the middle of next week.

Tonight’s [6 Dec 2008] recall involves retailers, the hospitality sector and the Irish pig processing sector, and the FSAI advised people “as a precautionary measure not to consume Irish pork and bacon products at this time.”

The statement said investigations involving the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (DAFF) and the FSAI were continuing to determine the extent of the contamination and to identify the processors and products involved. It said that updates about the extent of the risk from human consumption would also be made available.

In recent years, there have been a number of dioxin contamination incidents of food worldwide. In 1998, dioxin-contaminated citrus pulp from Brazil was used in feed for dairy animals in France and resulted in contaminated milk. A year later in Belgium, dioxin-laden machine oil contaminated animal feed, affecting poultry, eggs, red meat and milk, which caused a major food crisis.

The pig farming industry is the 4th largest sector in Irish agriculture, and some 400 pig farmers are operating in the sector.

[Byline: Conor Pope and Mary Minhan]

–

Communicated by:

ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall

******

[2] Europe ex Ireland

Date: Sun 7 Dec 2008

Source: AFP [edited]

<http://www.google.com:80/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxbM5LQKLljqnPfx4CdsCOHL-A-A>

Ireland launched an intensive investigation on Sunday [7 Dec 2008] to establish the source of a toxic substance that forced the recall of all Irish pork products, the country’s food authorities said.

The Irish government ordered the recall on Saturday [6 Dec 2008] of all pig meat products made in the Republic of Ireland after dioxins were discovered in slaughtered pigs thought to have eaten contaminated feed. The recall included products sold in Ireland and abroad.

Contaminated Irish pork was found in France and Belgium, but the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) said the problem was restricted to “Irish pig meat related to an Irish feedstuff.” The European Commission said it was closely monitoring the situation.

The FSAI said it was almost certain that the source of the contamination was oil which mistakenly found its way into pig feed made at an Irish factory.

Dioxins are toxic chemicals that can have serious health effects, including causing cancers, if there is long-term exposure to them at high levels.

FSAI deputy chief executive Alan Reilly said dioxin levels found in meat samples were “between 80 and 200 times” above the legal limit.

But he said the risk to public health was “very, very low. “You would have to be eating products containing these chemicals for 40 years before you would show any signs of illness.”

Rhodri Evans, FSAI chief toxicology specialist, told AFP that oil was the most probable cause of the contamination and that it was “possibly” diesel oil at a plant in Ireland that used recycled bread and dough to make a pig feed. The feed plant supplied 9 pork producers. “The profile of the dioxin we have seen would indicate it is usually associated with some sort of oil contamination,” he said.

Ireland’s chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, said the withdrawal of all pork products from the market was “a precautionary public health measure.”

The recall involves pork meat, bacon, pork sausages, sausage meat, gammon steaks, offal from pigs, salami, ham, sausage rolls, black pudding and white pudding. The products concerned were all made since September 2008, because scientific evidence suggests the contamination was recent.

Ireland is a major exporter of pork with products sent to Britain — the main destination — and countries including Japan, Germany, Russia, France and the United States.

Laboratory tests in Britain had confirmed the presence of dioxins in both pig meat and pig feed samples. Evans said tests in France and Belgium had also revealed contaminated Irish pork products. Both countries had received products from a processing plant in the Netherlands where sides of pork from Ireland were boned and processed before being shipped on. “The initial detection was by the French authorities at import control. They did routine testing and saw a result,” Evans said. “When they saw the result, they went back to the Netherlands processor and asked what’s happening, where did this come from?” Evans said the problem only involved “Irish pig meat related to an Irish feedstuff.”

The crisis is another blow to recession-hit Ireland, with the agriculture ministry saying about 5000 people work in the pig meat industry, which is worth about 400 million euros [USD 500 million] a year.

Ireland’s Europe Minister Dick Roche said the contamination was “a shock to the system” for Irish agriculture.

The European Commission said in a statement it was “closely following up this contamination incident and the actions taken to withdraw any potentially contaminated pork meat and pork meat products from the market.”

EU food safety experts were to discuss the incident by telephone on Sunday [7 Dec 2008], and experts from countries that may have received contaminated shipments would meet on Tuesday, said commission spokesman Pietro Petrucci.

–

Communicated by:

Sabine Zentis

Castleview Pedigree English Longhorns

Gut Laach 52385 Nideggen, Germany

<CVLonghorns@aol.com>

[Mod.TG recently wrote: "Although there seems to be no doubt in the lay press about dioxin's status as a carcinogen, there seems to be some controversy in the toxicology literature (Bertazzi PA, Bernucci I, Brambilla G, Consonni D, Pesatori AC: The Seveso studies on early and long-term effects of dioxin exposure: a review. Environ Health Perspect 1998 Apr; 106 Suppl 2:625-33, available at <http://www.ehponline.org/docs/1998/Suppl-2/625-633bertazzi/abstract.html>)."

For WHO's Fact sheet N225 "Dioxins and their effects on human health," updated November 2007, go to <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/index.html>.

- Mod.AS]

[Another news story communicated by ProMED-mail Rapporteur Mary Marshall <http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081207/ts_nm/us_ireland_food_recall>

states that tainted pork products from Ireland may have reached 20-25 countries. - Mod.LM]

[see also:

Dioxin, buffalo mozzarella cheese - Italy: (Campania) 20080327.1146

2006

----

Dioxin, animal feed - Belgium (02) 20060206.0390 Dioxin, animal feed - Belgium 20060130.0303

2004

----

Dioxin, feed contamination - Netherlands (02): exported 20041110.3042 Dioxin, feed contamination - Netherlands 20041106.3009

2003

----

Dioxin, feed contamination - Germany (Thuringia) 20030210.0363

2001

----

Dioxin food levels, WHO statement 20010108.0065 2000

----

Dioxin contamination, fish - Europe 20001218.2213

1999

----

Dioxin in meat, poultry, eggs banned again - Belgium 19991109.2006 Dioxin & PCB contam., food - Belgium: update 19990729.1281 Dioxin in meat, poultry & eggs - Belgium (06) 19990630.1101 Dioxin food contamination, international response (06) 19990617.1032 Dioxin poultry ban lifted - Belgium (02) 19990613.1011 Dioxin & PCB contamination of food - Germany 19990613.1010

Dioxin: websites available 19990611.1002 Dioxin food contamination, international response (05) 19990611.1001 Dioxin & PCB contamination of food - Belgium 19990610.0999 Dioxin poultry ban lifted - Belgium 19990609.0989 Dioxin food contamination, international response (04) 19990609.0987 Dioxin health assessments (02) 19990609.0986 Dioxin food contamination, international response(03) 19990609.0980 Dioxin in meat, poultry & eggs - Belgium (04) 19990608.0978 Dioxin contamination of meat: USA response (02) 19990607.0967 Dioxin food contamination, international response(02) 19990607.0966 Dioxin contamination of meat: USA response 19990605.0941 Dioxin food contamination, international response 19990604.0930 Dioxin health assessments 19990604.0929 Dioxin contamination, pigs - Belgium 19990604.0928 Dioxin, chicken & eggs contaminated - Belgium 19990531.0913] ……………………………………………arn/msp/lm

Infectious diseases principal challenges to human survival

Dear Friends: Infectious diseases cause 26 percent of worldwide deaths each year and “remain among the principal challenges to human survival” according to a paper published in the November issue of the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Yet identifying a new disease threat – or recognizing when a well-known threat is going to spread like wildfire – is far from an exact science. That’s why a global disease early warning system like ProMED-mail is needed more than ever.  To ensure that ProMED continues to exist to protect us all, please donate now. ProMED’s international network of experts is constantly vigilant, providing up-to-the minute alerts on credible disease outbreaks as soon as they are detected.  Our editors review dozens of e-mailed reports of mysterious outbreaks from experts and amateur disease watchers throughout the world. We scan newspapers and health department alerts, government reports and other sources of information for inklings that an infectious disease, perhaps not yet reported widely, is threatening animal, plant and/or human health.  We raise red flags to alert public health officials so they can move quickly and effectively to prevent problems from spreading. Since 1994 ProMED has been on the front lines as the world braces for pandemic influenza, reacts to an outbreak of food-borne illness, or tracks an outbreak of anthrax or mad cow disease.  Please donate now to ensure that this free service continues to protect us all. ProMED receives no government funding. This enables us complete independence to report things as we see them each day to 48,000 public health officials, students, journalists, agricultural specialists and infectious disease professionals in more than 182 countries.  Your donations give public health specialists across the globe equal, credible access to information when a disease outbreak occurs – so they can spring into action when necessary to prevent or minimize its spread. But without donations from people like you, ProMED would cease to exist.  That’s why we need your financial support today – even in challenging financial times — to keep our world safe. In the U.S. all gifts are tax deductible. We thank you in advance for your support. Sincerely, Larry Madoff Editor, ProMED Mail P.S. Congress has reinstated the charitable IRA rollover provision.  This means that people age 70 ½ or older who must take mandatory distributions from their Individual Retirement accounts can make tax-free gifts of those distributions directly to ProMED through the International Society for Infectious Diseases. The transferred amount counts toward the mandatory distribution and is excluded from taxable income. To learn more, please email norman.stein@isid.org.	Donate Now ProMED Home Read the NY Times on ProMED Read thelancet.com on ProMED All donors of $250 and above will receive a ProMED memory stick to store computer files. Donors of $100 receive a ProMED mug Donors of $50 receive an environmentally sound ProMED grocery bag