Genetically Modified Chickens Don't Pass On The Flu

[Okinawa]

Genetically Modified Chickens Don't Pass On The Flu
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/01/19/133027476/genetically-modified-chickens-dont-pass-on-the-flu
by Richard Knox
January 19, 2011


Here's a neat genetic trick: Make a chicken that can get the flu, but can't pass it on to other birds — or, presumably, to the humans who take care of them.

British researchers have done it.

The British team, with the support of a big poultry breeder and government funding, inserted a gene into chickens that blocks flu viruses from replicating. These genetically modified chickens can get infected. But their cells don't spew forth zillions of copies of flu viruses — so nearby poultry don't get sick.
 
Their achievement, reported in the current issue of Science, addresses major problems for both poultry breeders and public health officials who worry about chickens as sources of flu viruses that make humans sick.

Chickens and other domestic fowl often serve as bridges for new flu viruses that pop up in wild birds and later cause human outbreaks. Most of the 517 reported cases of deadly H5N1 bird flu have been in people who've had contact with domestic poultry.

There are flu vaccines for chickens. But, like human vaccines, they have to be updated continually as new flu mutants evolve. Also, they don't totally prevent flu infections in poultry — they just suppress them. So vaccinated flocks can still have "silent" outbreaks that don't kill off birds but allow the virus to mutate undetected.

The secret of flu-proofing chicken flocks is an artificial gene that contains a snippet of genetic material from the H5N1 flu virus. This bit of RNA codes for polymerase, an enzyme flu viruses need to make more of themselves.

The cells of GM chickens make this fake polymerase. When scientists infected the modified birds with lethal doses of H5N1, the virus latched onto the decoy form of polymerase. These viruses couldn't replicate and spread to other chickens through the birds' exhalations and droppings.

This is better than a vaccine, the researchers say, because the virus probably won't be able to evade the genetic defense as it can vaccines. That's because each one of the flu virus's eight genetic elements needs a polymerase gene to replicate; simultaneous mutants in all these places on the viral genome is "highly improbable," the scientists say.

Another big advantage: No flu virus of the important "A" family that includes H5N1, H1N1 and H3N2 — the main threats to human health — should be able to circumvent the genetic defense because they all need the same form of polymerase to replicate.

Intriguing as the new approach is, the problem is far from solved. Years more testing will be needed to make sure there's no hidden hazard from this type of genetic modification. And then there's the public relations work that will be needed to persuade government agencies and consumers to accept the GM chickens.

If these hurdles can be overcome, it might not be such a daunting task to replace the billions of ordinary chickens in commercial poultry herds with the GM type.

"That's because the trade in both broiler and egg-laying chickens has become consolidated in a handful of companies," Michael Greger of the Humane Society of the United States told Martin Enserink of Science.

As for the millions of backyard and rooftop flocks in developing countries around the world, Greger says the strategy would be provide their owners with GM chickens they can breed themselves. The flu-proofing gene would get passed along to their offspring.

The next horizon: GM pigs, ducks, turkeys and quail. They all get the flu, too.

[Okinawa]

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

Tests spur Miyazaki chicken cull: Nation's No. 2 poultry producer acts to halt deadly flu
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110123a1.html

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The Miyazaki Prefectural Government said Saturday that six chickens from a poultry farm in the capital have been confirmed to have a highly pathogenic flu virus, prompting the central government to convene a task force.

The outbreak is the second to hit a poultry farm during the autumn and winter seasons since the November outbreak in Shimane Prefecture. Wild and free-range birds infected with the highly virulent H5N1 bird flu have been surfacing in Hokkaido and Tottori, Kagoshima and Fukushima prefectures since October. On Saturday, Hokkaido officials said the virus had also been detected in a weakened swan found in the town of Hamanaka.

The finding in Miyazaki is yet another blow to the prefecture's livestock industry, which was hit by bird flu in 2007 and a foot-and-mouth epidemic last year that led to the slaughter of about 290,000 cows and pigs.

The chickens were examined in detail early Saturday after testing positive for bird flu in preliminary tests Friday. By Saturday evening, prefectural officials and experts had culled all of the roughly 10,000 chickens at the farm, where dozens of birds were previously found dead, local government officials said.

Miyazaki Prefecture is the nation's No. 2 poultry producer after Kagoshima and shipped about 118 million young chickens for consumption in 2009, with combined chicken and egg shipments worth ¥63.7 billion, according to the latest data available from the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

Six of the seven chickens tested, mostly from the 36 chickens found dead when the farm reported the incident Friday, had the H5 bird flu strain, the officials said, adding that 10 more chickens there died later.

In Tokyo, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said: "Making a quick and appropriate initial response is important. We will take full preparation measures" at a task force meeting before noon to address the development with all Cabinet members attending except Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, who is visiting Okinawa Prefecture.

The prefectural government conducted on-site inspections at all 46 farms within 10 km of the suspect farm after asking them not to transport their estimated 1.5 million chickens, or eggs.

A team of experts from the agriculture ministry also flew into Miyazaki and began epidemiological studies as part of an investigation into how the flu is spreading. They also visited some of the 26 disinfection stations set up on roads around the farm to sterilize any traffic.

Local officials in neighboring Kumamoto and Kagoshima prefectures called an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures in the event the epidemic spreads beyond Miyazaki.

Based on samples sent by the local government, the National Institute of Animal Health in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, will check how dangerous the virus is, prefectural officials said.

"The virus is very likely a highly virulent one. It is shocking as we have enhanced prevention measures such as patrolling farms," said Shusuke Iwasaki, a senior prefectural official in charge of livestock epidemic prevention.

[Okinawa]

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011

Sharp rise seen in adult flu cases: Patient tally more than doubles in a week
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110123a2.html
Kyodo News

The influenza virus is spreading rapidly across Japan, with health care institutions reporting an average of 12.09 flu patients in the week ending Jan. 16, more than doubling the 5.06 seen the previous week, the Infectious Disease Surveillance Center said.

The center is warning that the rise in flu patients may continue, and it advised early vaccination especially among pregnant women and people with chronic diseases, who are at higher risk of complications.

The figures were based on data provided by 5,000 designated health care institutions across the nation.

The center estimates 780,000 flu patients visited doctors in the latest reporting week, with people aged 20 or older comprising 57.7 percent.

Yoshinori Yasui, a researcher at the center, said many of this season's flu patients are adults who have not developed strong immunity, as most of them escaped infection during the last flu season.

In the last season, the H1N1 influenza epidemic swept the country from August 2009 until around last March. It mainly affected infants and children up to age 19, while those in the 20 to 59 age category comprised less than 30 percent of the total.

"It is a matter of concern that the pace of the spread of the epidemic is faster than the previous season," Yasui said.

Past data show that there are cases in which the number of deaths is higher in the second year of a new flu epidemic.

It appears that the propaganda machine is preparing us for mandatory vaccinations and educating the masses that GM foods will help keep us healthy.

[Okinawa]

Monday, Jan. 24, 2011
Miyazaki starts 410,000-chicken containment cull
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110124x2.html

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The Miyazaki Prefectural Government stepped up its latest bird flu fight Monday after infections were confirmed at a second poultry farm, triggering the culling of about 410,000 chickens in the town of Shintomi late the previous day.

To prevent the highly pathogenic avian flu from spreading further, it asked the Ground Self-Defense Force for disaster relief assistance and received a team of 170 troops from a camp based in the prefecture to help bury the carcasses and perform other work Tuesday.

While it is expected to take several days to kill all the birds and bury them, about 10,000 chickens already culled at a nearby farm in the prefectural capital Miyazaki, where the flu first broke out, are slated to be burned by Monday evening.

Shortly past 7 a.m., around 270 prefectural employees and related experts boarded six buses to visit the two farms to cull chickens and dispose of their waste.

Kenko Matsuki, a parliamentary secretary for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, also visited an emergency headquarters set up in Shintomi and inspected areas around the farm there.

"The farm is still new so I'm disappointed and shocked. The most important thing is to cull the chickens as soon as possible," Matsuki said after the inspection.

The prefecture — the No. 2 poultry producer after Kagoshima as of 2009 — banned farms within 10 km of the two infected farms from moving about 4 million chickens plus eggs late Sunday.

Five chickens were confirmed infected with a highly pathogenic bird flu virus late Sunday after 20 chickens were found dead that morning at the Shintomi farm, a day after six chickens at the other farm in the prefectural capital, only about 8.5 km away, were confirmed as having bird flu.

The outbreaks in Miyazaki follow one in November at a poultry farm in Shimane Prefecture and come amid a spread of bird flu among wild birds across Japan.

The infections are a menace to the local livestock industry, which was hit by bird flu in 2007 and a foot-and-mouth epidemic last year that led to the slaughter of about 290,000 cows and pigs.


Hundreds of thousands of chickens, cows and pigs killed for having a bad cold.

[Okinawa]

Avian flu is feared at Kagoshima farm
The Japan Times: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110125x3.html

KAGOSHIMA (Kyodo) Chickens at a poultry farm in Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, tested positive for bird flu in a preliminary examination, the prefecture said Tuesday, following outbreaks of a highly lethal strain of avian influenza in Miyazaki Prefecture.

The Kagoshima farm raises some 8,600 chickens for eggs. There are around 160 poultry farms within a 10-km radius of the farm, accounting for some 5.25 million birds.

Local authorities plan to examine the chickens more closely.

The Environment Ministry meanwhile said it began research Tuesday to see if infections with the highly lethal strain have spread in Miyazaki.

Researchers started collecting droppings of wild birds in areas within 10 km of two poultry farms in the city of Miyazaki and the town of Shintomi where outbreaks of the highly virulent flu have been confirmed since last week.

Three researchers from the Japan Wildlife Research Center began the study at a site along the Hitotsuse River, which stretches between Miyazaki and Shintomi, on behalf of the ministry.

"We will check if infections might have spread in view of the possibility that migratory birds may have acted as intermediaries in transmitting the virus" to chickens at the farms, said Masahide Kubota, one of the researchers.

The examination was prompted by successive detections of the highly virulent strain in the two municipalities.

The researchers will collect wild bird droppings at six to seven locations through Wednesday, and it will take two to three weeks before the laboratory results are available, the ministry officials said.

The ministry raised the alert level Monday to its highest degree to strengthen surveillance of wild birds inhabiting the area within 10 km of the two farms.

Meanwhile, agriculture minister Michihiko Kano said the government plans to complete a cull of some 410,000 chickens at the Shintomi poultry farm by Thursday.

"We are proceeding with (the cull) by consulting with the prefectural government," he said at a news conference.

Some 150 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel joined the government effort to cull the chickens at the Shintomi farm.

[Okinawa]

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011

Get ready for a really bad hay fever season this spring
Experts cite the benefits of early diagnosis
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110127f1.html
By SARAH SUK
Kyodo News

The season of itchy eyes, runny noses and sneezing is around the corner again.

Forecasts indicate that the levels this year of cedar and cypress pollen — the two most common causes of hay fever in Japan — are expected to be far higher than last year in many parts of the country.

While this is sure to come as bad news for the increasing number of people suffering from pollen allergy, doctors are urging sufferers to seek proper diagnosis so they can be treated effectively.

Norio Sahashi, chairman of the Palaeontological Society of Japan and director of the Association of Pollen Information, said the high temperatures, low rainfall and abundant sunshine last summer were conducive to producing abundant cedar and cypress spores.

Sahashi, who travels to different parts of the country to check cedar and cypress trees, said pollen levels in most regions this year are likely to be around double the average over the past decade.

"But they won't surpass the levels seen in 2005," when extremely high concentrations of cedar and cypress pollen were recorded, Sahashi said.

He said northeastern, eastern, central and some parts of western Japan will probably see levels twice as bad as usual, while the Chugoku region in western Honshu and Shikoku will have an average season. Kyushu could catch a break and have less pollen than normal.

Cedar dissemination, usually from early February to early May, and cypress pollen, from early March to mid-May, should commence within the normal range or could start slightly later this year, Sahashi said.

To brace for the hay fever season, doctors are recommending early preparations to control and ease symptoms.

People can take simple preventive measures such as wearing a mask when outdoors as well as gargling and washing one's face after going outside, according to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry website.

Commonly available medications to ease symptoms include antihistamines, decongestants and nasal sprays.

Hay fever can also be suppressed over the longer term by immunotherapy injections that expose recipients to low levels of allergens so their bodies can get accustomed by the time the season commences.

But immunotherapy is often accompanied by side effects and is more effective when the treatment lasts several years, according to Minoru Goto, an allergist who teaches at Nippon Medical School's otorhinolaryngology department.

Goto stressed that as with any other illnesses, it is "important to get tested for hay fever to pinpoint the cause so appropriate treatment can be given."

Simply experiencing allergic symptoms in spring doesn't necessarily imply a cedar or cypress pollen allergy because the season abounds with other allergens, including alder pollen, while household dust can cause problems year-round.

There are several ways to test for allergies, including blood tests, skin tests and infusion tests, which involve patients actually consuming allergens to test for a reaction.

While it usually takes about a week to get the results of blood tests, Goto said there is a new simple testing device being used on a trial basis in which a few drops of blood from a fingertip can pinpoint in 20 minutes an allergy to eight common triggers, including cedar pollen and ticks.

Koichi Iwai, president of Phadia K.K., the Japanese subsidiary of a Sweden-based pharmaceutical company that specializes in allergy testing, cited data from a 2009 report on nasal allergies that showed the prevalence of pollen allergies in Japan had increased from 19.6 percent in 1998 to 29.8 percent in the following 10 years.

To meet the growing need for allergy testing, the company, which also makes the simple testing device, has developed large-scale equipment that enables clinical testing centers to conduct up to 960 regular blood tests an hour.

"There is definitely an increasing trend in terms of the prevalence of allergies in Japan and around the world, so we're seeing more and more patients in need of allergy testing," Jean Forcione, chief operating officer of Phadia AB.

The "largest-ever instrument in allergy testing" was developed in response to the needs of large Japanese commercial laboratories that "run an immense number of tests that are highly automated and sophisticated, and they were asking us for better solutions to further automate their laboratories," Forcione said.

[Okinawa]

31,000 chickens culled in Miyazaki: Prefecture admits inspections of farms failed to meet code
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110128x3.html

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The Miyazaki Prefectural Government finished culling all 31,000 chickens Friday at a poultry farm and an affiliated meat-processing center hit by the season's sixth outbreak of the highly infectious avian influenza and admitted there were shortcomings in its inspections of farms.

The outbreak — the third to hit one of the nation's largest meat-producing prefectures — was confirmed early Friday after 186 chickens shipped from the farm in the town of Tsuno were found dead Thursday at the meat-processing center in the town of Kawaminami, prefectural officials said.

Roughly 10,000 chickens kept at the farm and 21,000 others brought to the meat-processing center were culled late Thursday, after positive preliminary tests on dead birds prompted a decision to take immediate action instead of waiting for further testing.

The outbreaks began in November in Shimane Prefecture, before moving onto the capital of Miyazaki Prefecture and the town of Shintomi, followed by ones earlier this week in Kagoshima and Aichi prefectures.

Miyazaki also closed a separate meat-processing center in the town of Tsuno — one of the biggest in the prefecture, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the prefectural government was found Friday to have skipped two-thirds of the on-the-spot sanitation checks it was supposed to conduct last year, including at the farm in the city of Miyazaki where the prefecture's first case of bird flu occurred.

Earlier, the prefectural government went on record as saying it conducted on-the-spot inspections at the farm. But actually, it allowed officials from a firm affiliated with the farm to carry out the checks on its behalf.

Inspections conducted by the central government after the outbreak discovered a number of holes in the farm's bird net, which is intended to prevent wild birds from entering the poultry houses. The spread of the highly virulent H5N1 bird flu virus was confirmed nationwide last October.

Miyazaki Prefecture said its own sanitary officials checked only one-fourth of the 984 poultry farms with 100 chickens or more that were supposedly inspected last year at the direction of the central government because it didn't have enough staff.

Miyazaki suffered huge damage last year after a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease forced it to cull about 290,000 cows and pigs.

The Japan Times: Friday, Jan. 28, 2011
(C) All rights reserved

[Okinawa]

Miyazaki bird flu epidemic spreads: Prefecture admits inspections of farms failed to meet code
The Japan Times: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110129a3.html

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The bird flu epidemic may be spreading in Miyazaki Prefecture after chickens tested positive for a highly pathogenic avian flu virus Friday in two more locations.

In what could be the season's fourth and fifth outbreak in the prefecture, chickens at poultry farms in Nobeoka and Kawaminami tested positive for bird flu in preliminary tests.

The Nobeoka poultry farm found six of its chickens had died recently, while the Kawaminami farm saw more than 400 chickens die after exhibiting specific symptoms. The local government has decided to cull about 92,000 birds at the Kawaminami farm and conduct a detailed investigation.

Meanwhile, the Miyazaki Prefectural Government finished culling all 31,000 chickens Friday at a poultry farm and an affiliated meat-processing center hit by the season's sixth outbreak of the highly infectious avian influenza and admitted there were shortcomings in its inspections of farms.

The outbreak — the third to hit one of the nation's largest meat-producing prefectures — was confirmed early Friday after 186 chickens shipped from the farm in the town of Tsuno were found dead Thursday at the meat-processing center in the town of Kawaminami, prefectural officials said.

Roughly 10,000 chickens kept at the farm and 21,000 others brought to the meat-processing center were culled late Thursday, after positive preliminary tests on dead birds prompted a decision to take immediate action instead of waiting for further testing.

The farm ministry plans to order Miyazaki to report the number of dead chickens at poultry farms on a daily basis.

The outbreaks began in November in Shimane Prefecture, before moving onto the capital of Miyazaki Prefecture and the town of Shintomi, followed by ones earlier this week in Kagoshima and Aichi prefectures.

Miyazaki also closed a separate meat-processing center in the town of Tsuno — one of the biggest in the prefecture, the officials said.

Meanwhile, the prefectural government was found Friday to have skipped three-quarters of the on-the-spot sanitation checks it was supposed to conduct last year, including at the farm in the city of Miyazaki where the prefecture's first case of bird flu occurred.

Earlier, the prefectural government went on record as saying it conducted on-the-spot inspections at the farm. But actually, it allowed officials from a firm affiliated with the farm to carry out the checks on its behalf.

Miyazaki also said its own sanitary officials checked only one-fourth of the 984 poultry farms with 100 chickens or more that were supposedly inspected last year at the direction of the central government because it didn't have enough staff.

The Japan Times: Saturday, Jan. 29, 2011
(C) All rights reserved

[Okinawa]

Sunday, Jan. 30, 2011

EDITORIAL
New avian flu threat
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ed20110130a1.html

Avian influenza is spreading in Japan. Apparently wild birds that migrated to this country have triggered the spread of the flu. In December, avian flu was confirmed in a poultry farm in Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture. Then it was found in swans in Yonago, Tottori Prefecture, and Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture, and in hooded cranes in Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture. It is very likely that more wild birds are infected with avian flu.

In late January, avian flu broke out in poultry farms in such places as Miyazaki city; Shintomi and Tsuno, Miyazaki Prefecture; Izumi and Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. In Japan, Yamaguchi Prefecture saw an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu in January 2004 — the first such outbreak in 79 years. Since then, there have been sporadic cases.

Outbreaks this time are of a large scale and threats of avian flu have entered a new stage. Poultry farmers and veterinarians are urged to be vigilant and to report irregularities immediately to authorities.

Wild birds such as wild ducks that are carriers of avian flu virus fly to Japan from the north in winter. Since infected wild birds are flying over the whole of Japan, any poultry farm can be a victim of the flu. Perhaps the first detected case of avian flu virus this winter season is a highly virulent H5N1 strain found in wild duck droppings in Wakkanai, Hokkaido, in October 2010.

The basic countermeasure available for poultry farmers is to use strong nets to ward off wild birds. Once flocks of poultry are found to be infected with the avian flu virus, they must be slaughtered.

The Domestic Animal Infectious Disease Control Law bans the transfer of chickens and eggs that exist within a 10-km radius of an affected farm.

In cases where poultry farmers must slaughter a large number of chickens, the government should provide an appropriate amount of compensation and other support. Guarding against avian flu should not slacken because not only wild birds but also animals and humans can carry the flu virus.

[Okinawa]

Miyazaki completes cull of 40,000 chickens due to bird flu infection
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/miyazaki-completes-cull-of-40000-chickens-due-to-bird-flu-infection
Tuesday 01st February, 05:47 AM JST
MIYAZAKI —

The Miyazaki prefectural government said it completed Monday a cull of about 40,000 chickens at a poultry farm in the town of Takanabe where infection with a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus has been found.

...

Already more than 500,000 chickens have been culled in the prefecture since Jan. 22 to block the further spread of the epidemic after infections were confirmed in the cities of Miyazaki and Nobeoka as well as the towns of Shintomi, Tsuno and Kawaminami.

Miyazaki Prefecture’s livestock industry has also taken serious blows from the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease last year that forced the cull of 290,000 cows and pigs.

[Okinawa]

Bird flu outbreak affects zoos / Public sees less of feathered friends as bird-related events canceled
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110130002246.htm
The Yomiuri Shimbun
(Jan. 31, 2011)

The spread of bird flu has triggered a series of cancellations of bird-related events at zoos and aquariums nationwide.

At least 28 institutions have canceled events to prevent bird flu from spreading among wild birds or to human beings, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

There are also questions about how to deal with Japanese crested ibises, which have been designated a national natural treasure, and wild birds that attract tourists.

Nogeyama Zoo in Yokohama, which more than 3,000 people visit on holidays, keeps chickens and baby chicks in a pen in a popular part of the zoo called "Nakayoshi Hiroba" (our friends' square), where young children can play with small animals.

Miu Miyauchi, a 9-year-old girl who came to the zoo to see a chicken named Sora on Saturday was disappointed, saying: "I miss Sora. But I'd feel sorry if they got sick, so it's all right."

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in Osaka has canceled a popular event called "Penguin Parade" since Saturday. Every Saturday and Sunday, the event had been attracting about 1,000 visitors per day who watch seven king penguins walking along a 70-meter mat.

An official of the aquarium said, "We consider it imperative to prevent the infection from spreading first and foremost."

Non-animal events have also been affected.

In Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, where chickens at a poultry farm were confirmed to have been infected with the bird flu virus Wednesday, the city government decided to cancel a marathon scheduled for mid-February. More than 2,500 people were expected to participate in the event called "Tsuru Marason" (crane marathon) as the course includes areas near a wintering place for migratory cranes.

An annual singing contest in the city has also been canceled.

In other cases, authorities have banned the feeding of swans at their stopover spots.

At a riverside park in Zaomachi, Miyagi Prefecture, a sign has been set up asking people not to feed the birds.

At the conservation center for Japanese crested ibises in Sado, Niigata Prefecture, staff members are worried about how they can prevent an outbreak of bird flu among the center's 130 ibises.

The mesh on the wire top of a cage that houses about 30 ibises is four centimeters by four centimeters, large enough for small birds to pass through. It is not rare for sparrows to enter the cage.

The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry has recommended reducing the size of the mesh to at least two centimeters by two centimeters.

But Environment Ministry officials said they would consider renovating the cage only after the ibises are released in March out of concern that major work on the cage, which has an area of 4,000 square meters, would upset the birds.

If livestock are found to be infected with bird flu, the law on domestic animal infectious disease control obliges livestock owners to cull all the animals at affected farms. But because ibises are not livestock, they are not covered by the law. Environment Ministry officials say they are considering what measures should be taken if ibises become infected with bird flu.

[Okinawa]

Cold snap 'forced flu-carrying birds south' / Weather may explain outbreaks in Japan, but no easy way seen to stem disease's spread
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110131004256.htm
Eiji Noyori and Hiroyuki Oyama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers
Feb. 1, 2011

A wave of extremely cold weather this winter is a suspected factor behind the ongoing spread of avian flu in Japan, according to ornithologists.

Flocks of migratory birds infected with an avian flu virus may have arrived in parts of the nation after advancing farther south than in an average year, instead of wintering on the Korean Peninsula. Their arrival may have been an attempt to avoid a wave of cold weather in continental Asia that has intensified since the beginning of this year, experts said.

"The spread [of avian flu] may have become even greater as a result of these birds arriving in this nation after migrating through such highly virus-dense areas as Siberia, China and Mongolia," Hiroyoshi Higuchi, a professor of ornithology at the University of Tokyo, said.

The highly virulent H5N1 avian flu has spread nationwide. Cases of bird flu infection have been found in nine prefectures, including those that have come to light in four prefectures since early this year.

A huge number of infected chickens have been culled at poultry farms in these prefectures. However, there is no telling what can be done to prevent wild birds--a probable vector of avian flu infection--from contracting and spreading the disease. Scientists remain unsure about why the nation is witnessing such frequent occurrences of bird flu this winter, as well as whether the epidemic will continue to spread.

The spread of avian flu has forced the adoption of emergency measures by various institutions in Japan, including the Homeland for the Oriental White Stork, a prefectural park in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture. For years, the facility has been dedicated to the preservation and breeding of the storks, an endangered species.

Storks kept in the park were moved from roofless cages to ones covered with plastic sheets in the facility Thursday, two days after the body of a wild bird suspected of having the avian flu virus was found in Itami, also in the prefecture. The action was intended to keep these storks away from the droppings of wild birds that fly into the park, enticed by the feed given to the protected birds.

"There is no perfect way to prevent small birds from sneaking into the cages through their grids," Naoki Yamaguchi, an official at the prefectural government, said.

It is even more difficult to ensure that no wild bird that has contracted avian flu spreads its disease. This can be exemplified by the case involving nabezuru (white-headed cranes)--another endangered species--that were found to have been infected with the virus after arriving at the Izumi Plains in Kagoshima Prefecture to spend the winter there.

Alarmed by the incident, the Izumi city government has expanded the area in which migratory nabezuru cranes are allowed to be fed, by 50 percent over previous years. The 1.5-fold expansion reflects concern that the presence of any crane infected with the flu could instantly spread its disease among other cranes if it stays in close proximity to them. While a larger area should reduce overcrowding, it is also feared that excessive expansion of the feeding area could make it easier for any infected crane to transmit its disease to other wild birds in the neighborhood.

Hamanakacho, eastern Hokkaido--where ohakucho (whooper swans) infected with the flu have been found--is home to tanchozuru (red-crowned cranes), another endangered species.

"Trying to catch [tanchozuru] and moving them to a safety zone would produce the opposite of the desired effect. Doing so would turn them away," an Environment Ministry official said. "All that can be done is to swiftly find and collect the bodies of cranes that have died of the flu and those that have grown weak because of the disease."

Chances are that the spread of the avian flu this winter has been caused by flocks of migratory birds--mainly wild ducks--that became infected with the virus in Siberia and other areas during a breeding period in the summer and have arrived in Japan to spend the winter here.

According to the ministry, there are 33 kinds of wild birds at high risk of infection, including wild ducks, crows and cormorants. Such birds inhabit all parts of the country.

"As circumstances stand today, the flu has not yet affected any wild bird that lives in Japan throughout the year. It would be difficult for the virus to exist [in the nation] from the spring onward, as temperatures of lakes and marshes begin to rise," Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a professor at Tottori University, said.

"The odds are probably low that the spread of infection will continue through the year," he said.

However, some scientists have issued a warning about the possibility of the ongoing epidemic resulting in a more ominous consequence. "Suppose migratory birds carry avian flu viruses into this country every year, and viral infection spreads among wild animals. This could increase the possibility that a bird flu virus could mutate into one that could affect humans," said Masato Tashiro, who heads the Influenza Virus Research Center at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

===

Govt streamlines response

The farm ministry has been desperate in its efforts to contain the ongoing spread of bird flu since the crisis struck.

"We should never repeat the same mistakes as committed in handling the foot-and-mouth disease [that hit Miyazaki Prefecture] last year]," an Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry official said.

On Saturday, the ministry convened an emergency meeting of officials from Tokyo and all prefectural governments who undertake to deal with the epidemic. These officials were told to conduct on-the-spot inspections at major poultry farms under the jurisdiction of their local governments and ensure there are no holes in nets installed there to prevent wild birds from sneaking into these facilities.

However, some local governments have been embarrassed by the ministry's advisory. "It will be unrealistic to inspect all chicken farms," an official from the Shimane prefectural government said.

Such is also the case in Miyazaki Prefecture, where a number of bird flu cases have been reported. The prefectural government has 47 epidemic prevention officials in charge of such inspections. This means each official has 246 farming households to inspect, including those raising cattle and swine. The figure is fivefold the national average.

The farm ministry has said it will take prompt measures to cull infected chickens, realizing that its slow action to deal with last year's foot-and-mouth epidemic added to the damage suffered by cattle farmers.

This approach contrasts with the ministry's previous stance on infectious disease cases involving livestock. In the past, the ministry sent samples to government-run laboratories where genetic tests were conducted on them to determine whether the cattle in question were infected with particular viruses.

In addressing the ongoing crisis, however, the ministry now will take steps to cull infected chickens immediately after genetic tests are carried out by relevant prefectural governments to find samples test positive.

From Thursday on, the ministry further simplified these procedures. It has made such decisions only through abbreviated tests--without waiting for the results of genetic tests.

[Okinawa]

Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011
More bird flu feared in Miyazaki
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110202a3.html

MIYAZAKI (Kyodo) The Miyazaki Prefectural Government said Tuesday that 191 chickens died at a poultry farm in the city of Miyazaki and that six of the seven dead birds tested positive for avian influenza in a preliminary exam.

Officials decided to launch more detailed examinations on the six dead birds to confirm whether they were infected with bird flu. It would be the prefecture's seventh outbreak.

In Tottori Prefecture, meanwhile, officials said the highly virulent strain of the H5N1 virus was detected in two wild birds that tested positive for avian flu in earlier tests.

The infection, involving a tufted duck and hooded gull found in a weakened state in Yonago last month, marks the second outbreak of a highly virulent strain of bird flu in Tottori this winter.

No signs of infection have been confirmed so far among the 924,000 chickens at 18 poultry farms within 10 km of where the two wild birds were found, the prefectural government said.

The Hokkaido government said detailed tests on a dead whooper swan recovered in the town of Hamanaka in mid-January were positive for the H5N1 virus, the sixth case of a wild bird infected with bird flu in Hokkaido.

In Aichi Prefecture, two quail farms in Toyohashi resumed shipping quail eggs for the first time in six days after a ban was put in place on transporting birds and eggs following the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza at a chicken farm there.

The prefecture authorized quail farms within a 10-km radius of where the bird flu had broken out to restart egg shipments after confirming the farms had taken measures to prevent infection.

[Okinawa]

Miyazaki confirms 8th bird flu outbreak
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/miyazaki-confirms-8th-bird-flu-outbreak
Saturday 05th February, 02:57 PM JST

MIYAZAKI —

Miyazaki Prefecture said Saturday that birds found dead at a poultry farm in Takachiho were confirmed infected by a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu virus, the eighth such case in the prefecture and 12th in Japan this winter.

The farm raises about 40,000 broiler chickens, and the local government started culling about 57,000 chickens at the affected poultry farm and other farms related to it, while imposing a ban on the transport of chickens and eggs within a 10-kilometer radius of the farm, it said.

The birds were found dead—34 on Thursday and 60 on Friday—with all of the 10 sample birds testing positive for bird flu in a preliminary test, of which five birds were confirmed to be infected with the virus in a close examination.

As another development, Nagasaki Prefecture said Saturday it has detected highly pathogenic avian flu virus from a mandarin duck which was found dead at a pond in the city of Nagasaki together with two other ducks on Friday.

The National Institute for Environmental Studies is conducting a close examination on the sample.

At the pond in Nagasaki, highly pathogenic bird flu virus was detected from a mandarin duck which was found dead Jan 31.

There are two poultry firms in a 10-kilometer radius of the pond, but no abnormalities have been found there so far.

[teosty]

here is the propaganda to all of this..is it propaganda or mabe they are actually just gettin these animals sick. either way they will scare the sheeple into accepting these new Immune chickens, pigs and fish and cows will come next. oh boy then we can all eat Monsanto foods yay. what a great society we live in  

Superbugs in the Supermarket
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2011/superbugsinthesupermarket/