"Virus has the property to evolve.’’

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   Bird Flu Spreading to New Animal Species Raises 

Risk to Humans

March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu's spread in Germany to a second animal 

species heightens concern the lethal virus may be adapting to mammals, 

including people, scientists said. In Azerbaijan, 11 possible human cases 

are being investigated.

German officials confirmed H5N1 infection in a stone marten, a type of 

weasel, which showed severe illness when found on the Baltic island of 

Ruegen on March 2, the World Health Organization said yesterday. As 

with three dead domestic cats found on the island, the marten is 

presumed to have contracted the virus from feeding on an infected bird, 

WHO said.

``It's a property of this virus that it can go into these animals,'' Hugh 

Pennington, who has studied viruses for more than 40 years, said 

yesterday by telephone from Aberdeen, Scotland. ``One just has to watch 

and see what happens because the virus has the property to evolve.''

The rate of H5N1 infections in humans is increasing as the virus spreads 

to more parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Georgia 

yesterday became the 23rd country to report an initial outbreak in birds 

since February.

The virus has killed at least 96 of 175 people infected since late 2003, 

mainly in Asia, and may have claimed its first victims in the former Soviet 

republic of Azerbaijan.

Eleven suspected cases, three of them fatal, are under investigation, 

Agence France-Presse reported yesterday, citing World Health 

Organization spokeswoman Maria Cheng.

Azerbaijan Patients

The patients in Azerbaijan, who include eight members of a single family, 

all came from the same village near the capital Baku, AFP reported. The 

virus infected poultry in neighboring areas and flocks belonging to the 

patients were sickened, the cause of which hasn't yet been confirmed, the 

report said.

In almost all human cases, infection was caused by close contact with sick 

or dead birds, such as children playing with them, or adults butchering 

them or taking off the feathers, Lee Jong Wook, director general of the 

WHO, said in a speech yesterday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The virus is reported to have infected an average of three people a week 

this year, killing an average of two a week. Last year, 23 cases, including 

14 fatalities, were reported in the first 10 weeks. Indonesia, with nine 

confirmed fatalities, and China, with five, reported the highest number of 

deaths this year.

Laboratory tests on the generic drug amantadine showed it is effective in 

stopping the replication of strains of H5N1 isolated in Indonesia and 

China, indicating the older class of antiviral medicine may be a cheaper 

option to Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu in fighting the virus in humans, the 

WHO's Cheng said yesterday.

China Ban

Some poultry vendors at markets in China's southern province of 

Guangdong have continued to slaughter chickens on site even after a 

government ban on the practice, the South China Morning Post reported 

today.

Some residents of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, moved their pet birds to a 

nearby resort area to avoid house checks for diseased fowl, Koran Tempo 

reported. The checks are part of the Indonesian government's program to 

slow the virus's spread.

Nine swans found dead on a lake in the former Soviet republic of Georgia 

tested positive for an H5 subtype of avian flu, a government official said 

in a statement yesterday to the World Organization for Animal Health. 

About 1,700 domestic fowl were culled in five nearby villages to contain 

the spread.

Since Feb. 16, German authorities have confirmed H5N1 infection in 125 

wild swans, ducks, geese, and birds of prey on Ruegen Island, pointing to 

considerable opportunities for exposure to occur in small mammals that 

feed on birds, the WHO said yesterday in a statement on its Web site.

Human Risk

``Further investigation is needed to determine whether evidence of H5N1 

infection in new mammalian species has any significance for the risk of 

human infection or the potential of this virus to adapt to mammals, 

including humans,'' the WHO said.

In July, tests on three rare Owston's palm civets that died in captivity in 

Vietnam found H5N1 infection, marking the first known infection in this 

mammalian species. Large cats, including tigers and leopards, kept in 

capacity and fed on infected poultry carcasses, have also been infected 

and developed severe disease.

``It is noteworthy that the spectrum of the H5N1 infected mammals has 

spread,'' Germany's Federal Research Institute for Animal Health said 

yesterday in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story:

Jason Gale in Singapore at  j.gale@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 9, 2006 22:12 EST

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?

pid=10000085&sid=a7ChJhPhWEGI&refer=europe#

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Guests Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Guest Group	Post Options Post Reply Quote Guests Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: "Virus has the property to evolve.’’ Posted: March 09 2006 at 7:49pm
	Bird Flu Spreading to New Animal Species Raises Risk to Humans March 10 (Bloomberg) -- Bird flu's spread in Germany to a second animal species heightens concern the lethal virus may be adapting to mammals, including people, scientists said. In Azerbaijan, 11 possible human cases are being investigated. German officials confirmed H5N1 infection in a stone marten, a type of weasel, which showed severe illness when found on the Baltic island of Ruegen on March 2, the World Health Organization said yesterday. As with three dead domestic cats found on the island, the marten is presumed to have contracted the virus from feeding on an infected bird, WHO said. ``It's a property of this virus that it can go into these animals,'' Hugh Pennington, who has studied viruses for more than 40 years, said yesterday by telephone from Aberdeen, Scotland. ``One just has to watch and see what happens because the virus has the property to evolve.'' The rate of H5N1 infections in humans is increasing as the virus spreads to more parts of Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Georgia yesterday became the 23rd country to report an initial outbreak in birds since February. The virus has killed at least 96 of 175 people infected since late 2003, mainly in Asia, and may have claimed its first victims in the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. Eleven suspected cases, three of them fatal, are under investigation, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday, citing World Health Organization spokeswoman Maria Cheng. Azerbaijan Patients The patients in Azerbaijan, who include eight members of a single family, all came from the same village near the capital Baku, AFP reported. The virus infected poultry in neighboring areas and flocks belonging to the patients were sickened, the cause of which hasn't yet been confirmed, the report said. In almost all human cases, infection was caused by close contact with sick or dead birds, such as children playing with them, or adults butchering them or taking off the feathers, Lee Jong Wook, director general of the WHO, said in a speech yesterday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. The virus is reported to have infected an average of three people a week this year, killing an average of two a week. Last year, 23 cases, including 14 fatalities, were reported in the first 10 weeks. Indonesia, with nine confirmed fatalities, and China, with five, reported the highest number of deaths this year. Laboratory tests on the generic drug amantadine showed it is effective in stopping the replication of strains of H5N1 isolated in Indonesia and China, indicating the older class of antiviral medicine may be a cheaper option to Roche Holding AG's Tamiflu in fighting the virus in humans, the WHO's Cheng said yesterday. China Ban Some poultry vendors at markets in China's southern province of Guangdong have continued to slaughter chickens on site even after a government ban on the practice, the South China Morning Post reported today. Some residents of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, moved their pet birds to a nearby resort area to avoid house checks for diseased fowl, Koran Tempo reported. The checks are part of the Indonesian government's program to slow the virus's spread. Nine swans found dead on a lake in the former Soviet republic of Georgia tested positive for an H5 subtype of avian flu, a government official said in a statement yesterday to the World Organization for Animal Health. About 1,700 domestic fowl were culled in five nearby villages to contain the spread. Since Feb. 16, German authorities have confirmed H5N1 infection in 125 wild swans, ducks, geese, and birds of prey on Ruegen Island, pointing to considerable opportunities for exposure to occur in small mammals that feed on birds, the WHO said yesterday in a statement on its Web site. Human Risk ``Further investigation is needed to determine whether evidence of H5N1 infection in new mammalian species has any significance for the risk of human infection or the potential of this virus to adapt to mammals, including humans,'' the WHO said. In July, tests on three rare Owston's palm civets that died in captivity in Vietnam found H5N1 infection, marking the first known infection in this mammalian species. Large cats, including tigers and leopards, kept in capacity and fed on infected poultry carcasses, have also been infected and developed severe disease. ``It is noteworthy that the spectrum of the H5N1 infected mammals has spread,'' Germany's Federal Research Institute for Animal Health said yesterday in a statement. To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net Last Updated: March 9, 2006 22:12 EST http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news? pid=10000085&sid=a7ChJhPhWEGI&refer=europe#