bird

Portable device to detect bird flu

UN-backed portable device could revolutionize bird flu detection

19 March 2007
A $1,000 mobile testing device no bigger than a small portable television that could revolutionize the fight against bird flu and many other livestock diseases by saving vital time in identifying the source of outbreaks and so increase the chances of containing the spread figures high on the agenda of a five-day United Nations meeting starting today.

UN health agency investigates first report human bird flu case in Laos

27 February 2007
United Nations health agency officials are monitoring an area of Laos following the first human case of bird flu to be reported in the South-East Asian country, bringing to one dozen the total number of States with human infections.
Shopper buys poultry at a Nigerian market

Bird flu: UN agency urges Nigeria to increase control measures to prevent spread

22 February 2007
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged Nigeria to increase control measures on poultry farms, including targeted vaccination, and in markets to prevent the spread of bird flu and reduce the risk of further human cases in Africa’s most populous country and its spread to neighbouring countries.

Indonesia to resume supplying UN health agency with bird flu virus samples

20 February 2007
Indonesia has agreed to resume supplying the United Nations health agency with viruses from its bird flu outbreak, a vital tool in tracking possible mutations into a deadly human pandemic and producing vaccines, while the agency will seek to ensure equitable distribution and availability in developing countries of any such vaccines.

Bird flu: UN health agency reports ‘encouraging progress’ in producing vaccine

16 February 2007
The United Nations health agency today reported “encouraging progress” in producing a vaccine against human bird flu, which in a worst case scenario could cause a deadly pandemic that could kill millions, but warned that the world still lacks the manufacturing capacity to meet potential global demand.

UNICEF holds seminars in Europe and Central Asia to boost bird flu prevention

14 February 2007
In a further effort to combat the global spread of deadly bird flu, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is holding a series of high-level seminars in Europe and Central Asia over the next month that will stress the importance of working with the media in getting the right preventive message out to the public.
David Nabarro briefs correspondents

Poultry trade, not wild birds, now responsible for spread of avian flu – UN expert

9 February 2007
Avian influenza, last season transmitted by migrating wild birds, is now being spread through the poultry trade, the top United Nations expert on the issue said today, warning that despite some successful efforts of States to contain the virus, no one can afford to be complacent as it could potentially mutate into a human pandemic.

Bird flu can infect cats, but no evidence of sustained transmission – UN

8 February 2007
Cats can become infected with the highly lethal H5N1 bird flu virus but there is no scientific evidence at present to suggest that there has been sustained transmission in cats or from cats to humans, and they should not be killed as a control option, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

Bird flu: UN agency urges greater support for countries struggling to control virus

7 February 2007
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today expressed confidence in the United Kingdom’s ability to respond adequately to an outbreak of bird flu at a commercial turkey farm, but warned that greater support was needed to help countries still struggling to control the virus, such as Indonesia, Egypt and Nigeria.

Human bird flu death confirmed in Nigeria, first in sub-Saharan Africa – UN

5 February 2007
The United Nations health agency has confirmed a fatal human case of bird flu in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, only the second incidence of the H5N1 virus in humans in the sub-Saharan region, and is working with the Nigerian authorities to identify the source of infection.