Saturday, April 23, 2011

WHO Avian influenza - situation in Egypt - update 51

On 16 April 2011, the Ministry of Health of Egypt notified WHO of two new cases of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus.

The first case was a 29 years-old male from Fayoum Governorate Wadi Elrian area who developed symptoms on 1 April , was hospitalized on 4 April and died on 7 April.

The second case was a one -and-a -half year-old male child from Fayoum Governorate, Sennores District who developed symptoms on 9 April and was hospitalized on 11 April. He is under treatment and is in stable condition.

All the cases received oseltamivir treatment at the time of hospitalization.

Investigations into the source of infection indicate that both the cases had exposure to sick and/or dead poultry suspected to have avian influenza. There is no epidemiological link identified between these two cases.

The cases were confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratories, a National Influenza Center of the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance Network.

Of the 143 cases confirmed to date in Egypt, 47 have been fatal .

WHO Avian influenza – situation in Cambodia - update 3


The Ministry of Health (MoH) of the Kingdom of Cambodia has announced a confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus.

The case was a 5 year old girl from Pea Raing district, Prey Veng Province. She developed symptoms on 11 April, was initially treated by local private practitioners with no effect and was later admitted to Kantha Bopha Children Hospital on 13 April. Despite all intensive care, she died on 16 April, four days after admission.

There have been reports of poultry die off in her village. The girl is the fifteenth person in Cambodia to become infected with the H5N1 virus and the thirteenth to die from complications of the disease. All five cases of H5N1 infections in humans in Cambodia this year have been fatal.

Specimens from 53 contacts of the cases were collected and are being tested by the National Institute for Public Health laboratory.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

A new death in Cambodia...H5N1 Confirmed

A little 5 year old daughter died of bird flu in Cambodia, bringing to five the number of deaths from this disease in the country since the beginning of the year.
The child in the province of Prey Veng (southeast), died April 16, said Thursday the Department of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO

Sunday, April 17, 2011

WHO confirms 5 H5N1 cases in Egypt, Bangladesh

Apr 11, 2011 (CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today confirmed four new H5N1 avian flu cases in Egypt—including a fatality—and one nonfatal case in Bangladesh.

The cases raise Egypt's H5N1 case total this year to 22 and Bangladesh's to 2. In addition, the WHO posted an official notice on its Web site today of a Cambodia case that it had jointly confirmed with Cambodia's Ministry of Health last week.

4 Egyptian cases, 1 death
The WHO revealed this information on the four Egyptian case-patients:

  • A 20-year-old woman from Beheira governorate fell ill Mar 14 and was hospitalized Mar 19. She was listed in critical condition and died Mar 28.
  • A 2-year-old girl from Menoufia governorate had symptoms Mar 26 and was hospitalized Mar 27. She is listed in stable condition and still under treatment.
  • A 55-year-old woman from Beheira governorate first experienced symptoms Mar 20 and was hospitalized Mar 22. She recovered and was discharged Apr 5, according to the report.
  • A 1-year-old boy from Fayoum governorate first had symptoms Mar 20 and was hospitalized Mar 28. He is still under treatment in stable condition.

Source investigations revealed that all had exposure to sick or dead poultry suspected to have avian influenza, according to the WHO report. In addition, all four had received oseltamivr (Tamiflu) in the hospital.

In the past 2 weeks the WHO has confirmed 11 Egyptian cases, including 2 fatalities. Five of those 11 patients have been from Beheira governorate.

Of the 22 H5N1 cases this year in Egypt, 6 have been fatal. Since 2006 the country has logged 141 WHO-confirmed H5N1 cases and 46 deaths, second only to Indonesia (176) in total cases and third to Indonesia (145) and Vietnam (59) in fatal cases.

Bangladesh's 2nd case in 2011
The WHO also reported that Bangladesh's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has confirmed the country's second H5N1 case this year, in a 2-year-old boy from Kamalapur, Dhaka.

He experienced avian-flu symptoms Mar 1 and visited the country's influenza sentinel surveillance site on Mar 9, where samples were obtained. The country's Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research confirmed H5N1 in the samples.

A detailed investigation revealed exposure to sick poultry but no other cases.

The WHO confirmed Bangladesh's previous case, in a 16-month-old girl, on Mar 16, the same day that the 2-year-old's now-confirmed infection was reported in the media. Today's WHO report states, "Although the case is from the same locality as the previous case they had no direct contact with each other."

Bangladesh's only other H5N1 case was confirmed in 2008. It, too, was nonfatal.

Cambodia's latest case logged
In a third report released today, the WHO verified, as reported in the media Apr 6, that Cambodia's Ministry of Health in conjunction with the WHO has confirmed a fatal H5N1 case in an 11-year-old girl in the Steung Trang district of Kampong Cham Province.

She first experienced symptoms Mar 22 and was first treated by local villagers before being admitted to a local hospital Mar 29. Upon treatment failure she was transferred to a regional hospital Mar 31, where she died the same day.

The report did not specify her treatment but said all contacts with the girl have tested negative for H5N1 infection.

Hers is the fourth H5N1 case in Cambodia this year, and all have proved fatal. Since 2005 the country has confirmed 14 H5N1 cases, including 12 deaths.

With the additional cases, the global H5N1 count has reached 549 cases and 320 deaths. Thirty-three of those cases and 14 of the deaths came this year.

See also:

Apr 11 WHO Egyptian report

Apr 11 WHO Bangladeshi report

Apr 11 WHO Cambodian report

WHO global H5N1 case count