UN warns of bird flu resurgence, new Asian strain

August 30, 2011

The Associated Press August 29. 2011 5:18AM

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu

virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free

countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.

A mutant strain of H5N1, which can apparently sidestep defenses of existing

vaccines, is spreading in China and Vietnam, Tthe U.N. Food and Agriculture

Organization said in a statement Monday. It urged greater surveillance to ensure

that any outbreaks are contained.

Last week, the World Health Organization reported that a 6-year-old Cambodian

girl had died Aug. 14 from bird flu, the eighth person to die from H5N1 avian

influenza this year in Cambodia.

Vietnam suspended its springtime poultry vaccination this year, FAO said. Most

of the northern and central parts of the country where the virus is endemic have

been invaded by the new strain.

Elsewhere, FAO says bird migrations over the past two years have brought H5N1 to

countries that had been virus-free for several years, including Israel, the

Palestinian territories, Bulgaria, Romania, Nepal and Mongolia.

" Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people's actions in poultry production

and marketing spread it, " said FAO's chief veterinary office Lubroth in

urging greater preparedness and surveillance.

WHO says globally there have been 331 human deaths from 565 confirmed bird flu

cases since 2003 when it was first detected.

The virus was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in

2006, but it remained endemic in six countries: Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India,

Indonesia and Vietnam.

The number of outbreaks in poultry and wild bird populations shrank from a high

of 4000 to 302 in mid-2008, but outbreaks have risen progressively since, with

almost 800 cases reported in 2010-2011, FAO said.

" The general departure from the progressive decline in 2004-2008 could mean that

there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this fall and winter, with people unexpectedly

finding the virus in their backyard, " Lubroth said in a statement.

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