Last month was a busy month!

While media interest wanes somewhat on the issue of H5N1 Avian or Bird Influenza, the last month was actually a busy month. It was also a very sad month for the families who lost lives due to the virus. And for many people, the economic toll of having to cull – a nice way to say kill – their livelihood was a huge burden.

In several countries chickens, ducks and other birds were rounded up and culled as the flu virus spread through farms and went on to infect several people. In China, Laos and Egypt for example families were struck down as the human cases climbed.

Kuwait has hit hard although to date no human victims have been found. In England the largest chicken farm in Europe was closed down for a while. And while fingers are being pointed at one another and questions asked as to who is responsible, the reality is that the world just isn’t prepared yet should the virus take a turn for the worst and infect one person, and then the next and the next …

On the good side there were several companies who have reported encouraging research news on vaccines and vaccinations but of course many of the new drugs are unproven. The UN continues to urge countries to be better prepared and give them their dues; they have been training and explaining the problem to governments across the globe.

The month began with Myanmar (former Burma) reporting fresh outbreaks of bird flu. The Middle East began culling chickens with the Crown Prince of Kuwait doing a count to see if enough Tamiflu was stockpiled. China and Vietnam also reported new cases of Avian Influenza in both birds and people.

The equivalent of US$ 450 million for the Egypt H5N1 campaign was announced and Dutch farmers in the Netherlands were ordered to keep their poultry indoors. Australia had a bit of a scare when they found some of their scientists were perhaps exposed to bird flu while at the same time a women died in Laos. South Korea also tested positive again.

As more people became infected in Indonesia and Afghanistan, pharmaceutical companies began more testing of drugs with different mechanisms from the current class of drugs approved. DNA samples from a dead aristocrat from the early 1900’s “Spanish Flu” are still being held out as hopeful aid to understanding the risks. The USA and UN officials agreed to coordinate Avian Flu efforts as did Indonesia and China. Meetings were also held in various parts of the world to discuss cause and effects of a relentless H5N1 month.

So what will this month bring? Hopefully more cooperation and certainly vigilance is necessary. But for those who have lost family or friends and been forced to cull a vital part of the local income, most people will simply hope this next month isn’t as bad as the last. We’ll see.

By the way, sources for all the above information can be found on our “Current Headlines” page above.