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H5N1 Bird Flu in Michigan

by Open-Publishing - Tuesday 15 August 2006

Health Agriculture - Fishery - Animals Environment USA

H5N1 Bird Flu in Michigan
Recombinomics Commentary
August 14, 2006

White House press secretary Tony Snow has announce a press conference of H5N1 in mute swans in Michigan. His comments indicated it was low pathogenic avian influenza and is likely to have strong relationship to the H5N1 detected in Manitoba last August. The H5N1 was part of an expanded surveillance program across southern Canada. H5 was detected across Canada and was found in 24% of young mallards tested in British Columbia.

To date, only one sequence, A/mallard/BC317/2005(H5N2), has been published, which was from an H5N1 in British Columbia. Although the isolate was low path, it had polymorphsims found in H1N1 Canadian swine. Today, a Qinghai H5N1 sequence from a cat in the Ukraine, A/cat/Dagestan/87/06(H5N1) also shares a polymorphism with the Canadian isolate from 2005.

Recently H5 was also detected in a dead goose on Prince Edward Island. The H5 was not isolated, but dead waterfowl are a characteristic of Qinghai H5N1.

Thus, today’s announcement may seem reassuring, because the H5 was detected. However, the H5N1 has been widespread for over a year, and the low pathogenic H5 can easily recombine with high pathogenic H5N1. which is dramatically extending its geographical reach.

http://www.recombinomics.com/News/08140603/H5N1_Michigan.html

USDA says Michigan bird flu case no risk to humans
Mon Aug 14, 2006 11:33am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Interior said on Monday routine surveillance found the presence of H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from two wild mute swans in Michigan.

But testing ruled out the possibility of it being the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain that has spread through birds in Asia, Europe and Africa.

Test results so far indicate this is low pathogenicity avian influenza, which poses no threat to human health.

More extensive test results will be available in about two weeks time, U.S. officials said.

(Reporting by Christopher Doering, 202 898 8394, edit by Marguerita Choy)
 http://today.reuters.com/news/artic...