H5 Confirmed on Czech Turkey Farm
Recombinomics Commentary
June 21, 2007
"We know it is H5 but we do not know more yet. Test results will be available at around 10 a.m. (0800 GMT)," he told Reuters. The Czechs found several cases of the H5N1 strain in swans last spring, but have never recorded any cases in poultry.
The above comments confirm that the bird flu detected on the turkey farm in the Czech Republic is H5, and the large number of deaths signal that the typing and sequencing will show that it is Qinghai (Clade 2.2) H5N1. Although surveillance in western Europe has failed to detect H5N1 in wild birds this year, the outbreaks in Hungary, Krasnodar, and Moscow leave little doubt that H5N1 is still circulating in wild birds.
Yesterday, Ian Brown gave a presentation at the Options for the Control of Influenza VI conference in Toronto. He noted that over 700 positives were found in wild birds in Europe. Most positives were in mute swans, and most were either in Germany or Austria. However, the species specificity and location were likely linked to the large size of the swans, as well as the harsh winter in Europe last year. All of the positives were in dead or dying birds, further highlighting the failure to find H5N1 in healthy wild birds. Thus far only Russia and Egypt have been able to detect H5N1 in live wild birds in the region.
The latest news from the Czech Republic further highlights the poor sensitivity of the PCR testing in various surveillance program which have failed to detect H5N1 in live birds in western Europe or Africa, although H5N1 has been detected in a number of dead and dying wild bird species on both continents.
As recently as yesterday, Ilaria Capua from the Instituto Zooprofilattico Spermentale della Venezi used this negative data to suggest H5N1 in wild birds was minimal or had disappeared.
Such interpretations remain hazardous to the world’s health.
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