Is H5N1 Endemic in Saxony Germany?
Recombinomics Commentary
July 13, 2007
Yesterday, FLI issued a new report on H5N1 in Germany. Included in the report were four new fatal cases confirmed this month in Saxony. Last month there were three confirmed mute swans (Cygnus olor) near Frehburg, which were close to a confirmed mute swan in Altenburger in Thuringia (see satellite map). Two of the cases this month were also near Frehburg. One was a mute swan and the other was a Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Also reported was a Great crested grebe near Machern, and another mute swan near Torgau (see satellite map). These confirmed cases are near close to the outbreak on the turkey farm in April 2006 near Mutzshen, and not far from the Dresden zoo, which had a confirmed case in a dead swan in August, 2006.
The proximity of the new cases to the two locations of the 2006 confirmed cases suggests that the 2006 infections were also linked to wild birds, and local infections may have good undetected for almost a year. These data provide addition evidence for endemic H5N1 in Germany and neighboring countries. Recently H5N1 has been confirmed in the Czech Republic and France. However, the lack of detection in these countries in the past year, as well as the continued failure of neighboring countries to detect H5N1 in the past year suggests surveillance has been weak and missed many cases of H5N1 in dead wild birds.
Moreover, the failure to detect H5N1 in any wild bird in western Europe raises questions about the sensitivity of the surveillance testing. The latest outbreaks in Saxony, as well as nearby Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavara signal more undetected infections in the region and the need for more robust testing in Europe.
Media sources
Recombinomics Presentations
Recombinomics Publications
Recombinomics' Paper at Nature Precedings