H5N1 Spread in Myanmar
Recombinomics Commentary 09:53
December 29, 2007
Authorities confirmed the outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus on Thursday after an unspecified number of chickens had died in Yankham village, 580 kilometres (360 miles) northeast of Yangon, the official said.
"We killed more than 1,000 chickens, and so far found no case of human infection," said the official from the Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department in Yangon.
The official said that the area of the latest bird flu outbreak was located around 60 kilometres southeast of the village where the girl was infected with the virus.
The above comments describe the spread of H5N1 in Myanmar. Last week Myanmar reported its first confirmed case of H5N1. The proximity of this outbreak to the human case raises concerns of additional human isolates.
Although H5N1 has reported numerous poultry outbreak previously (see satellite map), no sequences have been released. The site is near Thailand which has published clade 1 and clase 2.3 (Fujian) sequences. The recent human and poultry outbreaks in Vietnam have the Fujian strain, which is widespread in China and Hong Kong. However, the human case and this outbreak is closer to the border with China and closer to Bangladesh. Bangladesh has also had recent H5N1 outbreaks, which are likely to the clade 2.2 (Qinghai strain).
Therefore, release of sequence data from Myanmar would be useful.
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