The problem with a potential worldwide avian bird flu epidemic has not gone away. We have documented significant events that could still lead to major outbreak of this killer flu.
While we have not heard much about the potential for a bird flu epidemic in the USA, the situation is once again emerging in Asia after lying dormant for most of 2008. We therefore have assembled a time line of events related to a potential outbreak that everyone should be aware of. If you would like more information, numerous articles offering the details can be found in the web. For some reason the issue has not been actively reported by the US media, even though the problem appears to be emerging once again.
January 29, 2009 China reports that a 6th victim this year has been infected and is in critical condition. The patient has exposure to live poultry markets.
January 29, 2009 India destroyed more than 4,000 birds in a northern state after a detected outbreak of avian bird flu. There have not been any cases of human infection thus far.
January 24, 2009 China reported its 4th fatality from human bird flu this year, which a 31 year old woman who fell ill on January 10.
January 20, 2009 China killed 13,000 birds in a northwest region to control an outbreak of avian bird flu among poultry. 500 of the birds tested positive for H5N1.
January 20, 2009 China reported its 6th bird flu case thus far in a January. The 29 year old man is in critical condition.
January 18, 2009 China confirmed its 2nd bird flu death thus far this year. This was a 27 year old woman from eastern China.
January 7, 2009 A 19 year old woman who handled ducks in northern China died of bird flu. She was admitted to a Beijing hospital on December 27.
December 9, 2008 Hong Kong authorities orders 80,000 chickens to be killed after finding dozens of birds who died of avian flu. The order required that all birds within a 3 kilometer radius form the place where the infected bird had died to be destroyed.
December 18, 2007 Eight cases of human bird flu were confirmed in Pakistan. Thus far only one of the patients has died.
November 13, 2007 The H5N1 virus was confirmed as the source of an avian flu outbreak on an English poultry farm in Suffolk. Thousands of turkeys were subsequently slaughtered on the farm.
August 23, 2007 Bali confirms the 2nd human death from bird flu in less than a month. 26 Indonesians were reported to have died from bird flu thus far in 2007.
January 11, 2007 A 37 year old Indonesian woman died of bird flu in a Jakarta hospital. She was a housewife who had contact with a dead infected bird while preparing a meal.