SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC
COMMUNITY
Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fiji
Telephone: (679) 337 0733
Fax: (679) 338 6326 Or 337 0021
SECRÉTARIAT GÉNÉRAL DE
LA COMMUNAUTÉ du
PACIFIQUE
Private Mail Bag, Suva, Fidji
Téléphone: (679) 337 0733
Télécopieur:(679) 3386326
ANIMAL HEALTH H1N1 Influenza A Update 5, 8th May, 2009
Purpose:
To inform bio-security and agriculture agency personnel of developments
regarding an outbreak of a novel influenza A virus (H1N1) in humans
Background:
A new strain of H1N1 influenza A virus affecting humans has emerged in Mexico and is now
spreading rapidly to other countries.
Global Pandemic Alert Status
The WHO influenza pandemic alert remains on Phase 5 since 30 April, 2009
WHO Case Definitions for Infection with Influenza A (N1H1) in
human .
A confirmed case of Influenza A (A/N1H1) infection is defined as a person with an acute
febrile respiratory illness with laboratory confirmed N1H1 Influenza A (A/N1H1) at CDC by
one or more of the following tests:
1. real-time RT-PCR
2. viral culture
A probable case of A/N1H1 infection is defined as a person with an acute febrile respiratory
illness who is positive for influenza A, but negative for H1 and H3 by influenza RT-PCR
A suspected case of A/N1H1 infection is defined as a person with acute febrile respiratory
illness with onset


within 7 days of close contact with a person who is a confirmed case of A/N1H1
infection, or
within 7 days of travel to community either within the United States or internationally
where there are one or more confirmed cases of A/N1H1 infection, or
resides in a community where there are one or more confirmed cases of A/N1H1 infection
Possible transmission from humans to pigs.
A carpenter hired by the farm owner travelled to Mexico recently and returned to Canada on
12 April 2009. The carpenter, the producer and the producer's family had been ill with flu like
symptoms between 14 – 29 April. Canadian animal health team conducted investigations of
the affected pigs on 28 April and based on laboratory results confirmed Influenza A (N1H1)
virus in the pig herd on on 2 May 2009. The conclusion so far is that, it is highly
1
PROBABLE that the pigs were exposed to the virus from the carpenter. The individual has
recovered and all of the pigs have recovered. .
The Canada's chief public health officer says the people who live on the affected Alberta pig
farm where pigs were found to be infected with swine flu have tested negative for the virus.
Recommended Priority Actions – FAO
National authorities are encouraged to carefully investigate possible occurrences of
Influenza-like events in domestic animals. Virus samples may be collected and sent to
national labs and/or international reference centres. National authorities can always get in
touch with FAO, and by contacting EMPRES-Shipping-Service@fao.org, avail of support for
transporting samples for laboratory testing. In order to reduce the risk for transmission of
influenza A/H1N1 (humans-to-animals or animals-to-animals), FAO recommends the
following:






Outbreak investigation protocols and laboratory sampling procedures should be
developed and disseminated to all veterinary professionals.
Surveillance for porcine respiratory disease should be intensified and all cases of porcine
respiratory syndrome should be immediately reported to the national veterinary
authorities. The International Organizations -- OIE and FAO -- should be informed when
presence of the new A/H1N1 Influenza virus is confirmed.
Movement restrictions should be implemented for all farms or holdings with swine
showing signs of clinical respiratory illness until diagnosis of the illness have been made.
Where influenza A/H1N1 is confirmed, these restrictions should be in force until seven
days after the last animal has recovered.
Animals suffering from swine influenza can be separated from healthy herd-mates and
allowed to recover; there is no need to cull affected animals.
Animal handlers and veterinarians should wear protective gear to minimize risk of being
infected by zoonotic agents, including influenza.
Persons who work directly with swine should be urged not to go to work if they have any
signs respiratory disease, fever or any influenza-like illness.


Countries to closely monitor the new A/H1N1 in pigs
Any influenza-like symptoms in pigs should be reported

national authorities and farmers to carefully monitor pigs and investigate any possible
occurrences of influenza-like symptoms in domestic animals.
Persons who work directly with swine should be urged not to go to work if they have any
signs of respiratory disease, fever or any influenza-like illness. Animal handlers and
veterinarians should wear protective clothing to minimize the risk of being infected.


Maintain close communication and collaboration with public health counterparts in
country, and readiness to support their operations in any way reasonably possible.

In collaboration with Health quarantine and other border control agencies intensify
awareness to incoming travellers including profiling high risk travellers as well as postentry surveillance of travellers, being key objectives of strengthened border protection
measures
2


Advise the public and public health counterparts to take all necessary steps to ensure
that sick people are isolated from close contact with animals, particularly pigs and
birds.
Adopt good personal hygiene practices such as frequent hand-washing with soap and
water and covering nose and mouth and turning away from close contacts when
coughing and sneezing, personal distancing (eg. standing 2 M apart when conversing,
particularly with sick people; not shaking hands as a greeting when sick), good
laundry practices, masks for sick people, etc.
International Spread
The situation appears to be still evolving rapidly and as of 7th May, 2009, 24 countries have
now reported 2371confirmed cases and 44 deaths. .
Animal Health and Bio-security Implications

Surveillance for porcine respiratory disease should be intensified and all cases of
porcine respiratory syndrome are recommended to be immediately reported to
veterinary authorities.

It is also recommended to inform OIE and FAO about any occurrence of outbreaks of
the new A/H1N1 Influenza virus in pigs.

Strict biosecurity measures including restriction of movements of pigs, goods and
people should be applied on all farms or holdings with swine showing signs of clinical
respiratory illness until diagnosis of the illness has been made. Where A/H1N1
influenza is confirmed, movement restrictions should be in force for seven days after
the last animal has recovered.

Governments are requested to provide full support in improving biosecurity measures
particularly to small and medium pig farmers.

Persons who work directly with swine should be urged not to go to work if they have
any signs of respiratory disease, fever or any influenza-like illness.
Animal handlers and veterinarians should wear protective clothing to minimize the
risk of being infected when carrying out investigations in the field.


Governments in PICTs must now address the biosecurity legislation
requirements of their country if they have not done so to strengthened their
border protection and disease emergency response plans.
Joint FAO/WHO/OIE Statement on the new influenza A(H1N1) virus and the safety of
pork
(Statement WHO/4, 7 May 2009)
To avoid any misunderstanding FAO, WHO and OIE would like to reissue their joint
statement originally issued on 30 April 2009.
3
In the ongoing spread of influenza A(H1N1), concerns about the possibility of this virus
being found in pigs and the safety of pork and pork products have been raised.
Influenza viruses are not known to be transmissible to people through eating
processed pork or other food products derived from pigs.
Heat treatments commonly used in cooking meat (e.g. 70°C/160°F core
temperature) will readily inactivate any viruses potentially present in raw meat products.
Pork and pork products, handled in accordance with good hygienic practices recommended
by the WHO , Codex Alimentarius Commission and the OIE, will not be a source of infection
Authorities and consumers should ensure that meat from sick pigs or pigs found dead are not
processed or used for human consumption under any circumstances.
There is also no risk of infection from this virus through consumption of well-cooked pork and pork
products.
Individuals are advised to wash hands thoroughly with soap and water on a regular basis when
preparing food for human consumption and should seek medical attention if they develop any
symptoms of influenza-like illness.
Pharmaceutical Measures
The existing Human AH1N1 seasonal influenza vaccine are not protective against infection
with this new AH1N1 influenza strain. The new flu virus strain (H1N1 Influenza A) is quite
different from the existing human AH1N1 seasonal influenza strains.
Tamiflu and Relenza are effective against the new flu strain if treatment is initiated early in
the disease phase .
SUMMARY


24 countries have now confirmed infection as per Table below
Most cases outside Mexico are mild cases with people recovering.
List of cases as of 7 May, 2009
Countries
1 Mexico
2 USA
3 Canada
4 UK
5 New Zealand
6 Spain
7 Germany
8 Switzerland
9 Austria
10 Netherland
11 Israel
12 China (HK)
Confirmed cases
1112 ( +230)
896 (+ 493)
201( + 60 )
32 (+ 14)
5
81(+ 24)
10 (+2)
1
1
2 (+ 1)
6 ( +2 )
1
Deaths
42 (+ 13)
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Mortality %
4
0.2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
4
13 Rep Korea
14 France
15 Denmark
16 Costa Rica
17 Colombia
18 El Salvador
19 Italy
20 Ireland
21 Portugal
22 Poland
23 Sweden
24 Guatemala
Total
3 (+2)
5 ( +1)
1
1
1
2
5 ( + 3)
1
1
1
1
1
2371
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
44
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Note: Significant increases in numbers of confirmed cases reported from US, Mexico, Canada and
Spain
For further Information:
WHO daily situation reports and Guidance documents can be viewed at:
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html
WHO Press releases can be viewed at:
http://www.who.int/
AREAS WITH CONFIRMED CASES OF NEW INFLUENZA A/H1N1 VIRUS 07/05/2009
Notes: All US State, Canadian Province and international Country-level data are official WHO or CDC data. Every attempt has been
made to accurately determine more precise locations of Affected Areas, but these locations are not official. (RED NEWLY ADDED)
AUSTRIA

Vienna
CANADA

ALBERTA
o Calgary
o Edmonton
o Northern Alberta

BRITISH COLUMBIA
o Northern BC
o Vancouver
o Victoria

MANITOBA
o Brandon

NOVA SCOTIA
o Windsor

NEW BRUNSWICK
o Fredericton

ONTARIO
o Peel Region
o Toronto Area

PRINCE EDWARD IS.
o Undetermined

QUEBEC
o Montreal
CHINA

Hong Kong
COLOMBIA

Zipaquira
COSTA RICA

San Jose
DENMARK

Copenhagen
EL SALVADOR

San Salvador
FRANCE

Paris
GERMANY

Hamburg

Bavaria State
GUATEMALA

Undetermined
IRELAND

Undetermined (East)
ISRAEL

Holon

Kfar Saba

Netanya

Tel Aviv
ITALY

Massa Carrara

Rome
MEXICO

Aguascalientes State

Baja California State

Campeche

Cancun

Chiapas State

Chihuahua State

Colima State

Durango State

Guanajuato State

Guerrero State

Hidalgo State

Matamoros

Mexico City Federal District

Mexico State

Michoacan State

Morelos

Nayarit

Nuevo Leon

Oaxaca State

Puebla State

Queretaro State

San Luis Potosi

Sonora

Tabasco

Tamaulipas

Tlaxcala

Veracruz State

Zacatecas
NETHERLANDS

Aalten
NEW ZEALAND

Auckland
PORTUGAL
o
Undetermined
SOUTH KOREA

Kwacheon
SPAIN

Andalucia

Aragon

Basque

Catalonia

Castilla-La Mancha

Galicia

Madrid

Murcia

Valencia
SWEDEN

Undetermined
SWITZERLAND
5

Baden
UNITED KINGDOM

ENGLAND
o Barnet
o Chipping Sodbury
o Devon
o Gloucestershire
o Liverpool
o London Area
o Merseyside
o Oxfordshire
o Newcastle
o Paignton
o Redditch

SCOTLAND
o Ayrshire
o Polmont
USA

ALABAMA
o Madison
o Montgomery

ARIZONA
o Phoenix
o Pima County
o Santa Cruz County
o Yuma County

CALIFORNIA
o Camp Pendleton
o Contra Costa County
o El Dorado County
o Imperial County
o Los Angeles County
o Marin County
o Orange County
o Oxnard
o Riverside County
o Sacramento County
o San Bernardino Cty.
(Twentynine Palms
Military Base)
o San Diego County
o San Francisco
o San Joaquin County
o San Luis Obispo
County
o San Mateo County
o Sonoma County
o Tulare County
o Ventura County

COLORADO
o Arapahoe County
o Douglas County
o Jefferson County

CONNECTICUT
o Middlesex County
o Stratford

DELAWARE
o Newark County

FLORIDA
o Broward County
o Lee County
o Orlando
o Pinellas County

GEORGIA
o Cobb County
o Dekalb County


















o Henry County
o La Grange
HAWAII
o Honolulu
IDAHO
o Undetermined
ILLINOIS
o Boone County
o Cook County
o DuPage County
o Lake County
o Kane County
o Kendall County
o Knox County
o McHenry County
o Will County
o Winnebago County
INDIANA
o Hendricks County
o Lake County
o Madison County
o Marion County
o Porter County
o Putnam County
o St. Joseph County
o Tippecanoe County
IOWA
o Des Moines
KANSAS
o Dickinson County
o Sedgwick County
KENTUCKY
LOUISIANA
o Ascension Parish
o Lafayette Parish
o Orleans Parish
o York County
MAINE
o Kennebec County
o Penobscot County
MARYLAND
o Anne Arundel County
o Baltimore County
MASSACHUSETTS
o Barnstable County
o Bristol County
o Middlesex County
o Plymouth County
MICHIGAN
o Livingstone County
o Ottawa County
MINNESOTA
o Stearns County
MISSOURI
o Platte County
NEBRASKA
o Douglas County
o Omaha
o Sarpy County
NEVADA
o Washoe County
NEW HAMPSHIRE
o Merrimack County
NEW JERSEY
o Bergen County















o Burlington County
o Monmouth County
NEW MEXICO
o Valencia County
NEW YORK
o New York City
o Syracuse
NORTH CAROLINA
o Onslow County
OHIO
o Franklin County
o Lorain County
OKLAHOMA
o Undetermined
OREGON
o Lane County
o Multnomah County
o Polk County
o Umatilla County
o Washington County
PENNSYLVANIA
o Montgomery County
o Philadelphia
RHODE ISLAND
o Westerly
SOUTH CAROLINA
o Newberry County
TENNESSEE
o Davidson County
o Knox County
o Williamson County
TEXAS
o Bexar County
o Brazoria County
o Cameron County
o Collin County
o Comal County
o Corpus Christi
o Dallas County
o Denton County
o El Paso
o Fort Bend
o Guadalupe County
o Harris County
o Houston
o Johnson County
o Matagorda County
o Montgomery County
o Nueces County
o Starr County
o Summit County
o Tarrant County
o Travis County
UTAH
o Summit County
VIRGINIA
o Chesterfield
o Northern Neck
o Rockbridge County
WASHINGTON
WISCONSIN
o Adams County
o Brown County
o Milwaukee County
6