Volume 11, Number 3—March 2005
Dispatch
Rumor Surveillance and Avian Influenza H5N1
Gina Samaan*†
, Mahomed Patel†, Babatunde Olowokure*, Maria C. Roces*, Hitoshi Oshitani*, and the World Health Organization Outbreak Response Team
, Mahomed Patel†, Babatunde Olowokure*, Maria C. Roces*, Hitoshi Oshitani*, and the World Health Organization Outbreak Response TeamTable
Avian influenza H5N1 rumors, Western Pacific Regional Office of World Health Organization (WHO), 2004
| Rumor (source, date) | Verification outcome (verification date) | Public health action |
|---|---|---|
| A poultry farm outside Phnom Penh had 500 chicken deaths with no identified cause (Dow Jones International News, 1/21/04). | True. Poultry deaths result of avian influenza H5N1 infection (1/24/04). | Thailand banned importation of poultry from Cambodia (1/24/04). Japan supplied stocks of oseltamivir to be used as prophylaxis. WHO supplied personal protective equipment for people involved in culling poultry within a 5-km radius of the affected poultry farm. |
| Duck deaths in Guangxi, China, with no identified cause (WHO network, 1/26/04). | True. Avian influenza H5N1 confirmed (1/28/04). | 48 countries banned importation of poultry from China (South China Morning Post, 1/29/04). WHO invited 2 Dutch experts to assist China contain the outbreak. |
| 14-year-old boy died from respiratory illness in Hong Kong after returning from Guangdong, China (Wenhui Newspaper, 8/2/04). | Incorrect. Negative influenza A and SARS tests (21/2/04) | Hong Kong reported outcome of the investigation in the media but no public health action was taken (21/2/04). |
| Persons in 2 Laotian provinces who ate chicken died of natural causes (WHO Network, 2/6/04). | True (2/11/04). | WHO fast-tracked and released draft guidelines on food safety (2/12/04). These guidelines were distributed to ministries of health and to other health authorities, and posted on the WHO Web site (http://www.who.int/foodsafety/micro/avian2/en/). |
| Four pigs tested positive for avian influenza H5N1 in Vietnam (Reuters Health Online, 2/6/04). | Incorrect. Virus isolated from nasal swabs not indicative of influenza infection (2/6/04). | Media officers from WHO and the Food and Agricultural Organization independently held media releases to emphasize outcomes of the investigation (2/7/04). |
| An outbreak of avian influenza H5N1 in a poultry farm 100 km south of Seoul, Korea (South China Morning Post, 1/27/04). | True (1/28/04). | Virus from the outbreak was analyzed by WHO network laboratories to determine the susceptibility of the strain to antivirals. The strains tested demonstrated in vitro susceptibility to oseltamivir (http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_02_12a/en/). |
| Human case of avian influenza in a German tourist returning from Asia (Washington Times, 1/22/04). | Incorrect (1/24/04). | WHO issued a press release on the outcome that infection had not spread internationally, so there was no need to shift into the Influenza Pandemic Plan Phase 1 (1/24/04 and 1/26/04). |
| 48 children sick with respiratory illness in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam (WHO network, 8/2/04). | Incorrect. Negative influenza tests (9/2/04). | No action taken after the rumor verification process was completed. |
1WHO Western Pacific Region Team: Richard Brown, Maria Roces, Elizabeth Miranda, Peter Cordingley, Karen Shaw, Masahiro Ueno, Kumi Ueno, Lance Jennings, Akira Suzuki, Reiko Sato, Kevin Carroll, and Clara Witt.
