Bangkok - In Bangladesh, after several months with outbreaks reported all over the country, no outbreak was reported in the month of June 2008. As of 30 June 2008, a total of 287 outbreaks had been recorded in 47 out of 64 districts. These included outbreaks in 245 commercial farms and 42 outbreaks in backyard poultry production systems. The total number of birds culled as of 30 June 2008 is approximately 1.64 million.

Cambodia did not experience outbreaks of HPAI in June 2008, but reports regularly about the negative results obtained from samples submitted from suspected cases. The country is using an animal health hotline activity to receive reports from the field on suspicious outbreaks or cases of HPAI.

HPAI was last reported in China in Yashan Village in China's southern Guangdong Province on 17 June. Since the beginning of the year, this is the 7th outbreak in China and the second in Guangdong province (since 13 March). A total of 3,873 ducks died and another 17,127 ducks were culled. According to the ministry, emergency measures have been taken and the epidemic has been brought under control. Guangdong province also provides much of the poultry to Hong Kong SAR, where the infection was detected in live bird markets in early June, for the first time in five years. Mass culling has been conducted as a precaution to control the spread of the virus in Hong Kong SAR. The government temporarily banned supplies from all live poultry from mainland China.

Indonesia has experienced a high number of cases of HPAI type H5N1 in poultry in the last three years. HPAI remains endemic in Java, Sumatra, Bali and South Sulawesi with sporadic outbreaks reported from other areas. Infection has continued to spread during the year with outbreaks occurring in many of the remaining free areas.

The high figure of reported cases for Indonesia in 2007-08 is largely due to the ongoing 'participatory disease search' (PDS) programme that uses participatory techniques combined with an influenza type A rapid test to identify cases of HPAI in backyard village-type poultry production environments (Figures 1 and 3). The programme is supported by FAO and is operating in 193 out of 448 districts and nine provinces in Java, Sumatra and Bali. Outbreaks have been reported infrequently from the eastern provinces where it is likely that H5N1 HPAI is more sporadic in the smaller more dispersed poultry populations.

The new database for the PDSR system in Indonesia has been modified since 1 April 2008 and is now based on the village as the epidemiology unit. A decrease in the number of outbreaks reported is therefore expected from the PDSR programme beginning in April 2008.

After two months with no outbreaks, Pakistan reported H5N1 HPAI at a commercial poultry farm in the country's northwest.

The H5N1 HPAI epidemic in the Republic of Korea seems to be under control, with no H5N1 reported
during June 2008.

Outbreaks of H5N1 in poultry have been reported regularly by Viet Nam (three outbreaks in June), affecting both ducks and chickens. No human cases were reported to WHO during this period.

More information at:
http://www.fao.org/avianflu/en/index.html