Health Bird flu discovered in Edinburgh China confirms outbreak of bird flu UN: Indonesia failing in bird flu fight Emergency Services Virtualization to the rescue Firm markets ‘dirty bomb’ detector Test of tsunami warning system in Humboldt County successful Security Airlines blast plan to fingerprint foreign fliers U.S. orders Smiths detectors Sources: Air marshals missing from almost all flights Federal Ageny Events CDC pandemic exercise highlights drug, mitigation, travel issues US officials launch bird flu stockpile in Thailand International News Countries to enhance airport security STMicro launches speedy chip to detect bird flu Don’t just blame the chickens for flu Academic Studies / Conferences The Natural Hazards Center’s third issue of Research Digest now online Firestorm: The treatment of vulnerable populations during the San Diego fires Identifying people who are vulnerable in a crisis: Guidance for emergency planners   and responders

Health

Bird flu discovered in Edinburgh
http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/id2205-40487/bird_flu_discovered_in_edinburgh.html

It has been reported that bird flu has been detected at a farm in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tests routinely carried out on the farm showed signs of the virus in several birds at Easter Norton Farm, near Edinburgh Airport, reported News Scotsman. Veterinary experts believe that the strain is not the deadly highly pathogenic H5N1 strain. Secondary tests are currently being carried out by the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs in an effort to confirm the reports.

China confirms outbreak of bird flu
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/ap/20080316/tap-as-gen-china-bird-flu-bb10fb8.html

Chinese officials have confirmed that bird flu was to blame for killing chickens in poultry markets in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, Hong Kong’s health bureau.  China’s Ministry of Agriculture notified the administration that the birds tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, marking the country’s fifth outbreak among poultry this year, Hong Kong’s Food and Health Bureau said in a statement.  The Ministry of Agriculture also said on its Web site that last week’s outbreak in Guangzhou killed 114 birds and resulted in the slaughter of 518 others.  But it has been contained, the ministry said. China raises more poultry than any other country worldwide and has already reported three human bird flu deaths this year.

UN: Indonesia failing in bird flu fight
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iHvsX7x_0-zl9F7ydDjEt38m5qUAD8VGBJJG0

Efforts to contain bird flu are failing in Indonesia, increasing the possibility that the virus may mutate into a deadlier form, the leading United Nations veterinary health body warned. The H5N1 bird flu virus is entrenched in 31 of the country’s 33 provinces and will cause more human deaths, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement released. “I am deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic,” FAO’s chief veterinary officer said. FAO’s sharp warning comes amid a flurry of bird flu outbreaks across the region. Chinese officials earlier this week announced the H5N1 virus was responsible for killing birds in poultry markets in the southern city of Guangzhou. Meanwhile, India confirmed a fresh poultry outbreak near Calcutta. The country has been battling the virus since January, resulting in the death or slaughter of some 4 million birds.

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Emergency Services

Virtualization to the rescue
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/23_05/32479-1.html

Charlotte County, Florida, has implemented a plan to protect critical information systems and ensure that first responders will continue to have access to important data, including the county’s geographic information system. They use the GIS to locate important resources and structures such as water mains. The traditional way to build an IT infrastructure is to have a separate server for each application. With virtualization, multiple applications are loaded onto a single piece of hardware that is divided into virtual servers. Traditional servers are often underused, running at two to ten percent of their potential utilization. Virtualization allows agencies to reclaim some of those unused resources.

Firm markets ‘dirty bomb’ detector
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/ci_8699158

Norwalk-based Splinternet Holdings Inc. has developed a sensor system called GammaTect Plus, which would detect gamma radiation in a dirty bomb. Splinternet said radioactive storage sites, military bases, power plants, and border crossings would be potential customers. Hospitals and food processing plants also are potential customers. Radiation used in cancer therapy machines and food irradiation equipment, combined with explosives, could distribute radiation like a dirty bomb would, the company said. GammaTect Plus, which is in a small box, links to Splinternet’s DefenTect management, monitoring, and alerting system, which would be at a guard station, said a Splinternet vice president. GammaTect Plus could be hidden in walls and ceilings. If the system detects high gamma levels, digital cameras take a series of photographs that go to a remote command center, triggering an alarm. System administrators can designate alerts to be triggered to PDAs, cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices, according to the company. “Splinternet is committed to creating a critical part of the protection network against radiological terrorism,” said the firm’s CEO.

Test of tsunami warning system in Humboldt County successful
http://newsblaze.com/story/20080327051508tsop.nb/newsblaze/TOPSTORY/Top-Stories.html

Officials from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), the Humboldt County Office of Emergency Services, and the National Weather Service (NWS) are evaluating the success of today’s first-ever “live” tsunami warning test that was transmitted over the Emergency Alert System (EAS). The test marked the first time the actual, or “live,” tsunami code was used during a test in the 48 contiguous states. The test began with EAS activation and transmission of the test message via local radio and television stations, as well as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Weather Radio system. Initial results indicate that there were no unanticipated technology issues, and that no emergency 9-1-1 calls were made to safety answering points. “Although the test is still being assessed, I’m confident that the information we glean from this exercise and the public feedback will help us save lives and reduce injuries when a real tsunami or other emergency occurs,” said the OES director. Evaluation of the test will include analysis of the NWS tsunami activation sequence, how well television and radio stations received the EAS messages, how well each station was able to re-transmit the message without issue, and the public’s response to the exercise.

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Security

Airlines blast plan to fingerprint foreign fliers
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-03-16-fingerprints_N.htm

Airlines are protesting a government plan that would require them to take fingerprints of foreign travelers as they fly out of the USA, saying it could create massive lines at airport check-in counters. Congress has required that the 33 million foreigners a year coming into U.S. airports be fingerprinted when they arrive and leave the country but did not specify who should take the prints. The Homeland Security Department, which currently fingerprints foreigners coming into U.S. airports, wants airlines to be responsible for taking fingerprints as these travelers leave. The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents 240 airlines worldwide, urged the White House to kill the plan. The opposition could derail a key part of the Homeland Security Department’s effort to keep track of foreign visitors including suspected terrorists. An official, who heads the fingerprint program, said fingerprinting foreigners as they leave is essential. The information helps track those whose visas have expired and allows monitoring of people whose movements in and out of the USA suggest terrorist plotting. If approved, the plan would be open to public comment for a few months before the department finalizes it, likely next year.  

U.S. orders Smiths detectors
http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=4787&type=UTTM

Smiths Detection, of Edgewood, a maker of antiterrorism and security systems, announced that its military unit was awarded a $23.8 million contract to supply the U.S. Department of Defense with lightweight chemical detectors under the Pentagon’s Joint Chemical Agent Detector program. The M4 JCAD is based on the Smiths Detection Lightweight Chemical Detector, widely adopted by military forces globally. The advanced chemical point detector has been developed to detect both chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.

Sources: Air marshals missing from almost all flights
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/03/25/siu.air.marshals/index.html

Of the 28,000 commercial airline flights that take to the skies on an average day in the United States, fewer than 1 percent are protected by on-board, armed federal air marshals, a nationwide CNN investigation has found. That means that a terrorist or other criminal bent on taking over an aircraft would be confronted by a trained air marshal on as few as 280 daily flights, according to more than a dozen federal air marshals and pilots interviewed by CNN. The investigation found those low numbers even as the Transportation Security Administration in recent months has conducted tests in which it has been able to smuggle guns and bomb-making materials past airport security screeners. One pilot who crisscrosses the country and flies internationally told CNN he has not seen an air marshal on board one of his flights in six months. A federal law enforcement officer, who is not affiliated with the air marshal service and who travels in and out of Washington every week, said he has gone for months without seeing a marshal on board. Air marshals who spoke with CNN anonymously in order to protect their jobs are especially troubled by the lack of coverage on flights in and out of Washington and New York, the two cities targeted by the 9/11 hijackers. Sources inside the air marshal field offices told CNN that the program has been unable to stem the losses of trained air marshals since the program’s numbers peaked in 2003 – and many of those who have left have not been replaced. The firearms training program for pilots is budgeted at $25 million. And while it is popular among airline pilots, many complain that they have to spend as much as $3,000 of their own money for lodging and meals when they take the course. By comparison, the federal air marshal budget this year is $720 million. But air marshals who spoke with CNN question where the money is going when their numbers are dwindling.

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 International News

Countries to enhance airport security
http://www.metimes.com/Security/2008/03/18/countries_to_enhance_airport_security/011f/

Officials from Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania announced agreements to enhance security measures for future visa-free travel to the United States. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security entered into a memorandum of understanding with top officials from the three countries to establish enhancements to security under U.S. visa waiver program guidelines. The DHS secretary signed the security agreements with the Hungarian Ambassador, the Slovak minister of the interior, and the Lithuanian Ambassador, the Department of Homeland Security reported. The security enhancements outlined for visa-free travel to the United States include an electronic system of travel authorization for air passengers that will be established by the DHS for online passenger information to generate travel authorizations. Under the agreement, Slovakia, Hungary and Lithuania security officials will be required to allow air marshals on certain flights heading to the United States among other increased security measures including more efficient reporting of lost and stolen passports.

STMicro launches speedy chip to detect bird flu
http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSSIN217265

European semiconductor maker, STMicroelectronics said it has developed a portable chip to detect influenza viruses including bird flu in humans. The device, which functions as a mini laboratory on a chip, can screen and identify multiple classes of pathogens and genes in a single diagnostic test within two hours, unlike other tests available on the market that can detect only one strain at a time and require days or weeks to obtain results. The chip can differentiate human strains of the Influenza A and B viruses, drug-resistant strains and mutated variants, including the Avian Flu or H5N1 strain. There have been 236 human deaths globally from the H5N1 strain, according to the World Health Organization, though it remains mainly a bird virus. The VereFlu Chip was developed by the Franco-Italian chipmaker together with Singapore’s privately held Veredus Laboratories after more than a year of research. The application underwent extensive evaluation trials at Singapore’s National University Hospital last year. It allows users to process and analyze patient samples – comprising human blood, serum, or respiratory swabs – on a single disposable thumbnail-sized microchip.

Don’t just blame the chickens for flu
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080324/ap_on_he_me/bird_flu_rice_fields;_ylt=AiV2U8Am8Gx....

Intensive rice farming and large duck populations – not the number of chickens raised – may be the best predictors of where bird flu might develop in Southeast Asia, according to researchers reviewing outbreaks in Vietnam and Thailand. About 140 million birds in Southeast Asia have been killed in recent years to prevent the H5N1 virus from spreading. Researchers are trying to understand what factors have contributed to continued outbreaks despite significant control efforts. By isolating those factors, policymakers can better target efforts to stem or prevent future outbreaks. For example, they could limit the movement of ducks into the rice paddies at certain times of the year, which would reduce the prospects of the virus being exchanged between domestic ducks and wild birds. Researchers reviewed three outbreaks in early 2004 through late 2005. They looked at five variables: duck abundance, human population, chicken numbers, elevation, and rice cropping intensity. The researchers concluded that monitoring duck populations for H5N1 and tracking rice paddies by satellite were the best ways to predict where outbreaks were most likely to occur. They said that chickens are no longer a “highly significant predictor” of the presence of the H5N1 virus for Vietnam and Thailand. The outbreaks were most concentrated in regions where rice is cultivated two or three times a year. “Rice paddy fields are an important habitat of free-ranging ducks, but also for wild waterfowl exploiting the same food resource in the wintering season,” the researchers said. “Thus, they may form a critical risk factor in ... virus introduction, persistence and spread.” The researchers described the predictive power of their models as “moderate.” They also said that their work appeared to warrant development of maps in other Southeast Asian countries identifying those areas most susceptible to future bird flu outbreaks.

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Federal Agency Events

CDC pandemic exercise highlights drug, mitigation, travel issues
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/panflu/news/mar1708exercise.html

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) staged a major pandemic simulation exercise last week, involving numerous different scenarios. Scenarios included how to keep travelers from spreading the virus and what to do in the face of serious side effects caused by the leading antiviral drug. It was the fourth in a series of exercises based on a scenario that puts the U.S. at the epicenter of an evolving pandemic featuring an H5N1 strain of flu. Instead of watching anxiously as a pandemic emerges on some other continent, the scenario goes, the U.S. has about 75 percent of the world’s cases, all stemming from a traveler from Southeast Asia who brought the virus into the country. The series of exercises began in January 2007. Although the event was only an exercise, it offered a close-up look at the CDC’s expectations about the kinds of challenges it will face in the early stages of a real pandemic and how it might be likely to respond. The simulation involved a total of roughly 1,000 people, most of them from the CDC, but also a number from other government agencies.

US officials launch bird flu stockpile in Thailand
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080325/hl_afp/healthfluthailandus_080325161612

U.S. officials officially opened a stockpile of equipment in Thailand designed to help Asian nations react rapidly to battle outbreaks of potentially deadly bird flu. The U.S. ambassador to Thailand presided over the Bangkok launch ceremony for the Regional Distribution Centre (RDC), which is located in Thailand’s eastern province of Chachoengsao. The warehouse, funded by the U.S. government’s aid arm USAID, will initially stockpile 45,000 protective suits, 400 decontamination kits, 10 laboratory specimen kits, and other equipment worth a total of 548,300 dollars.

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Academic Studies / Conferences

Third Issue of Research Digest Now Online
http://www.colorado.edu/hazards/rd

The Natural Hazards Center is proud to announce the second issue of its new electronic publication titled Research Digest, a quarterly online compilation of recent research related to hazards and disasters. It provides the complete references and abstracts (when available) for current research in the field. The aim of Research Digest is to advance and communicate knowledge on hazard mitigation and disaster preparedness, response, and recovery within an all-hazards, interdisciplinary framework. The current issue includes more than 175 articles cataloged between August and mid-November 2007.

Firestorm: The Treatment of Vulnerable Populations During the San Diego Fires
http://www.aclusandiego.org/article_downloads/000325/Final%20Report%20-%20Firestorms%....pdf

The ACLU of San Diego, Justice Overcoming Boundaries, and the Immigrant Rights Consortium have issued this report that chronicles the experiences of vulnerable populations during the 2007 Southern California wildfires. The report concludes that a series of breakdowns in policies, procedures, and standards forced many of the San Diego’s most vulnerable residents affected by the devastating wildfires to be denied emergency services.

Identifying People Who Are Vulnerable in a Crisis: Guidance for Emergency Planners and Responders
http://www.ukresilience.info/upload/assets/www.ukresilience.info/vulnerable_guidance.pdf

This guidance document from the United Kingdom Civil Contingencies Secretariat is intended for those who develop local action plans and need to identify groups of people who may be vulnerable in an emergency. The document recommends four stages in identifying vulnerable populations: Building Networks, Creating Lists of Lists, Agreeing on Data Sharing Protocols and Activation Triggers, and Determining the Scale and Requirements.

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