Information for Health Professionals

Avian influenza made notifiable - Media Release from Minister of Health, Annette King, 10 February

Ministry of Health case definition

Interim infection control guidance for health care facilities for HPAI, 23 February 2004

Avian influenza infection control guidance (doc, 469.50 kB)

Avian influenza infection control guidance (pdf, 167.47 kB)

Case Report Forms for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), 30 March 2004

Case Report Forms are available from ESR's Public Health Surveillance site. Completed forms must be faxed to ESR, the number is at the bottom of the form.

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Case Report Form (PDF, 129kB) (from www.surv.esr.cri.nz/episurv.php)

Instructions for completing the HPAI Case Report Form (PDF, 175kB) (from www.surv.esr.cri.nz/episurv.php)


Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)

From the office of Director of Public Health, Dr Doug Lush (Acting)

11 February 2004

A message to all influenza vaccine providers from the office of the Director of Public Health.

There has been significant public interest in Avian influenza or "bird flu" which may prompt some questions of you from your patients particularly with regard to the seasonal influenza vaccine. Here is the most recent information available at the time these kits were prepared (10 February 2004).


What is avian influenza?

Since the beginning of this year a number of Asian countries have had outbreaks of Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza (HPAI) affecting both wild and domestic bird flocks.

In several of these outbreaks the HPAI has been identified as being H5N1. This subtype of avian influenza is similar to the strain that caused an outbreak in Hong Kong in 1997. In that outbreak eighteen people were infected, six of whom died. There was limited human-to-human transmission during that outbreak.

However, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and influenza experts, have long been concerned about the possibility of an outbreak of pandemic influenza arising from birds or other animals and view the current situation in Asia with trepidation. The number of confirmed human cases has, to date, been small (23 cases with 18 fatalities), and there have been no reported cases outside of Asia.




Will the seasonal influenza vaccine protect against bird flu?

The seasonal influenza vaccine will NOT protect your patients from the bird flu.

The seasonal vaccine does have a role in affected countries in reducing the opportunity for the bird flu virus to come into contact with the human influenza virus.

The risk is that a person may acquire the bird flu at the same time that they are infected with human influenza. This could give rise to a genetic reassortment of the virus. An influenza pandemic could result from this rearrangement of the genes of the virus.

Two groups at risk of this occurring are people who come into contact with infected birds and those who care for human cases of bird flu.


Should anyone else be encouraged to be vaccinated against influenza?

It is important that the routine seasonal influenza vaccine is given as planned and detailed in the influenza kit, to people 65 and older, or who have certain chronic health problems.

The WHO routinely recommends that health care workers are vaccinated against influenza. The WHO currently recommends that individuals employed in culling poultry and who may be exposed to bird flu (should the disease infect NZ birds) be vaccinated as a precautionary measure.


What plans are being made to deal with the avian influenza?

Like the WHO, the NZ Ministry of Health acknowledges the potential threat of a pandemic.

As a further precautionary measure human infection with HPAI was made a notifiable disease on 12 February 2004.

Information about the pandemic planning is available at: www.moh.govt.nz/pandemic

Regularly updated information about avian influenza is available on www.moh.govt.nz/birdflu

If required the Ministry of Health would provide an 0800 helpline.

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Related information

International Health Regulations Review

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Page last updated 30 March 2004