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Avian Flu Timelines

Key scientific and political milestones from around the world, charting the first appearance of H5N1 avian flu in Hong Kong in 1997 to its global spread today, and links to archives.

H5N1 outbreaks in birds and other animals

2001

Mass chicken cull in Hong Kong fails

  • A mass chicken cull in Hong Kong fails to contain an outbreak of the H5N1 virus among poultry. Experts warn that the virus has the potential to spread to humans. (see 'Outbreak of chicken flu rattles Hong Kong').
2004

January

  • H5N1 wreaks havoc among poultry

February

  • China's first outbreak of H5N1
  • China confirms the outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian flu in a duck farm in Guan-gi province. (see 'Bird flu spreads to China').

March

  • WHO reports H5N1 infection in two dead domestic cats from a single household in Thailand.

July

  • New cases in Thailand, Vietnam, China and Indonesia

August

  • H5N1 virus ravages flocks in SE Asia
2005

Febuary

  • H5N1 costs farmers dearly
  • Food and Agricultural Organisation estimates the cost to Asian farmers of avian flu at US$10 billion.

March

  • H5N1 becomes widespread in southeast Asia
  • Bird flu has spread to 10 countries, including Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and killed around 50 million chickens.

May

  • H5N1 takes toll on migratory birds and infects pigs

August

  • H5N1 outbreaks among poultry in Russia and Khazakhstan
  • Tibet reports first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry
  • Reported outbreaks of avian flu among poultry in Russia and Kazakhstan are confirmed as H5N1. Outbreaks are attributed to contact between domestic birds and wild waterfowl via shared water. (see 'Bird flu moves towards Europe').
  • In early August, Tibet reports the first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry. Mongolia issues an emergency report following the death of 89 migratory birds at two lakes in the northern part of the country.

October

  • Greece becomes the first EU country to detect bird flu infection
  • FAO warns of H5N1 spread by migratory birds into Africa
  • H5N1 reported in domestic birds in Turkey and Romania
  • Croatia reports first H5N1 outbreak - in swans
  • Greece becomes the first EU country to detect bird flu infection, in one turkey on the eastern Aegean island of Chios. Officials confirm a virus of the H5 strain, but it has not yet identified as H5N1.
  • The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that migratory birds could carry the deadly H5N1 virus from northern Russia into the Middle East and east Africa over the next few weeks. (see 'Migration threatens to send flu south').
  • On 13 October, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) confirms the presence of H5N1 avian influenza in domestic birds in Turkey. Days later, the presence of the virus is confirmed in Romania. (see 'Bird flu 2005: the ongoing story').
  • Croatia has fallen victim to the H5N1 strain of bird flu, with the virus killing swans in a park.

November

  • UK imported birds have H5N1
  • Finches that died while in quarantine in the UK are confirmed to have been infected wth the H5N1 virus.
2006

February

  • Nigeria reports Sub-Saharan Africa's first outbreak of H5NI avian flu in poultry
  • H5N1 virus infection in 160 dogs and 8 cats in central Thailand
  • The first report of avian flu in India
  • The discovery of H5NI avian flu in Nigerian poultry farms becomes the first reported outbreak of the disease in Africa. Two weeks later outbreaks are reported in Niger. Other countries reporting their first infections with H5N1 in birds in February 2006 are Iraq, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Iran, Austria, Germany, Egypt, India and France. (see 'Bird flu reaches Africa').
  • Researchers at the National Institute of Animal Health in Bangkok are reported to have found evidence of H5N1 virus infection in 160 dogs and 8 cats in the Suphan Buri district of central Thailand. (see 'Thai dogs carry bird-flu virus, but will they spread it?').
  • The first incidence of avian flu in India occurs among poultry in the Navapur district of the western state of Maharashtra. (see 'From the front lines').

March

  • Domestic cats in Austria and Germany test positive for H5N1
  • Domestic cats in Austria and Germany test positive for H5N1, as does a stone marten (a weazel-like mammal) in Germany. (see 'Can cats spread avian flu?').

April

  • Swan dies in Scotland and tests positive for H5N1
  • Burkina Faso reports H5N1 in poultry
  • A swan from outside the UK dies in Scotland and tests positive for the H5N1 virus, but no other infections are detected among UK birds.
  • Burkina Faso reports H5N1 in poultry near the capital Ouagadougou. An outbreak has also occurred in Cameroon.

June

  • H5N1 hits chicken farm in Cote d'Ivoire
  • An influenza outbreak on a chicken farm in Cote d'Ivoire is later confirmed as due to the H5N1 virus, according to the World Organisation for Animal Health.

July

  • H5N1 infection reported in two dead cats
  • The report of two dead cats in northern Iraq infected with the virus H5N1, which follow recent cat cases in Austria, Germany, Thailand and Indonesia, reinforce the hypothesis that cats may play a role in the spread of the virus. (see 'More cats found with bird flu').

November

  • The first outbreak in poultry occurs in North Korea since 2004.
2007

January

  • The UK has its first outbreak of H5N1 infection on a farm in Norfolk. Russia reports the first outbreak since July 2006, and Japan its first outbreak in poultry since 2004.

February

  • Kuwait reports the first outbreak of H5N1 in poultry. Meanwhile China, Pakistan, Turkey, Lao and Afghanistan report their first outbreaks since spring/summer 2006.

March

  • African vultures may be vectors for H5N1 avian flu
  • Hooded vultures in Burkina Faso are highlighted as potential vectors for H5N1 avian flu virus in Africa. H5N1 isolates from these wild birds share a common ancestor with H5N1 strains isolated from poultry in Burkina Faso, northern Nigeria, Sudan, and Côte d'Ivoire.

March

  • First outbreak of H5N1 infection among poultry in Bangladesh.

April

  • Myanmar (formerly Burma) and Kuwait report outbreaks of bird flu on poultry farms, and carry out mass culls as a control measure.

May

  • Indonesia continues to be the country with the highest toll of 77 human cases of avian flu.
  • Ghana has its first outbreak of H5N1 avian flu at a chicken farm east of the capital Accra.

June

  • The first H5N1 avian influenza outbreaks in poultry occur in the west African country of Togo, and in the Czech Republic.

July

  • H5N1 has returned to western Europe

July

  • The OIE has delivered one million doses of avian flu vaccine to Togo
  • The delivery is the latest batch of more than 20 million doses despatched since the inception of OIE's vaccine bank in May 2006. Other countries receiving vaccine for protecting flocks against H5N1 are Egypt, Mali, Mauritania, Ghana, Senegal and Mauritius.
    www.oie.int:80/eng/press/en_070704.htm

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