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Avian Flu History and
Timeline 2004
Below is a chronological listing of Avian Flu history and events for 2004:
Jan. 2004
The World Health Organization confirms 11 human cases of Avian H5N1
infection in Thailand and Vietnam, resulting in eight deaths. No
cases of person-to-person transmission are identified.
The virus wreaks havoc among poultry in Thailand, Vietnam, Japan
and South Korea.
Researchers at labs in the United States and Britain work to
develop a vaccine for use against Avian H5N1 viruses isolated in 2003
and 2004.
Jan. 8, 2004
Vietnam announces the H5N1 avian flu virus has spread to many
poultry farms.
Jan. 11, 2004
Japan says 6,000 chickens have died of avian influenza on a
farm, and says it is the first time the disease has been
confirmed in the country.
Jan. 13, 2004
The World Health Organization confirms that the deaths of three
people in Vietnam are linked to bird flu caused by H5N1.
Jan. 12, 2004
Pakistan confirms an outbreak of bird flu.
Jan. 23, 2004
Cambodia confirms an outbreak of bird flu at a farm on the
outskirts of Phnom Penh.
Jan. 25, 2004
Pakistan says two million chickens have died of a mild form of
bird flu, caused by the H7N7 and H9N2 strains.
Jan. 26, 2004
Indonesia discovers an outbreak of bird flu among chickens.
Thailand confirms a 6-year-old boy died of bird flu, the
country's first human death from the virus.
Jan. 27, 2004
Bird flu kills ducks in Southern China, which begins culling
14,000 birds.
Feb. 2004
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization advises governments
in areas affected by bird flu that mass culling of poultry is
failing to halt the disease and that vaccination of targeted
poultry flocks is also required.
Feb. 7-8, 2004
The H7N2 strain of bird flu is discovered in chickens on an
independent grower’s farm in southern Kent County, Delaware.
Officials immediately order the slaughter of 12,000 birds. The
strain is fatal to poultry, but not to humans. The USDA says,
"There is no evidence to suggest that this is transmissible to
humans."
Feb. 9, 2004
Tests for avian flu at five Delaware poultry farms within a two
mile radius of an infected flock show no sign of the disease.
Feb. 10, 2004
A second flock infected with a mild strain of the virus is found
in northern Sussex County, Delaware. An additional 72,000
chickens are slaughtered and 80 farms in the region are
quarantined for at least 30 days. Surprised state officials
immediately ban the sale of live poultry in the state as a
precaution.
Feb. 12, 2004
The WHO says tests confirm there is no evidence yet that the
bird flu virus has developed the ability to pass from person to
person.
Bird flu is detected at four live bird markets in New Jersey
that were supplied by two Delaware farms that previously had
reported the H7N2 strain of avian influenza.
Feb. 15, 2004
The human death toll from the H5N1 virus stands at 14 Vietnamese
and six Thais.
Feb. 16, 2004
The bird flu virus kills a rare clouded leopard in a zoo near
Bangkok, Thailand.
Feb. 20, 2004
The H5N2 strain of bird flu is found in a flock of 7,000
chickens in south-central Texas.
March 2004
Subsequent confirmatory tests show a patient admitted to a New
York hospital with respiratory symptoms in Nov. 2003 had been
infected with an H7N2 avian influenza virus.
March 6, 2004
The H7N2 strain of bird flu is found in a poultry farm in
Maryland.
March 16, 2004
China declares it has stamped out the disease in all 49 hotbeds
and has had no reports among poultry for 29 days.
April 6, 2004
The avian influenza virus H7N3 is confirmed in two poultry
workers in British Columbia, Canada, who developed flu-like
symptoms, but did not die.
May 26, 2004
Thailand reports a new case of bird flu in several dead chickens
on a university research farm in the northern city of Chiang
Mai.
June 2004
Tests on chickens and mice show that the H5N1 virus isolated
from ducks in 2004 is becoming more virulent and harmful to
mammals.
July 2004
Several countries, including Thailand, Vietnam, China and
Indonesia, report new infection of H5N1 among poultry.
Aug. 2004
The H5N1 virus is reported to have killed three more people in
Vietnam.
Chinese scientists report H5N1 infection in pigs.
In Vietnam and Thailand, the virus has infected at least 37
people with 26 deaths.
Aug. 19, 2004
Malaysia reports its first case of bird flu after a strain is
found in two chickens that died near the border with Thailand.
Sept. 27, 2004
Thailand says it has found a bird flu case in which one human
most likely infected another. Health officials said this was an
isolated incident that posed little risk to the population.
Oct. 2004
British authorities suspend manufacturing of the 2004-2005
routine influenza vaccine at the Liverpool factory of Chiron
Corp. after concerns about sterilization are raised. The move
leads to a massive vaccine shortage, particularly in the United
States where Chiron supplies 50 percent of the annual flu
vaccine, and highlights the need for alternative vaccine
manufacturing sources.
Nov. 2004
The WHO warns that the H5N1 bird flu virus could spark a flu
pandemic that would likely kill millions of people. The U.N.
health agency says it is concerned that "much of the world is
unprepared for a pandemic" and needs to enhance preparedness to
reduce the virus' potential impact.
WHO officials meet with vaccine makers, public health experts
and government representatives in a bid to speed up the
production of flu vaccines to avert a global pandemic.
Dec. 2004
The WHO reports the first human case of H5N1 in Vietnam since
early Sept. 2004. Since the start of 2004, bird flu has caused
32 deaths in Vietnam and Thailand, and millions of chickens
across Asia.
Dec. 15, 2004
Taiwan says it has discovered two strains of avian flu in
migratory bird in the north of the island. The outbreak is
caused by the milder H5N2 strain and the H5N6 strain.
For more on Avian flu history, please continue following our Bird flu
timeline links.
Sources: CDC;
WHO
Outbreaks in Humans | Outbreaks in Birds | Timeline 1918-2001 | Timeline 2003 | Timeline 2004 | Timeline 2005 | Timeline 2006 | Travel Advisories | Bird Flu News
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