---------- Forwarded message ----------From: Judy Harvey <zashes@sbcglobal.net>Date: Mar 30, 2006 4:38 PMSubject: {not a subscriber} Re: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] CR and bird flu for travelersTo: GERMAN-BOHEMIAN-L@rootsweb.com Hello All, I have been lurking for some time and now it is time to introduce myself. I am tracing the Koutek or Von Sernow family from Taus/domazlice andor Prague. Specifically I know that Jaroslaus Koutek and Ideda Kotek were born in Taus around 1897'ish however I do not know the process on how to get theparish birth records. Any help would be appreciated, thank you Judy KarenHob@aol.com wrote: Those planning to visit CR this summer might want to read this and follow upon just where the bird flu has been found as time to travel gets closer. There may be advice about what to do in foreign countries hit by bird fluat the US Center of Disease Control (Atlanta CDC) website. The following article from the Prague Post indicates that the area justnorth of Budweis / Ceske Budejovice may now have the infection. Karen Bird flu arrives in Czech Republic First case found in dead swan; EU confirmation awaited By Brandon SwansonStaff Writer, The Prague PostMarch 29, 2006The country is awaiting confirmation from the European Union about whether adead swan found infected with bird flu carried the deadly strain of the virusknown as H5N1.The swan was found March 20 in Hluboká nad Vltavouâ€"ZámostÃ&shy;,south Bohemia,less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) north of ÄŒeskÃ(c) BudÄ›jovice. Aweek later,public health officials announced its cause of death."We have discovered one dead swan and confirmed bird flu," Josef Duben,spokesman for the State Veterinary Administration (SVS), said March 27. "Now wehave to find out whether it is the highly pathogenic type of bird flu."The virus is carried by wild birds, which spread it to poultry. H5N1 is avirulent strain that can jump to humans: It is blamed for 105 deaths worldwide,mostly among those who spend extensive periods in direct contact with poultry.Scientists are worried that it could mutate into a form contagious amonghumans, p! otentially causing a global pandemic.The EU Reference Laboratory in Weybridge, United Kingdom, is testing theCzech swan.Authorities are expecting the swan to test positive for the strain.To date, the SVS has tested more than 1,000 dead birds for the virus. Theswan is the only one that has tested positive for bird flu.The Regional Veterinary Administration (KVS) is now monitoring all breedingfacilities within a 10-kilometer radius of Hluboká nad Vltavouâ€"ZámostÃ&shy;.If the H5N1 strain is confirmed, the KVS would quarantine all poultry withina 3-kilometer radius and maintain a wider monitoring zone, KVS spokeswomanMaria Ptáčková said. It would also issue special measures for townsin the region.If confirmed, the Czech Republic would be the 12th European country to findthe H5N1 virus.The country has stocked 650,000 Tamiflu vaccines to combat the spread of H5N1among humans, and it plans to purchase another 600,000 this year.â€" Petr KaÅ¡par contributed t! o this report. ==== GERMAN-BOHEMIAN Mailing List ====Visit the German-Bohemian Heritage Society Web Page!http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/