Bird Flu News and Research

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China begins slaughter of birds in Shanghai market after 6th death from H7N9 announced; U.S., global experts begin vaccine research

"China announced a sixth death from a new bird flu strain Friday, while authorities in Shanghai halted the sale of live fowl and slaughtered all poultry at a market where the virus was detected in pigeons being sold for meat," the Associated Press reports (Wong, 4/5).

6 Apr 2013

Editorial, opinion pieces address emergence of new bird flu strain in China

"Memories of China's repression of news during its tumultuous 2002-03 SARS outbreak could fuel panic and unrest at home and suspicion in the West," Hall, a novelist, writes.

5 Apr 2013

China reports 2 more cases of H7N9; Researchers continue to investigate transmission routes

"China has found two more cases of a new strain of bird flu and one of the victims has died, state media said on Wednesday, bringing to nine the number of confirmed human infections from the previously unknown flu type," Reuters reports (Blanchard/Kelland, 4/3).

5 Apr 2013

China reports 4 more cases of H7N9 bird flu virus; Officials investigating route of transmission

"On Tuesday, China reported four more cases of infection with the H7N9 influenza virus, a type of bird flu, in the eastern Jiangsu province," Time reports.

4 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: Obama's brain initiative is 'modest but welcome start;' Disability insurance facing 'immediate crisis'

President Obama officially announced his new brain research initiative on Tuesday, with a pledge to put $100 million in his 2014 budget to support work at three federal agencies.

4 Apr 2013

More information needed about new strain of bird flu in China

In a Foreign Policy opinion piece, Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, recounts recent events in China, including the discovery of hundreds of dead pigs, ducks, and geese in rivers and the diagnosis of several human cases of a new strain of avian influenza, H7N9, and she writes, "[T]his could be how pandemics begin."

3 Apr 2013

New strain of avian flu kills two Chinese men, officials say

"Two people in China have died and another remains critical after falling ill with a strain of bird flu not detected before in humans, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported," CNN reports (Mullen, 4/1).

2 Apr 2013

UCLA researchers predict hotspots for future outbreaks of influenza virus

This year's unusually long and rocky flu season would be nothing compared to the pandemic that could occur if bird flu became highly contagious among humans, which is why UCLA researchers and their colleagues are creating new ways to predict where an outbreak could emerge.

17 Mar 2013

Influenza drug: an interview with Dr Jenny McKimm-Breschkin, CSIRO

Influenza or flu for short is caused by a family of viruses, which can be called influenza A or influenza B. Influenza A viruses are found in humans, animals – like swine and horses- and mostly aquatic birds. Influenza B is only found in humans.

11 Mar 2013

APIC offers tips to stay infection-free

Beyond the obvious—steering clear of runny noses and hacking coughs—the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) presents some other practical ways of staying infection-free.

8 Mar 2013

New drug proves to be effective in preventing spread of different flu strains

The new drug has been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of different strains of influenza in laboratory models - including resistant strains of the virus.

24 Feb 2013

U.S. health officials outline new policies for funding research on H5N1 avian flu, other potentially dangerous agents

"U.S. health authorities on Thursday outlined the conditions for funding research on the H5N1 bird flu virus a month after scientists lifted a yearlong pause on the work that was imposed amid concerns it could be used by terrorists," Bloomberg reports.

23 Feb 2013

New drug to safeguard against epidemic and pandemic flu strains

CSIRO scientists have helped to design a new drug to safeguard against epidemic and pandemic flu strains – as published in Science today.

22 Feb 2013

Cambodia, China report cases of avian influenza H5N1

"Cambodia reported on Wednesday that another four-year-old girl has contracted avian influenza H5N1, becoming the seventh person who infected the virus in 2013," Xinhua reports.

14 Feb 2013

Global response to possible H5N1 flu outbreak could affect epidemic's course

"It's been a rough flu season this winter in the United States and Europe, but it could be worse. A lot worse," science writer Carl Zimmer states in National Geographic's "Phenomena: The Loom" blog.

10 Feb 2013

FluGen's REDEE FLU vaccine protects against both H5N1 and H3N2 strains

Deadly flu viruses, including the H5N1 bird flu and H3N2 swine flu, may have met their match in FluGen's universal vaccine, REDEE FLU.

6 Feb 2013

Cambodian health officials strengthen avian flu awareness campaigns after 2 more deaths

"Two more children have died in Cambodia of bird flu, bringing the number of fatal cases this year to four and the number of cases overall to five," the Associated Press/Wall Street Journal reports, noting only three cases were reported in all of 2012. "WHO says bird flu, also known as avian influenza, or H5N1, has killed 360 other people worldwide since surfacing in 2003," with most cases "linked to contact with infected poultry," the news agency writes.

30 Jan 2013

Have scientists thoroughly addressed avian flu research concerns?

Noting that a nearly yearlong moratorium on H5N1 avian influenza research, put in place "because of safety and terrorism concerns," was lifted recently, a New York Times editorial states, "We wish we could be as sanguine as they are that all the earlier concerns have been dealt with."

29 Jan 2013

New research sets out alternative approach to pandemic preparedness

'Evil' scientists, deadly viruses and terrorist plots are usually the preserve of Hollywood blockbusters. But when it comes to pandemic influenza, it is the stuff of real life. As controversy about research into the H5N1 bird flu virus continues, a new paper argues for a complete overhaul of current approaches to pandemic preparedness.

29 Jan 2013

Voluntary moratorium on H5N1 research ends; fate of U.S.-funded research unknown

"Almost a year after they announced it, leading influenza researchers are ending a voluntary moratorium on certain types of controversial experiments involving the H5N1 avian influenza virus."

25 Jan 2013