Bird Flu News and Research

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Viewpoints: A nurse finds getting coordinated care for her husband challenging; Iowa legislator outlines problems with Medicaid; Researcher's quest to save experiments after sandy

In 2011, my husband, Eric, a trial attorney, was felled by a brain stem stroke just before he was to board a flight at O'Hare in Chicago. He was just 53 years old with no prior health conditions or problems. From the outset, we knew his recovery and rehabilitation would be long and difficult. We didn't know that his transition to post-hospital medical care would be just as challenging.

10 May 2013

Scientists warn of H7N9 risks as number of cases, deaths continue to rise

"A new strain of bird flu that is causing a deadly outbreak among people in China is a threat to world health and should be taken seriously, scientists said on Wednesday," Reuters reports (Kelland, 5/1).

3 May 2013

Scientists generate map of H7N9 risk

A map of avian influenza (H7N9) risk is presented in Biomed Central's open access journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty today. The map is comprised of bird migration patterns, and adding in estimations of poultry production and consumption, which are used to infer future risk and to advise on ways to prevent infection.

3 May 2013

Editorial, opinion piece address emergence of H7N9 bird flu strain in China

The following is a summary of an editorial and an opinion piece addressing the emergence of a new strain of bird flu -- H7N9 -- in China.

2 May 2013

H7N9 bird flu virus continues to spread throughout China

"China on Saturday reported its first case of H7N9 bird flu in the southern province of Hunan, the latest sign the virus that has killed 23 people in the country is continuing to spread," Reuters reports (Ruwitch, 4/29).

30 Apr 2013

Researchers call H7N9 bird flu strain 'one of the most lethal'; first case outside China reported by Taiwan

Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens.

26 Apr 2013

Nature editorial, opinion piece address H7N9 virus

The journal Nature published an editorial and opinion piece on the emergence of the H7N9 avian influenza strain.

26 Apr 2013

New strain of bird flu poses pandemic threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling the new strain of H7H9 influenza virus "lethal" and The University of Kansas Hospital is preparing now for any potential cases.

26 Apr 2013

H7N9 flu virus found to transmit from birds to humans but not person-to-person

Scientists in China have confirmed for the first time that the influenza A H7N9 virus has transmitted from birds—specifically, chicken at a wet poultry market—to humans, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet.

25 Apr 2013

Chinese bird flu continues to spread

The H7N9 avian influenza outbreak in China is continuing to spread, although authorities believe that the large majority of those affected did not become infected via human-to-human contact.

25 Apr 2013

To avoid difficulties experienced during SARS epidemic, China must remain transparent in H7N9 efforts

"On this 10th anniversary of China's April 2003 admission that the SARS virus had spread across that country ... Beijing finds itself once again in a terrible position via-a-vis the microbial and geopolitical worlds," Laurie Garrett, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes in a Foreign Policy opinion piece, noting the emergence of a new strain of bird flu, H7N9, in the country.

25 Apr 2013

WHO research team still unsure of H7N9 transmission routes

The WHO "has only a limited understanding of a deadly new form of avian flu that has killed 20 people and infected more than a hundred others, a team of researchers said on Monday, leaving unclear how the disease spreads and how virulent it could become," the Wall Street Journal reports.

24 Apr 2013

Number of H7N9 cases surpasses 100; U.S. CDC warns physicians to be vigilant

"The number of bird flu cases in China jumped Sunday to 102, including 20 deaths, the World Health Organization announced," CNN reports, noting 70 patients remain hospitalized with the new H7N9 avian flu strain and the "WHO said there is still no evidence of human-to-human transmission" (Gray/Armstrong, 4/22).

23 Apr 2013

Health experts in China working to identify source, transmission routes of H7N9 flu virus

"Fifteen global and Chinese health experts are on a mission in Beijing and Shanghai to learn more about the H7N9 bird flu virus that has killed 17 people and sickened 70 others, said Dr. Michael O'Leary, head of WHO's office in China," the Associated Press reports (Wong, 4/19).

20 Apr 2013

Editorials address China's response to emergence of H7N9 bird flu strain

"The H7N9 strain contains gene sequences that make it relatively effective, for a bird virus, at infecting humans and other mammals," Bloomberg writes.

20 Apr 2013

New technique developed at MU may make food contamination testing more rapid, accurate

Sales of chicken products in China plummeted recently during an outbreak of a deadly new strain of bird flu. From bird flu to mad cow disease, numerous food scares have made global headlines in recent years.

19 Apr 2013

International research team casting wide net in search for H7N9 source, transmission routes

"Another case of bird flu has been reported in China, taking the total infection count to 83 people, as health authorities inside and outside the country try to determine how to stop its spread," CNN reports.

19 Apr 2013

Health officials have reason to 'remain hypervigilant' over H7N9

"Just as the world was breathing easier about a deadly bird flu virus that killed 371 people over the past decade before dropping out of sight, a different form of bird flu has emerged in China that is causing concern among health experts," a New York Times editorial writes.

18 Apr 2013

H7N9 virus continues to spread; International research team traveling to China to assist

"Two more people in China have died from a new strain of avian influenza, bringing to 16 the number of deaths from the H7N9 virus, and the government has warned that the number of infections could rise," Reuters reports.

18 Apr 2013

Reports of H7N9 cases, deaths continue from across China

"Two more people have died in China from a new strain of bird flu, raising the death toll from the virus to 13, state media reported Sunday," the Associated Press reports.

16 Apr 2013