Avian Influenza News and Research

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Avian influenza is an infection caused by avian (bird) influenza (flu) viruses. These influenza viruses occur naturally among birds. Wild birds worldwide carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them. However, avian influenza is very contagious among birds and can make some domesticated birds, including chickens, ducks, and turkeys, very sick and kill them.

InDevR gets NIAID support for verification, validation studies on new potency test for influenza viruses

InDevR, Inc., an innovative life science company dedicated to improving biopharmaceutical and vaccine manufacturing, announced support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, for verification and validation studies on a new potency test for influenza viruses with pandemic potential.

2 Aug 2017

Researchers discover new virus in migratory bird species

Researchers at the University of São Paulo's Biomedical Science Institute (ICB-USP) in Brazil have discovered a new virus in a migratory bird species.

25 Jul 2017

Mutations identified that enable human transmission of avian flu

A systematic mutation analysis has shown that changes in just three amino acids of the avian influenza H7N9 virus receptor binding protein confers specificity for human cells.

16 Jun 2017

New study reports long-term infectious disease trends in China after SARS outbreak

Following the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, China stepped up its prevention and control methods for all infectious diseases, and rates of infection have levelled off since 2009.

19 Apr 2017

USDA announces grant to decrease impact of disasters

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture today announced $462,000 in available funding to decrease the impact of disasters through cooperative extension programming.

11 Apr 2017

New transgenic mouse could help monitor potential dangers of emerging influenza viruses

Researchers in Germany have developed a transgenic mouse that could help scientists identify new influenza virus strains with the potential to cause a global pandemic.

10 Apr 2017

Resurgent outbreak of avian influenza underscores need for control efforts at animal source

A resurgent outbreak of a new strain of avian influenza that can be lethal for humans underscores the need for robust and rapid detection and response systems at animal source.

20 Mar 2017

New research exposes cellular responses linked to bird flu vaccine

New research from Vanderbilt eavesdrops on gene expression in human immune system cells before and after vaccination against bird flu.

19 Jan 2017

Influenza experts examine evolution of avian disease

Few influenza viruses are as widespread and adaptable as avian influenza viruses, and scientists are not entirely sure why.

19 Jan 2017

Mass livestock production could lead to human pandemics, expert says

Mass livestock production is driving molecular changes in diseases that could lead to human pandemics, according to an expert from the University of Exeter.

16 Jan 2017

Preventing zoonotic diseases from pets to people: an interview with Dr Monique Éloit, OIE Director General

Zoonotic diseases are diseases or infections which are naturally transmissible from animals to humans, as defined in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

13 Jul 2016

RVFV uses cancer pathway to hijack host cell and cause infection

Viruses can't live without us -- literally. As obligate parasites, viruses need a host cell to survive and grow. Scientists are exploiting this characteristic by developing therapeutics that close off pathways necessary for viral infection, essentially stopping pathogens in their tracks.

17 Jun 2016

Study provides insights into new pathways to generate universal vaccine against influenza viruses

Diverse antibodies induced in humans by vaccination with an avian influenza virus vaccine may offer broader, more durable protection against multiple strains of influenza than today's vaccines typically provide, according to a study led by Florian Krammer, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Patrick Wilson, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago.

9 Jun 2016

Vanderbilt investigators isolate human antibodies against H7 bird flu

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have isolated human antibodies against a type of bird flu that has killed more than 200 people in China since 2012 and which may pose a worldwide pandemic threat.

10 Mar 2016

RB announces Zika Relief Package of $1 million to help fight Zika virus outbreak

In response to the global call for urgently needed resources to fight the spread of the Zika virus, RB is announcing a Zika Relief Package of $1 million USD consisting of both cash and product donations that will be made available to health authorities and international NGOs battling the outbreak.

16 Feb 2016

Discovery may pave way for more effective treatments for pandemics, seasonal flu

Scientists at Imperial College London have discovered how flu viruses 'hijack' cell machinery when they infect the body. The findings, published in the journal Nature, may pave the way for more effective antiviral treatments for pandemics and for seasonal flu, which infects over 800 million people worldwide every year.

7 Jan 2016

H7N9 influenza vaccine failure may be due to immune camouflage, study reveals

The avian influenza A (H7N9) virus has been a major concern since the first outbreak in China in 2013. Due to its high rate of lethality and pandemic potential, H7N9 vaccine development has become a priority for public health officials. However, candidate vaccines have failed to elicit the strong immune responses necessary to protect from infection.

25 Sep 2015

New technology may allow mass production of flu vaccines

Vaccines to protect against an avian influenza pandemic as well as seasonal flu may be mass produced more quickly and efficiently using technology described today (Sept. 2) by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the journal Nature Communications.

3 Sep 2015

Researchers discover new hepatitis A-like virus in seals

Scientists in the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have discovered a new virus in seals that is the closest known relative of the human hepatitis A virus. The finding provides new clues on the emergence of hepatitis A.

26 Aug 2015

Hoaglund Enterprises awarded contract to evaluate Avian Flu affected equipment

Hoaglund Enterprises, Inc.,dba Asset Equipment Appraisals & Brokerage, a leading Nationally Certified Appraisal company is pleased to announce that they have been awarded a contract to appraise Avian Flu affected equipment that cannot be disinfected on infected farms by the USDA.

28 Jul 2015