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.

Portable analyzer rapidly detects anti-virus antibody in blood serum

Researchers have succeeded in detecting anti-avian influenza virus antibody in blood serum within 20 minutes, using a portable analyzer they have developed to conduct rapid on-site bio tests. If a suitable reagent is developed, this technology could be used to detect antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of COVID-19.

22 May 2020

Study defines new starting points for therapy and vaccine research on coronavirus

The SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects lung cells and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The viral spike protein mediates entry of the virus into host cells and harbors an unusual activation sequence.

4 May 2020

World academies urge scientific, policymaking communities to help control COVID-19

The current COVID-19 outbreak was first reported on 31 December 2019. On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic.

31 Mar 2020

NIH launches new website with educational resources for COVID-19 workers

Today, the National Institutes of Health will launch a new website with important educational resources for Coronavirus workers dealing with the spread of COVID-19.

23 Mar 2020

Former federal virus hunter says U.S. needs to act before new germs ‘kick your door in’

When the federal government decided to investigate the threat viruses in animals posed to humans, Dennis Carroll helped lead the charge.

16 Mar 2020

Transmission of avian influenza viruses from poultry food consumption is unlikely

In the Federal State of Brandenburg, a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (often referred to as bird flu) was found in a wild goose, caused by a virus of the H5N8 subtype.

26 Feb 2020

PolyU develops fully automated, rapid diagnostic platform for detecting respiratory infectious diseases

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University today announced the development of the world's most comprehensive automated multiplex diagnostic system (the System) which includes a fully automated machine and a multiplex full-screening panel for the point-of-care genetic testing of respiratory infectious disease including the 2019-nCoV.

11 Feb 2020

China reports H5N1 bird flu in Hunan amid coronavirus crisis

China has reported an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu in Hunan, which borders the province of Hubei, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

3 Feb 2020

Infectious disease expert explains about Wuhan coronavirus

A new coronavirus virus, likely first transmitted to people from animals at a market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, is making international headlines as disease detectives work to uncover what it is, how it's transmitted, and how deadly the virus actually is.

24 Jan 2020

Experts say source of newly identified virus in China must be found

Scientists have identified the virus likely to have caused a pneumonia-like illness that has caused an outbreak in Wuhan, China.

9 Jan 2020

Super fast novel device catches and identifies viruses

A new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on December 23, 2019, describes a novel device developed by a team of researchers at Penn State and New York University. Not only can this instrument capture different types of virus, it can tell what kind they are.

23 Dec 2019

Researchers find another piece of puzzle relating to bird flu viruses

Normally, bird flu viruses do not spread easily from person to person. But if this does happen, it could trigger a pandemic. Researchers from the MDC and RKI have now explained in the journal Nature Communications what makes the leap from animals to humans less likely.

10 Dec 2019

Novel antibodies could provide a universal flu vaccine

Now, a new study published in the journal Science on October 25, 2019, reports on a set of three novel antibodies that bind to another type of viral cell surface antigen called neuraminidase (NA) that is necessary for viral replication.

28 Oct 2019

Researchers find antibody that may protect against wide range of lethal influenza viruses

A nationwide team of researchers has found an antibody that protects mice against a wide range of potentially lethal influenza viruses, advancing efforts to design of a universal vaccine that could either treat or protect people against all strains of the virus.

25 Oct 2019

Flu antibody could be a key to better treatments for severe flu disease

Researchers have found an antibody that protects mice against a wide range of lethal influenza viruses, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif.

24 Oct 2019

Scientists join hands to protect Australia from growing threat of infectious diseases

A new project in Northern Australia will focus on how Australia can better protect and rapidly respond to the growing global risk of emergent infectious diseases which can spread to humans through animals and insects.

30 Aug 2019

Influenza A virus host range restricted by dysregulated expression of M gene segment

The host range of the influenza A virus is restricted by dysregulated expression of the M viral gene segment, according to a study published August 15 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Anice Lowen and John Steel of Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 16 Aug 2019

NIH-funded clinical trial will evaluate seasonal influenza vaccines with two experimental adjuvants

An early-stage clinical trial is evaluating two licensed seasonal influenza vaccines, administered with or without novel adjuvants, for their safety and ability to generate an immune response.

9 Aug 2019

Researchers map virulence factor of influenza A virus in real-time

The influenza A viruses, which have instigated deadly pandemics in the past, still remain a major global public health problem until today. Molecules known as virulence factors are produced by bacteria, viruses, and fungi to help them to infect host cells.

21 May 2019

Study: Non-thermal plasma can inactivate 99.9% of dangerous airborne viruses

Dangerous airborne viruses are rendered harmless on-the-fly when exposed to energetic, charged fragments of air molecules, University of Michigan researchers have shown.

9 Apr 2019