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.

New prevention zone to protect poultry and captive birds from avian influenza

From 8pm on 21 November 2021, a new avian influenza prevention zone will be declared in parts of North Yorkshire in England, namely the districts of Harrogate, Hambleton and Richmondshire, which means that it is a legal requirement for all bird keepers in that area to keep their birds indoors and to follow strict biosecurity measures in order to limit the spread of and eradicate the disease.

21 Nov 2021

Public health strategies associated with reduced SARS-CoV-2 transmission in Switzerland

The current study attempts to estimate the quantitative effects of specific measures, using a combination of phylogenetic and phylodynamic approaches.

15 Nov 2021

The impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the COVID-19 epidemic in South Africa

A new study explores the role of new SARS-CoV-2 variants in sustaining the pandemic in South Africa.

31 Oct 2021

A study on the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.620 lineage

In a recently published Nature Communications study, the authors describe the B.1.620 lineage discovered in Lithuania.

27 Oct 2021

Large-scale SARS-CoV-2 spike protein mutants analysis identifies subclonal variants indicative of within-host viral diversity

Researchers have investigated a vast SARS-CoV-2 assembly and NGS data set to detect non-synonymous S protein mutations.

29 Sep 2021

SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics in Nordic countries

Scientists have recently assessed the strategies adopted by the Nordic countries to curb the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic.

10 Sep 2021

Increased evolutionary rates seen in SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern

An Australian study conducted at the University of Melbourne describes that the emergence of more deadly variants of concern (VOCs) of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with an induction in episodic evolutionary rate. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

2 Sep 2021

Frameshift deletion mutation in ORF7a may provide fitness advantage to Australia's SARS-CoV-2 delta variants

A team of scientists from Australia has recently identified a frameshift deletion mutation in ORF7a of the delta variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The mutation results in the production of a truncated peptide with altered functionality. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server while awaiting peer review.

24 Aug 2021

Rare gene variant increases zoonotic H7N9 virus susceptibility in humans

Rare, single-nucleotide variants in the MX1 gene increase human susceptibility to zoonotic H7N9 avian influenza infection, according to a new study.

19 Aug 2021

WHO outlines the next series of studies on the origins of SARS-CoV-2 virus

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO has been working with the Member States and the scientific community to better understand how this pandemic began so that we can be better prepared for the next one.

13 Aug 2021

COVID-19 vaccination may be stemming evolution of “fitter” SARS-CoV-2 variants

Researchers in the United States and India have presented the first known evidence that the rollout of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination is restricting the evolutionary and immune escape pathways accessible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

6 Jul 2021

Renowned scientists recover deleted SARS-CoV-2 data from Wuhan

Renowned evolutionary researcher, Jesse Bloom from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has conducted a phylogenetic analysis suggesting that the early severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequences that were obtained from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, are not fully representative of the viruses circulating in the city at the time of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

24 Jun 2021

POSTECH research team develops plant-based, adjuvant-free avian influenza vaccine

The avian influenza, an acute viral infectious disease that occurs in poultry such as chickens, ducks, and migratory birds, has been reported to be transmittable to humans.

21 Jun 2021

Rapidly evolving SARS-Cov-2 strains may give rise to escape variants

The number of COVID-19 variants is growing rapidly, so much that the scale and scope of mutation may pose a threat to the continuing successful use of the current vaccines and therapies.

16 Jun 2021

First human case of H10N3 influenza reported in Jiangsu, China

As the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread and wreak havoc globally, another health threat emerged in China. The country has reported its first confirmed case of the rare H10N3 bird flu in a patient admitted to the hospital in April 2021 in Zhenjiang, China.

4 Jun 2021

Zoonotic and vector-borne emerging tropical diseases pose a constant threat

A recent article published in the journal Frontiers in Tropical Diseases assessed the threat of emerging zoonotic and vector-borne tropical diseases.

26 May 2021

New panel launched to address the emergence and spread of zoonotic diseases

International organizations have come together to launch a new One Health High-Level Expert Panel to improve understanding of how diseases with the potential to trigger pandemics, emerge and spread.

20 May 2021

Plant-derived compound isorhamnetin may have antiviral potential against SARS-CoV-2

The lack of new or repurposed drugs to treat patients with severe or critical COVID-19 has been one of the biggest hurdles to reducing mortality rates in the ongoing pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2. A new study describes the potential for the use of the plant molecule isorhamnetin in the management of this virus.

19 Apr 2021

Researchers examine the evolutionary race between SARS-CoV-2 and human defenses

Researchers have analyzed this evolution of the virus based on evolutionary ecology theory. Using the virus genomes available in the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID) database, the researchers focused their inquiry on mutations in the receptor-binding domain (RBD) on the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.

30 Mar 2021

Preventing future pandemics by ending the wildlife trade

In this News-Medical interview, we spoke to Professor Diana Bell about the illegal wildlife trade and how we could prevent future pandemics by stopping it.

22 Mar 2021