Biosecurity News and Research

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Biosecurity is a set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of infectious diseases, quarantined pests, invasive alien species, living modified organisms.

Migrating wild birds play a key role in transporting highly pathogenic avian influenza

Migrating wild birds have played and will likely continue to play a role in transporting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, or bird flu, over long distances.

5 Jun 2006

Role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union

European Food Safety Authority - EFSA has published a scientific statement on the role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union.

18 Apr 2006

Brits find first case of bird flu in a dead swan

Government officials in Britain say a dead swan found in Cellardyke, Scotland, has a strain of the H5 bird flu virus.

5 Apr 2006

Centrally coordinated control campaign crucial to battle bird flu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned today that the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus H5N1 could become endemic in Turkey and poses a serious risk to neighbouring countries.

11 Jan 2006

Rockeby Biomed ships first batch of Avian Flu Test kits

Rockeby Biomed has announced that the first batch of its Avian Flu Test kits was sold early this month and shipped to Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Romania, Austria, South Africa, Netherlands and UK. The second shipment will be distributed before Christmas.

15 Dec 2005

Canadian pigeons raise bird flu alarm in Australia

An import of Canadian racing pigeons raised the threat of bird flu last week in Australia when the virus was discovered after testing a consignment of over 100 pigeons at a Melbourne quarantine station.

30 Oct 2005

Avian influenza and the U.S

If a virulent strain of avian influenza ever struck the U.S. poultry industry, this country probably would fare better than many other nations due to careful biosecurity procedures in force.

9 Oct 2005

Asian bird flu expert joins Murdoch University

Murdoch University's School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences have appointed Dr Trevor Ellis, an expert in Asian Bird flu, SARS and Foot and Mouth Disease.

30 Aug 2005

Smallpox-free for 25 years

It was in May 1980 that the World Health Assembly certified the world free of naturally occurring smallpox and the war against smallpox was won. Eradication was achieved through international vaccination programmes, global disease surveillance and public health logistics systems.

8 May 2005

Birdflu outbreak in Korea contained

Drastic action which has included the culling of nearly 220,000 infected chickens, the vaccination of others and strict biosecurity measures, has successfully contained the recent outbreak of bird flu in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

25 Apr 2005

H7 strain of the bird flu outbreak in North Korea contained

The recent outbreak of avian influenza in North Korea (DPRK) has been successfully contained, FAO said today, urging the country to continue surveillance on the affected farms and elsewhere to ensure that no residual infection remains.

25 Apr 2005

Test kit mistake - labs in race to destroy deadly flu virus

As many as 3,750 medical laboratories, all but 75 of which are in the U.S., have been told by the World Health Organization to destroy a pandemic flu virus sent to them as part of routine testing kits.

13 Apr 2005

Fear of botulism as a bioterrorist weapon is to be reduced by British vaccine technology

Fear of botulism as a bioterrorist weapon is to be reduced, as the US government announces its support for a new British vaccine technology, which promises for the first time to provide an effective defence against botulism – the most deadly naturally occurring substance.

28 Feb 2005

Control and containment key to combating avian influenza

Containing the bird flu virus to the greatest extent possible and reducing the risk of infection in poultry and farmed free-range ducks will help to prevent a global human influenza pandemic, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has announced.

24 Feb 2005

Australia attempts to develop treatments against Hendra virus and Nipah virus

With funding from the United States' National Institutes of Health (NIH), and in collaboration with a research team led by Dr Christopher Broder at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda Maryland, CSIRO Livestock Industries' Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong is attempting to develop treatments against Hendra virus and Nipah virus.

9 Jan 2005

Domestic ducks could pose new avian Influenza threat

Domestic ducks may be acting as a silent reservoir for the H5N1 Avian Influenza virus, which is highly pathogenic for chickens, and may thus have acquired an important new role in the transmission of the virus to other poultry and, possibly, to humans as well, three international agencies warned today.

10 Nov 2004

Hong Kong reports case of H5N1 in dead bird

The Hong Kong Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) has confirmed that a dead Grey Heron found in Lok Ma Chau area was tested positive for H5N1 virus.

4 Nov 2004

FDA proposed new egg safety regulations to reduce Salmonella Enteritidis cases

When implemented, the production changes defined by the regulation will significantly reduce the number of illness caused by eggs contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis.

20 Sep 2004

African-Americans and Asians more pessimistic about the health systems ability to cope with a bioterrorist event

While nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that the public health system would respond fairly in a bioterrorist event, African-Americans and Asians adhere to this view in smaller proportions, perhaps because of past discriminatory policies put in place by health officials, according to a new UCLA study.

30 Aug 2004

Australian research giant begins trial of avian influenza vaccine

The trial vaccine utilises Imugene Limited's platform adenoviral vector technology to deliver the necessary genetic material to stimulate the birds' immune responses.

25 Aug 2004