Bird Flu News and Research

RSS

Seattle researchers map critical molecules that regulate inflammation during flu infection

The influenza virus' ability to mutate quickly has produced new, emerging strains that make drug discovery more critical than ever. For the first time, researchers at Seattle BioMed, along with collaborators at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Washington, have mapped how critical molecules regulate both the induction and resolution of inflammation during flu infection.

6 Jul 2013

Study describes radiologic findings in H7N9 pneumonia

H7N9 pneumonia is characterized by imaging findings that differentiate it from other types of pneumonia, including rapidly progressive changes in the lungs and pulmonary connective tissues, according to the first study to describe radiologic findings in the disease. The results are published online in the journal Radiology.

2 Jul 2013

NanoViricides submits letter of intent to file Orphan Drug Application with EMA for DengueCide

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that it has submitted its letter of intent to file an Orphan Drug Application with the European Medicines Agency for DengueCide, its drug candidate for the treatment of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

1 Jul 2013

Glycoproteins in saliva of older people are more efficient in binding to influenza

Spit. Drool. Dribble. Saliva is not normally a topic of polite conversation, but it may be the key to explaining the age and sex bias exhibited by influenza and other diseases, according to a new study.

13 Jun 2013

NanoViricides files Orphan Drug application with FDA for DengueCide

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that it has filed an Orphan Drug application with the Office of Orphan Product Development of the US FDA for DengueCide, its drug candidate for the treatment of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

10 Jun 2013

New computer model predicts when avian influenza strain becomes infectious

A new computer model could help scientists predict when a particular strain of avian influenza might become infectious from bird to human, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Data Mining and Bioinformatics.

21 May 2013

A*STAR, Cytos Biotechnology provide update on Phase 1 clinical trial of H1N1 influenza vaccine

Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research and Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology AG today announced that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial with their H1N1 influenza vaccine candidate based on Cytos' proprietary bacteriophage Qbeta virus-like particle technology.

17 May 2013

OUP blog discusses CDC'S advice on H7N9 while traveling abroad

Health risks are real and ever-changing, especially while traveling abroad. The bird flu, for example, has been in the news recently for taking four more lives, bringing the total deaths to 31.

10 May 2013

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