H5N1 News and Research

Latest H5N1 News and Research

Bird flu hits India again

Officials in India say seven new cases of bird flu have been reported in the western state of Maharashtra, the site of two earlier outbreaks this year and one in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state.

29 Mar 2006

Bird flu infected mink found in Sweden

According to Swedish authorities a mink has been found with a strain of the H5 bird flu virus.

28 Mar 2006

Horse anti-serum effectively protects H5N1 infected mice

Antibodies against the bird flu virus H5N1, derived from horses, prevent mice infected with H5N1 from dying from the virus.

28 Mar 2006

AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu spread unchecked in Burma

Government policies in Burma that restrict public health and humanitarian aid have created an environment where AIDS, drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria and bird flu (H5N1) are spreading unchecked, according to a report by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

28 Mar 2006

Bird flu case # 5 in Egypt as virus sweeps around the world

Health officials in Egypt have confirmed that a 5th person is suspected to have bird flu.

26 Mar 2006

Bird flu coming round again - three cases in Cambodia cause for concern

The latest outbreak of bird flu in Cambodia which has seen the hospitalisation of three more suspected cases is causing concern.

26 Mar 2006

China reports 11th death from bird flu as virus sweeps across the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) and China's Health Ministry have confirmed that a 29-year-old Shanghai woman has died of bird flu.

26 Mar 2006

U.S. screening for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in migratory birds

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt have moved to further ensure the protection of people, domestic poultry and wild birds by unveiling an enhanced national framework for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild migratory birds in the United States.

21 Mar 2006

Emergence of a human-adapted H5 virus is a clear threat to public health worldwide

The H5N1 avian influenza virus, commonly known as "bird flu," is a highly contagious and deadly disease in poultry. So far, its spread to humans has been limited, with 177 documented severe infections, and nearly 100 deaths in Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Iraq, and Turkey as of March 14, 2006, according to the World Health Organization.

21 Mar 2006

H5N1 influenza virus is undergoing genetic diversity expansion

An analysis of H5N1 influenza samples in Southeast Asia shows not only how the two strains that have caused human disease are related but also that they belong to two different, distinct genetic subgroups.

20 Mar 2006

Stray dog dies of bird flu in Azerbaijan

Health officials say a stray dog has died of bird flu in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.

16 Mar 2006

Bird flu reaches Sweden and Denmark

The National Veterinary Institute in Sweden say that tests done in a laboratory in Weybridge, England, have confirmed that two wild ducks found on its east coast carried the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

16 Mar 2006

Three dead in Azerbaijan from bird flu

According to government health officials in Azerbaijan, three people have died from bird flu there. They are the country's first known cases of the virus in humans.

14 Mar 2006

Myanmar reveals its first case of H5N1 bird flu

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma has found the H5N1 bird flu virus in chickens in what is believed to be the country's first case of the deadly disease.

13 Mar 2006

Cameroon fourth African country to be hit by bird flu

Cameroon has become the fourth African country to be hit by the deadly H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus.

13 Mar 2006

Chickens, swans, cats and Disneyland - bird flu really gets around!

French trade unions have accused Disneyland in Paris of covering up the death of a swan in the midst of the escalating panic in Europe over bird flu.

9 Mar 2006

Swedish theory suggests treatment for Avian Influenza Infection

Chemotherapy for a disorder of the immune system may - at least in theory - be effective against severe human avian influenza infection, this suggest scientists at the Karolinska Institutet.

8 Mar 2006

China official bird flu toll now 10

The death of young child in China now brings the country's death toll from bird flu to ten.

8 Mar 2006

Cat in the clear - but experts argue over "fire blanket" pandemic plan

At the conclusion of a meeting in Geneva on how to limit the effects of a future flu pandemic, experts remain divided on the chance of success.

8 Mar 2006

Novavax and Bharat Biotech form alliance for influenza vaccine development

Novavax and Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL), have jointly announced a strategic alliance to pursue the rapid development of pandemic influenza vaccine for India and certain other south Asian markets.

7 Mar 2006