H5N1 News and Research

Latest H5N1 News and Research

Avian flu and planning for pandemic

Influenza season is almost upon us. While it is impossible to tell whether we are going to experience a usual flu season -- with one in every five people falling ill -- or whether we are facing a more serious problem such as a dangerous new strain capable of causing a global pandemic, information is important.

20 Oct 2005

A DNA-based vaccine could be a potent weapon against bird flu

Researchers scrambling to combat a virulent form of bird flu that could mutate into a form easily spread among humans should consider developing vaccines based on DNA, according to British biochemical engineers.

19 Oct 2005

As Europe panics, global co-operation urged in the fight against birdflu

As the panic about bird flu spreads across Europe, EU foreign ministers are urging global cooperation in efforts to tackle the threat of the deadly virus.

19 Oct 2005

Putting things in prespective - help the world's children to fight bird flu

Amid the escalating panic in Europe centered around attempts to halt the spread among the bird population of bird flu, a senior health expert has said that swift action against age-old child killers such as diarrhea and pneumonia could help the world get ready to combat a bird flu pandemic.

19 Oct 2005

Greece and Croatia test for bird flu, while Europe gets more jittery

While authorities in Greece anxiously await test results on eight dead birds found in the northeastern Evros River delta, in another main migratory route, Croatia had also started testing dead birds found by citizens.

17 Oct 2005

Europe frantically prepares for possible bird flu pandemic

The confirmation by British laboratory tests that the H5N1 deadly strain of bird flu had reached mainland Europe for the first time, has prompted Romanian authorities to slaughter poultry and send in doctors.

16 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

Influenza evolution in action

On the eve of the 2005-06 flu season, scientists at The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) have captured influenza evolution in action. In a study published in this week's journal Nature, the researchers report the first large-scale project to sequence the influenza virus.

5 Oct 2005

Equine flu virus jumps to dogs

A Cornell University virologist has isolated a highly contagious equine flu virus that is spreading a sometimes-fatal respiratory flu among dogs, and is responsible for a major dog-flu outbreak in New York state. There is no evidence that the virus could infect people.

27 Sep 2005

Less-virulent strain of avian influenza virus can spread from poultry to humans

In findings with implications for pandemic influenza, a new study reports for the first time that a less-virulent strain of avian influenza virus can spread from poultry to humans. The research appears in the October 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.

19 Sep 2005

Spread of bird flu to the United States is a "time bomb waiting to go off"

One of the government's top scientists said Monday that the spread of bird flu to the United States is a "time bomb waiting to go off" but that federal and industry efforts to produce a vaccine are progressing.

12 Sep 2005

Amantadine resistant avian influenza viruses more common in Southeast Asia than North America

Resistance to the antiviral drug amantadine is spreading more rapidly among avian influenza viruses of H5N1 subtype in Southeast Asia than in North America, according to the study done by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

12 Sep 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

Drug company donates bird flu vaccine to World Health Organization

A donation by Swiss drug maker Roche, of enough of its Tamiflu antiviral drug to treat 3 million people against birdflu, could slow the spread of the outbreak among humans, especially in countries too poor to afford their own stockpile.

24 Aug 2005

Wild ducks may be key to development of flu vaccine

According to Dutch and Swedish researchers wild ducks carry more than a half-dozen different types of avian flu virus.

23 Aug 2005

Brits get ready for bird flu pandemic

Before the onset of winter and the annual flu outbreak, doctors around the UK will be preparing for a much more worrying influenza epidemic this season.

22 Aug 2005

First instance of avian flu (H5N1) occurring in wild migratory birds

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has positively identified the pathogenic form of avian flu--H5N1--in samples taken from birds last week in Mongolia by field veterinarians from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). It is the first instance of this viral strain occurring in wild migratory birds with no apparent contact to domestic poultry or waterfowl.

22 Aug 2005