Researchers at the University of Southampton, University of Oxford and Retroscreeen Virology Ltd have discovered a series of peptides, found on the internal structures of influenza viruses that could lead to the development of a universal vaccine for influenza, one that gives people immunity against all strains of the disease, including seasonal, avian, and swine […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on February 3rd, 2012 | No Comments »
Researchers at Michigan State University (MSU) have demonstrated how a new virus evolves, shedding light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. The findings appear in the journal Science. The scientists showed for the first time how the virus called “Lambda” evolved to find a new way to attack host […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on January 30th, 2012 | No Comments »
US scientists propose that flu pandemics follow La Niña weather conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The conditions alter bird migration patterns and this promotes new strains of flu (migrating birds are known to be primary pools of human influenza virus)…
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Filed under: Bird Flu on January 21st, 2012 | No Comments »
On Thursday the Vietnamese authorities reported that a duck farmer has died of bird flu, coinciding with reports that a two-year-old boy in Cambodia has also died of the virus this week. The Vietnamese victim died on 11 January. According to the authorities this was the first human death from avian flu for […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on January 21st, 2012 | No Comments »
The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) received notification from the Ministry of Health (MoH) on the 30th December concerning a suspected human case of influenza A (H5N1) in Shenzhen. The man has unfortunately died…
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Filed under: Bird Flu on January 4th, 2012 | No Comments »
Authorities in Hong Kong have banned imports of poultry products from certain places in neighbouring Shenzhen, a major city in the south of Southern China’s Guangdong Province, following the death there of a man confirmed as having the deadly form of bird flu known as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1…
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Filed under: Bird Flu on January 3rd, 2012 | No Comments »
Researchers conducting influenza-like illness surveillance in Cambodia have confirmed a rare incidence of individuals becoming infected with a seasonal influenza and the pandemic strain at the same time, a reminder of the ongoing risk of distinct flu viruses combining in human hosts to produce a more lethal strain, according to a report in the November […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on November 6th, 2011 | No Comments »
The immune response to an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine was greatly enhanced in healthy adults if they were first primed with a DNA vaccine expressing a gene for a key H5N1 protein, researchers say. Their report describes results from two clinical studies conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on October 8th, 2011 | No Comments »
An H5 bird flu (avian flu) outbreak in West Bengal, eastern India has triggered the culling of poultry and eggs, authorities have informed. Infected birds have been reported in the Nadia district of West Bengal, according to India’s Ministry of Agriculture. A mutant bird flu strain is spreading in other parts of Asia…
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Filed under: Bird Flu on September 21st, 2011 | No Comments »
The possibility of a major resurgence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 - also known as bird flu - has prompted the United Nation’s FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) to advise health authorities around the world to step up surveillance and readiness. There are signs that a mutant strain of Bird Flu is making inroads […]
Filed under: Bird Flu on August 30th, 2011 | No Comments »