News tagged with bird flu virus

Virus 'barcodes' offer rapid detection of mutated strains

Researchers at the University of Leeds are developing a way to 'barcode' viral diseases to rapidly test new outbreaks for potentially lethal mutations.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created May 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Panel backs sharing studies of lab-made bird flu

(AP) -- The U.S. government's biosecurity advisers said Friday they support publishing research studies showing how scientists made new easy-to-spread forms of bird flu because the studies, now revised, don't reveal details ...

Other Sciences / Other

created Mar 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 6

Divides emerge in US, world response to mutant flu

A divide has emerged between the United States and the rest of the world on whether to publish or keep secret the details of an engineered mutant bird flu virus that can pass in the air between animals, health experts said ...

Biology / Other

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

US journal editor backs change to bird flu policy

The editor of the US journal Science said Friday he supports the decision of bird flu experts in Geneva to make public controversial research about a mutant form of the H5N1 virus. ...

Other Sciences / Other

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Go-ahead for bird flu study publication after security check (Update)

Bird flu experts meeting in Geneva on Friday ruled that controversial research on a mutant form of the virus potentially capable of being spread among humans should be made public.

Other Sciences / Other

created Feb 17, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Four US swans die from bird flu virus

Four swans found dead in Massachusetts had the bird flu virus, authorities said Wednesday, stressing that the strain was not dangerous to humans.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers show how new viruses evolve, and in some cases, become deadly

(PhysOrg.com) -- In the current issue of Science, researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate how a new virus evolves, which sheds light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutati ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 26, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Bird flu researchers agree to 60-day halt (Update 2)

International scientists on Friday agreed to a temporary two-month halt to controversial research on a bird flu virus that may be easily passed among humans, citing global health concerns.

Other Sciences / Other

created Jan 20, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Controversial 'bird flu' edits move ahead

Top US scientists on Wednesday defended their bid to stop details of a mutant bird flu virus from being published and called for global cooperation to ward off an uncontrollable pandemic.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 22, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Killer flu virus threat over-hyped: Dutch scientist

A top Dutch scientist heading a team which created a mutant killer flu virus Wednesday said the threat to global biosecurity is being overplayed, even if full research results are published.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 21, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Details of lab-made bird flu won't be revealed (Update)

The U.S. government paid scientists to figure out how the deadly bird flu virus might mutate to become a bigger threat to people - and two labs succeeded in creating new strains that are easier to spread.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 20, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (9) | comments 20

Bird flu batters South African ostrich farms

Once filled with hundreds of ostriches, the fields of the Klein Karoo are strangely empty.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 20, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

At least 10 years to eradicate bird flu: UN health agency

It will take at least 10 years to eradicate the H5N1 bird flu virus, which has killed scores of humans, from poultry in the six countries where it is endemic, a UN agency said Thursday.

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created Apr 21, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

WHO announces deal on sharing flu virus samples

The World Health Organisation said Saturday an agreement has been reached on sharing flu virus samples, hammered out after intense negotiations by a group on preparations for flu pandemics.

Medicine & Health / Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

created Apr 17, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Universal flu vaccine study yields success in mice

(PhysOrg.com) -- Adelaide researchers have taken a step closer to the development of a universal flu vaccine, with results of a recent study showing that a vaccine delivered by a simple nasal spray could provide ...

Medicine & Health / Medications

created Feb 18, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1

Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu," A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species. A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1", is the causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as "avian influenza" or "bird flu". It is enzootic in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asia. One strain of HPAI A(H5N1) is spreading globally after first appearing in Asia. It is epizootic (an epidemic in nonhumans) and panzootic (affecting animals of many species, especially over a wide area), killing tens of millions of birds and spurring the culling of hundreds of millions of others to stem its spread. Most references to "bird flu" and H5N1 in the popular media refer to this strain.

According to the FAO Avian Influenza Disease Emergency Situation Update, H5N1 pathogenicity is continuing to gradually rise in endemic areas but the avian influenza disease situation in farmed birds is being held in check by vaccination. Eleven outbreaks of H5N1 were reported worldwide in June 2008 in five countries (China, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam) compared to 65 outbreaks in June 2006 and 55 in June 2007. The "global HPAI situation can be said to have improved markedly in the first half of 2008 [but] cases of HPAI are still underestimated and underreported in many countries because of limitations in country disease surveillance systems".

For more information about Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.