Avian influenza is a group of infectious diseases in birds caused by avian-adapted influenza A viruses (Orthomyxoviridae), characterized by segmented, negative-sense, single-stranded RNA genomes and diverse hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) subtypes. Strains are classified as low or highly pathogenic based on molecular determinants, particularly in the hemagglutinin cleavage site, and associated clinical severity in poultry. Research topics include viral ecology in wild waterfowl reservoirs, transmission dynamics at the wildlife–poultry–human interface, molecular evolution and reassortment, host-range restriction mechanisms, immune escape, and risk assessment for zoonotic spillover and pandemic potential.
An ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza has affected more than 184 million domestic poultry since 2022 and, since making the leap to dairy cattle in spring 2024, more than 1,000 milking cow herds.
Veterinary medicine
Dec 4, 2025
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24
On Heard Island, a remote Australian subantarctic island some 4,000 km southwest of Perth, scientists were concerned after observing high mortality rates in the elephant seal population.
Ecology
Nov 29, 2025
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91
Out on his farm in Dundee Township, Cliff McConville sees geese landing in the fields where his turkeys and chickens graze. It's a sight that often unnerves poultry producers, as migratory waterfowl carry and spread a highly ...
Veterinary medicine
Nov 18, 2025
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44
Since late 2021, a panzootic, or "a pandemic in animals," of highly pathogenic bird flu variant H5N1 has devastated wild birds, agriculture, and mammals. Unlike previous outbreaks, aggressive culling of domestic birds has ...
Veterinary medicine
Nov 13, 2025
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57
The world's largest species of seal has been devastated by bird flu, which has wiped out half of all breeding females at a key wildlife haven near Antarctica, scientists warned Thursday.
Plants & Animals
Nov 13, 2025
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80
Since first being detected in Newfoundland in 2021, a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza, HPAI A(H5Nx), has had a dramatic impact on North America.
Ecology
Nov 10, 2025
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25
Spain will confine poultry indoors in several regions starting Monday in response to escalating cases of avian influenza across Europe, the agriculture ministry said Wednesday.
Veterinary medicine
Nov 6, 2025
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27
A rural legal aid group is suing the California Department of Food and Agriculture for refusing to disclose the locations of dairies infected with H5N1 bird flu.
Agriculture
Nov 5, 2025
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13
The UK government on Tuesday ordered all poultry in England to be kept inside due to escalating cases of avian influenza.
Veterinary medicine
Nov 4, 2025
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24
German authorities said Sunday they have ordered the culling of around 130,000 ducks and chickens on farms near Berlin as the country battles a surge in bird flu cases.
Veterinary medicine
Oct 27, 2025
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30
