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New host species for avian influenza identified
May 11, 2007In a new study published online in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens, Dr. Vincent J. Munster, of Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, and colleagues identify new host species for avian influenza A virus (H5N1) and provide important information on the distinctions between the ecology and epidemiology of various global strains of the virus.
An eight-year surveillance study, which included more than 36,000 wild migratory birds tested for low pathogenic avian influenza, details new data on host species, prevalence, and temporal and geographical variation of avian influenza in wild migratory birds in Europe. Seven previously unknown host species for H5N1 were identified, including four species of goose and the common gull, and dabbling ducks were found to harbor all but two known influenza virus subtypes.
The ecological and epidemiological data provided on influenza A virus should assist both in assessing the risk of the virus spread by wild birds and with the design of new surveillance studies for high and low pathogenic avian influenza in migratory birds.
Public Library of Science
Public Library of Science
Avian Influenza News and Current Avian Influenza Events RSSThe pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses
Since their introduction into land-based birds in 1988, H9N2 avian influenza A viruses have caused multiple human infections and become endemic in domestic poultry in Eurasia.
Booster vaccination may help with possible future avian influenza pandemic
New evidence suggests that a booster vaccination against H5N1 avian influenza given years after initial vaccination with a different strain may prove useful in controlling a potential future pandemic. The study is published in the August 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Newly described 'dragon' protein could be key to bird flu cure
Scientists and researchers have taken a big step closer to a cure for the most common strain of avian influenza, or "bird flu," the potential pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives and infected nearly 400 people in 14 countries since it was identified in 2003.
Battling bird flu by the numbers
A pair of Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have developed a mathematical tool that could help health experts and crisis managers determine in real time whether an emerging infectious disease such as avian influenza H5N1 is poised to spread globally.
New Clorox disinfectant is EPA registered to kill both known types of MRSA
While MRSA has been an issue in healthcare settings for years, CA-MRSA outbreaks in the community have been on the rise, with the greatest risk in community settings such as fitness clubs, in sports teams, at schools and daycare centers.
New strategies against bird flu
The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 killed between 30 and 50 million people. In the infected patients, the ultimate cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).
New vaccine may give long-term defense against deadly bird flu and its variant forms
A new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu and its evolving forms, according to researchers at Purdue University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who discovered the new preventative drug and have tested it in mice.
Scientists create first successful libraries of avian flu virus antibodies
An international group of American and Turkish research scientists, led by Sea Lane Biotechnologies, has created the first comprehensive monoclonal antibody libraries against avian influenza (H5N1) using samples from survivors of the 2005/2006 "bird flu" outbreak in Turkey.
Vaccine for Ebola virus
One of the world's deadliest diseases, caused by the Ebola virus, may finally be preventable thanks to US and Canadian researchers, who have successfully tested several Ebola vaccines in primates and are now looking to adapt them for human use.
Arbor Vita rapid H5N1 flu diagnostic presented at ICEID meeting
Preliminary research from the Department of Respiratory Disease Research at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) suggests that a rapid antigen assay test developed by Arbor Vita Corporation (AVC) shows promise as a useful diagnostic for the detection of the avian influenza virus in humans. Researchers from NHRC reported their findings last week at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID) in Atlanta, Georgia.
More Avian Influenza News Articles
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