A review to be published shortly in the British Ornithologists’ Union’s journal, Ibis, critically examines the arguments concerning the role of migratory birds in the global dispersal of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1.
Parents might one day give their children a weekly treatment with a nasal spray of virus enzymes to prevent them from getting a severe middle ear infection, based on results of a study done in mice by investigators from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and The Rockefeller University, in New York.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Hawaii will use bioinformatics, grid computing and networking infrastructure, as well as collaborative ties to Asian institutions to learn more about avian flu, in hopes of helping to head off a much-feared pandemic in the region of the world where the disease has already cost human lives.
A review to be published shortly in the British Ornithologists’ Union’s journal, Ibis, critically examines the arguments concerning the role of migratory birds in the global dispersal of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1.
In India, Tripura Government has sounded an alert against bird flu in the wake of reports of the disease in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) released a new report that finds a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the U.S. since World War II. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could drop over 5.5 percent, leading to an estimated $683 billion loss.
Using lysins, a protein from viruses that infect bacteria, scientists have developed a novel way to prevent kids from developing middle ear infections.
On March 16, the Ministry of Health in Laos, officially the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, reported its second human death from infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
On March 19 and March 20, the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population announced new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza infection, both in Aswan Governorate in southern Egypt. The cases were confirmed by the Egyptian Central Public Health Laboratory and U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3 in Cairo.
As the number of human cases of avian influenza confirmed by the World Health Organization (WHO) rises to 281, with new cases reported in Egypt and Laos, WHO and international experts are meeting in Turkey to discuss how best to treat people who become infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 form of the bird flu virus.