Stable flies are the latest suspect that may be involved in the West Nile virus deaths of hundreds of pelican chicks at the Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Montana. West Nile virus killed 800 to 1,000 pelican chicks in 2003, averaged 400 in each of the next three summers and more than 600 this year.
H5N1 influenza, also known as avian influenza, is considered a major global threat to human health, with high fatality rates. While little had been known about the specific effects of H5N1 on organs and cells targeted by the virus, researchers at Beijing University, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and SUNY Downstate report in the September 29, 2007 issue of the Lancet detailed studies of human H5N1 victims that shed light on the anatomic distribution of the virus and its pathogenesis.
Quick identification of avian influenza infection in poultry is critical to controlling outbreaks, but current detection methods can require several days to produce results. A new biosensor developed at the Georgia Tech Research Institute can detect avian influenza in just minutes. In addition to being a rapid test, the biosensor is economical, field-deployable, sensitive to different viral strains and requires no labels or reagents.
All Canadian girls between 9 and 13 years old should receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, according to a new statement by the Canadian Paediatric Society. The CPS also recommends that girls at higher risk of early sexual activity-those who are street-involved, or under the care of child welfare—be targeted.
The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting 14 additional human cases of West Nile virus including a Gallatin County woman in her 80’s who died on September_12. The woman is reported to have become ill in early September.
Smallpox is older than thought, according to results of a new technique reported in the Sept. 24 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Centers for Disease Control.
Paying close attention to how a canary learns a new song has helped scientists open a new avenue of research against Huntington’s disease – a fatal disorder for which there is currently no cure or even a treatment to slow the disease.
Researchers at Texas A&M University are participating in developing a medicine that is worth sneezing about: a treatment for influenza that forms a jelly when sprayed into the nose.
The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is considered the cause of one of the most important sexually transmitted diseases nowadays, and affects both men and women. HPV is so common in our society that only people who have never had sexual relations can be sure that they have not been exposed to this disease.
Defra, UK has confirmed that a third animal has tested positive for Bluetongue. This is on a premises near Lowestoft.