http://www.medindia.net/healthnews/Bird-flu-news.asp Medindia largest health website in india. en-us Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved. Fri, 25 May 2012 04:32:10 GMT http://www.medindia.net/news/mutant-bird-flu-studys-publication-given-go-ahead-by-dutch-100656-1.htm A top scientist has received permission from the Dutch government to publish a research paper in the United States on a mutant killer flu virus. "Deputy Minister Henk Bleker approved a permit for the publication of the research done by professor Ron Fouchier on the H5N1 bird flu virus," his spokeswoman Cindy Heijdra told AFP. Dutch approval comes after a panel of US science and security experts last month said two papers on the deadly flu should be published in the US-based Science journal, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/mutant-bird-flu-studys-publication-given-go-ahead-by-dutch-100656-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/author-says-mutant-bird-flu-not-as-lethal-as-thought-99750-1.htm Experts agreed to publish the paper on mutant bird flu strain only after he explained that the virus was "much less lethal" than previously feared, an author has said. A panel of US science and security experts on Friday said two papers on mutant viruses should be published after all, reversing its earlier decision to withhold key details. Professor Ron Fouchier of the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, author of one of the papers, told journalists in London that his revised version addressed ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/author-says-mutant-bird-flu-not-as-lethal-as-thought-99750-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/vietnam-struggling-to-combat-new-cases-of-bird-flu-99548-1.htm Vietnam is still struggling with new cases of the disease even though they have successfully contained the fatal bird flu outbreak that raged in the late 2000s. Since January, bird flu outbreaks have occurred in 14 provinces. About 65,000 chicken and ducks have died or been culled. Authorities have confirmed four human cases, of which two have been fatal. It's a long way from the peak in 2003 to 2009 when the virus infected millions of fowl and killed 57 people -- making Vietnam the second ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/vietnam-struggling-to-combat-new-cases-of-bird-flu-99548-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/mutant-bird-flu-studies-are-freed-for-publication-99513-1.htm US experts give nod to publish two papers on a mutant bird flu. The announcement came after the latest research and revisions to the papers led by a Dutch and a US team of scientists were reviewed by the nongovernmental US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). The US experts had previously opposed publishing the research -- which showed how an engineered H5N1 flu virus could pass easily in the air between ferrets -- over fears it could end up in the wrong hands and unleash a deadly flu pandemic....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/mutant-bird-flu-studies-are-freed-for-publication-99513-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/vietnam-approves-23-million-to-tackle-bird-flu-99225-1.htm The government of Vietnam has approved a new fund of 23-million-dollar to fight bird flu, the health ministry said. The fund, made up of 13 million dollars of aid and 10 million dollars in loans from donors, aims to improve co-ordination between officials in the health and agricultural sectors, according to the ministry's website. "Bird flu broke out again this year with complex and unpredictable signs," it quoted Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long as saying. "There is currently ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/vietnam-approves-23-million-to-tackle-bird-flu-99225-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/cause-of-bird-flu-outbreak-to-be-probed-99031-1.htm The Tripura government has decided to urge the central government to send special expert teams to study the outbreaks of bird flu in the state. "Sporadic outbreak of bird flu has been badly affecting the poultry industry in the northeastern states, bordering Bangladesh, where avian influenza is rampant in many districts," Animal resources development department director Manoranjan Sarkar told IANS. He said: "In view of the intermittent outbreak of bird flu influenza, the state government ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/cause-of-bird-flu-outbreak-to-be-probed-99031-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/new-h5n1-viruses-debate-continues-on-risks-and-benefits-of-research-98434-1.htm Scientists and policy makers are pondering on what level of biosafety is best for studying the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses. In a pair of commentaries, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses. The commentaries will be published in imBio (Regd) /i, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on Tuesday, March 6. This fall, the U....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/new-h5n1-viruses-debate-continues-on-risks-and-benefits-of-research-98434-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/h5n1-flu-needs-to-be-tackled-on-emergency-basis-98111-1.htm A new commentary has stressed that there is a need to focus on how we can safely continue H5N1 research and share the results among researchers rather than debate about the potential severity of an outbreak of airborne H5N1 influenza in humans. The commentary is to be published in ImBio/I (Regd) , the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on Friday, February 24. H5N1 influenza has been at the center of heated discussions in science and policy circles since the U....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/h5n1-flu-needs-to-be-tackled-on-emergency-basis-98111-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-alert-for-bihar-98030-1.htm After reports of large number of crows dying from bird flu, Bihar on Sunday sounded an alert of possible spread of avian influenza. The health department has directed all district civil surgeons to keep in touch with the district animal husbandry department and follow the advise of its director. "The civil surgeons have been asked to prepare and keep a rapid response team to meet an influenza breakout and report unnatural human deaths immediately," a health department official said. Last ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-alert-for-bihar-98030-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-more-common-less-lethal-than-thought-study-97934-1.htm A US study has suggested that bird flu which was believed to be a rare disease, may be more common and less lethal than previously thought. The research could help soothe concerns about the potential for a deadly pandemic that may kill many millions of people, sparked by the recent lab creation of a mutant bird flu that can pass between mammals. Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York analyzed 20 previous international studies that tested the blood of nearly 13,000 participants worldwide....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-more-common-less-lethal-than-thought-study-97934-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-studies-is-best-kept-a-secret-97852-1.htm Bird flu studies will be published only after the WHO receives a green signal from scientists about the safety of such documents in the light of the risks of bioterrorism. Talking to reporters after a high-level meeting of flu experts and U.S. security officials in Geneva, a WHO spokesman said an agreement had been reached in principle to keep details of the controversial work secret until deeper risk analyses have been carried out, Fox News reported. The WHO called the meeting to break ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-studies-is-best-kept-a-secret-97852-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-claims-third-victim-in-indonesia-97823-1.htm Indonesia reports third human death from bird flu virus this year. Concerns about avian influenza have risen in the region with China, Cambodia and Vietnam all reporting deaths from the H5N1 virus this year. The latest Indonesian victim died on February 13, a day after being admitted to a hospital in Tangerang district on the outskirts of the capital Jakarta, the ministry said. Tests on the victim after she died confirmed she had contracted the virus, but a health ministry team ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-claims-third-victim-in-indonesia-97823-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/threat-of-mutant-bird-flu-debated-by-scientists-at-who-97641-1.htm Scientists convened discretely in Geneva on Thursday to discuss if a controversial research on a mutant form of bird flu is competent of being dispersed among humans can be announced to the public. The two-day gathering at the World Health Organization (WHO) was called to discuss the studies on the H5N1 virus which international scientists halted on January 20, citing fears of devastation if it were to escape the laboratory. The WHO is expected to report on any decision made at the meeting late Friday....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/threat-of-mutant-bird-flu-debated-by-scientists-at-who-97641-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-scare-in-bhubaneswar-97032-1.htm Movement of poultry and related products from an area in Bhubaneswar has been banned by Odisha government following a bird flu case reported in the city. The state authorities had recently sent three poultry samples from the government-run Central Poultry Development Organisation (CPDO) to the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL) in Bhopal after several chickens suddenly died. One of these samples tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus, state animal resources ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/bird-flu-scare-in-bhubaneswar-97032-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/newly-designed-highly-transmissible-h5n1-strain-sparks-controversy-on-balancing-scientific-discovery-and-public-safety-96778-1.htm New strain of H5N1, commonly known as bird flu, to be readily transmitted among humans has been engineered by scientists. Two perspectives being published early online in iAnnals of Internal Medicine/i, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians, raise concerns about if and how this research should be continued, and how the data should be shared for the benefit of public health. The currently circulating H5N1 virus has an extremely high case-fatality rate, killing about 60 percent of the over 500 confirmed human cases....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/newly-designed-highly-transmissible-h5n1-strain-sparks-controversy-on-balancing-scientific-discovery-and-public-safety-96778-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/One-More-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-in-China-96454-1.htm A man in southwest China who contracted the bird flu virus died on Sunday, the second human death in just under a month, state media reported. The victim fell ill on January 6 and was subsequently admitted to hospital in Guiyang -- capital of Guizhou province -- where his condition rapidly deteriorated, the official Xinhua news agency said. Tests confirmed he had contracted the H5N1 avian influenza virus, it added. The Hong Kong Department of Health said in a statement Sunday it had ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/One-More-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-in-China-96454-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Finally-Bird-Flu-Researchers-Agree-to-2-Month-Halt-96411-1.htm A temporary two-month halt to controversial research on a bird flu virus that may be easily passed among humans has been agreed to by international scientists. Two separate teams of researchers, one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States, found ways late last year to engineer the H5N1 virus so that it was transmitted among mammals, something that has previously been rare. The breakthrough raised alarm that the method could fall into the wrong hands and unleash a massive flu ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Finally-Bird-Flu-Researchers-Agree-to-2-Month-Halt-96411-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Experts-Say-Effects-of-Tamiflu-Still-Uncertain-96317-1.htm Experts have warned that the safety and effectiveness of Tamiflu remains uncertain two years after Roche promised the iBMJ/i it would release key Tamiflu trial data for independent scrutiny. A new report by the Cochrane Collaboration says Roche's refusal to provide full access to all its data leaves critical questions about how well the drug works unresolved. A iBMJ/i investigation, published to coincide with today's report, also raises serious concerns about access to drug data, ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Experts-Say-Effects-of-Tamiflu-Still-Uncertain-96317-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/China-Advises-Calm-After-Death-by-Bird-Flu-95603-1.htm Southern China Health authorities are advising people to stay calm after a man who infected with bird flu virus died over the weekend, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. The man, surnamed Chen, died on Saturday in Shenzhen -- a boomtown that borders Hong Kong where thousands of chickens have already been culled after three birds tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus in mid-December. The Shenzhen Disease Control Centre confirmed that Chen, a bus driver, had contracted ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/China-Advises-Calm-After-Death-by-Bird-Flu-95603-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Mutant-Bird-Flu-Triggers-Deep-Concern-in-WHO-95552-1.htm Concerns have been expressed by the World Health Organization (WHO) about research into whether the H5N1 flu virus could be made more transmissible between humans. This was after mutant strains were produced in labs. Two separate research teams -- one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States -- have found ways to alter the H5N1 avian influenza so it could pass easily between mammals. Two top scientific journals said on Tuesday they were mulling whether to publish full details ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Mutant-Bird-Flu-Triggers-Deep-Concern-in-WHO-95552-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bus-Driver-In-China-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-95527-1.htm A bus driver in southern China who contracted the bird flu virus died Saturday, health authorities said, in the nation's first reported human case of the deadly disease in 18 months. The man, surnamed Chen, died in Shenzhen -- a boomtown that borders Hong Kong where thousands of chickens have already been culled after three birds tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus in mid-December. He developed a fever on December 21 and was taken to hospital four days later, and diagnosed ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bus-Driver-In-China-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-95527-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Chinese-Man-Tested-Positive-For-Lethal-Bird-Flu-Strain-95502-1.htm A 39-year-old man, in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, is stated to be critical after testing positive for the lethal H5N1 bird flu, according to a report. The city borders Hong Kong, which has culled thousands of chickens and ordered a suspension of live poultry imports from China after three birds tested positive with the strain in mid-December. The man, a bus driver surnamed Chen, was hospitalised with a fever on December 21 and tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus in Shenzhen's ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Chinese-Man-Tested-Positive-For-Lethal-Bird-Flu-Strain-95502-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Official-Rejects-Bird-Flu-Censorship-Charges-95208-1.htm Allegations on the United States censoring science in an attempt to limit likely dangerous bird flu information in key journals has been rejected by top US health official Anthony Fauci on Wednesday. The controversy arose when two separate research teams -- one in the Netherlands and the other in the United States -- separately found ways to alter the H5N1 avian influenza so it could pass easily between mammals. Until now, bird flu has been rare in humans, but particularly fatal in those who do get sick....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/US-Official-Rejects-Bird-Flu-Censorship-Charges-95208-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Battle-Heats-Up-With-17000-Chickens-Culled-in-Hong-Kong-95116-1.htm After three birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus, Hong Kong culled 17,000 chickens Wednesday and suspended live poultry imports for 21 days. Health chief York Chow announced the measures late Tuesday after a dead chicken at the city's main wholesale market and two wild birds tested positive for the virus, which can be fatal to humans. Authorities raised the bird flu alert level to "serious" and suspended live poultry imports while they trace the origin of the ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Battle-Heats-Up-With-17000-Chickens-Culled-in-Hong-Kong-95116-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Hong-Kong-School-Shut-After-Bird-Flu-Scare-94894-1.htm A school in Hong Kong was forced to close on Friday after bird flu scare, according to official sources. The school was shut after a bird found in the southern Chinese city was tested positive for the deadly H5 strain of the bird flu virus. The closure came after the school clerk, a 48-year-old woman, picked up the sick black-headed gull at the school on Tuesday, which died the next day and was tested positive for the H5 strain, a health department spokesman told AFP. She picked up the bird ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Hong-Kong-School-Shut-After-Bird-Flu-Scare-94894-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/World-Sounds-Alarm-After-Dutch-Lab-Mutates-Fatal-Bird-Flu-Virus-94553-1.htm Health ministers worldwide say they are being vigilant after Dutch scientists claim to have developed a mutant version of the bird flu virus, which may be lethal for humans. "We need to be very vigilant. This is something that we talked about a lot this morning," French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSI) in Paris. The GHSI comprises the G7 group of industrialised nations along with Mexico, the European Union's ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/World-Sounds-Alarm-After-Dutch-Lab-Mutates-Fatal-Bird-Flu-Virus-94553-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Kathmandu-Culled-500-Birds-After-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-94192-1.htm A health official in Kathmandu confirmed that hundreds of chicken and ducks were culled following the first reported outbreak of bird flu. "Over 500 chickens and ducks have been slaughtered in the last three days. We also destroyed dozens of eggs and several kilos of poultry feed," government health official Narayan Prasad Ghimire told AFP. Ghimire said a rapid response team was mobilised in the area on the outskirts of Kathmandu to prevent the virus spreading to other parts of the city....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Kathmandu-Culled-500-Birds-After-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-94192-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Avian-Flu-Vaccine-More-Efficient-When-Primed-With-H5N1-DNA-Vaccine-91510-1.htm The immune response to an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine was greatly enhanced in healthy adults if they were first primed with a DNA vaccine expressing a gene for a key H5N1 protein, researchers say. Their report describes results from two clinical studies conducted by researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. A majority of study volunteers who received the DNA vaccine 24 weeks before receiving a booster vaccine ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Avian-Flu-Vaccine-More-Efficient-When-Primed-With-H5N1-DNA-Vaccine-91510-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Outbreak-in-West-Bengal-90891-1.htm Bird flu outbreak has been confirmed in poultry samples in West Bengal's Nadia District. Samples forwarded to the ERDDL, Kolkata and High Security Animal Disease Laboratory (HSADL), Bhopal have tested positive for H5 strain of avian influenza. According to an official statement, it has been decided to immediately commence the culling of birds and destruction of eggs and feed material to control further spread of the disease. "It has also been decided that the entire poultry will be culled within a radius of 3 kms....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Outbreak-in-West-Bengal-90891-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Vietnam-No-Threat-of-Bird-Flu-90217-1.htm In Vietnam, a mutant strain of deadly bird flu H5N1 virus does not appear to pose an increased risk to human health, says United Nations. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) last week voiced concern about the appearance in Vietnam and China of the strain, warning of "a possible major resurgence" of the virus, which developed into a pandemic in 2009. After Indonesia, Vietnam has recorded the highest number of human deaths from bird flu, with 59 since 2003, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Vietnam-No-Threat-of-Bird-Flu-90217-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Warning-on-Mutant-Bird-Flu-89837-1.htm A new mutant strain of the deadly bird flu H5N1 virus is spreading across China and Vietnam, warns the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The Rome-based organisation said it was concerned about "the appearance in China and Vietnam of a variant virus able to sidestep the defences provided by existing vaccines," adding that the new strain was known as H5N1 - 2.3.2.1. "Virus circulation in Vietnam poses a direct threat to Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia as well as endangering ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Warning-on-Mutant-Bird-Flu-89837-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Oral-Interferon-may-Reduce-Bird-Flu-Infection-88422-1.htm Oral chicken interferon-alpha may reduce and prevent avian influenza virus levels, finds study in Journal of Interferon (and) Cytokine Research. Avian influenza virus is a threat to the commercial chicken industry and, with its recent rapid spread across China, has also shown the ability for transmission from chickens to humans and other mammals. Chickens can serve as a reservoir for epidemic avian viruses such as avian influenza virus (AIV), which can then be transmitted to mammals such as humans....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Oral-Interferon-may-Reduce-Bird-Flu-Infection-88422-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/EU-Steps-in-to-Contain-Bird-Flu-at-S-African-Ostrich-Farms-85237-1.htm The European Commission has sent animal health experts to South Africa to help authorities there contain an avian flu outbreak that has put a halt to ostrich meat exports. The emergency veterinary team arrived on Wednesday, following the discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in ostrich farms in the Western Cape province, the commission said Thursday. The outbreak was first detected on April 9 in Klein Karoo Valley and in the following weeks the disease "spread further in ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/EU-Steps-in-to-Contain-Bird-Flu-at-S-African-Ostrich-Farms-85237-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Eradication-Will-Take-at-Least-10-Years-83983-1.htm A UN agency said on Thursday that 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. The strain of the avian influenza virus was reported in 60 countries at its peak in 2006 but most had managed to stamp it out, the Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a report. It however remained "firmly entrenched" in Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Vietnam, including because ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Eradication-Will-Take-at-Least-10-Years-83983-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Tripura-Starts-Culling-of-Chickens-After-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-81927-1.htm Veterinaries in Tripura have started the process of culling chickens, after an outbreak of Avian Influenza or bird flu in the state. Veterinarians began the culling on Monday in the state-owned poultry farm in Gandhigram, about 30 kilometres from state capital Agartala. The poultry farm is one of the main chicken breeding centres in the state with a capacity of about 7,000 chickens. Officials said about 380 birds had died between the March 1 and March 4, after which samples were sent ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Tripura-Starts-Culling-of-Chickens-After-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-81927-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Thousands-of-Ducks-Slaughtered-in-Tripura-to-Contain-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-81358-1.htm Nearly 3000 ducks have been slaughtered in Tripura following confirmation of a bird flu outbreak on a duck farm in the north-eastern region. As a precautionary measure, poultry within 3km radius of the duck farm have also been slaughtered. Eggs and feed close to the site have been destroyed as a precaution. Ricky Thaper, Poultry Federation of India treasurer, said, "There is no likelihood of the disease spreading to other areas, as Tripura state is in one corner of the country and not much poultry is produced in the state....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Thousands-of-Ducks-Slaughtered-in-Tripura-to-Contain-Bird-Flu-Outbreak-81358-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Outbreak-in-Tripura-81110-1.htm After a gap of 2-years the dreaded bird flu or avian influenza (H1N1) has reappeared in Tripura. Specialists of the animal resource department fear rapid escalation of the disease. With this outbreak India has lost the bird flu-free status it had acquired in June 2, 2010. Today they have culled 2,500 ducks in the government-run poultry farm located at RK Nagar, 8km east of Agartala as the ducks there died intermittently after suffering from high fever. Tomorrow doctors will cull ducks and chicken ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Outbreak-in-Tripura-81110-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Japan-Sounds-High-Alert-As-Bird-Flu-Spreads-79996-1.htm Japanese health officials began culling of 150,000 chickens in the central region of Aichi, in order to curb the spread of bird flu outbreak. Since November Japan has confirmed five cases of bird flu at farms in four of the country's 47 prefectures. Some 600,000 chickens have been culled. The flu has also hit Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures on southwestern Kyushu island, which are major poultry farming areas. In Miyazaki, a foot-and-mouth outbreak last year forced the slaughter of almost 300,000 farm animals....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Japan-Sounds-High-Alert-As-Bird-Flu-Spreads-79996-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Modification-in-Chicken-to-Prevent-Bird-Flu-Epidemics-79667-1.htm Bird flu epidemics could be prevented because of the genetic modifications made in chickens by European scientists so that they do not transmit bird flu. This research was carried out by scientists from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh. These modified chickens can get infected with bird flu but could not pass it on to other chickens. However the scientists have noted that these birds they have developed are only for research purposes and are not to be eaten by people. Bird flu is also known as H5N1 avian influenza....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Genetic-Modification-in-Chicken-to-Prevent-Bird-Flu-Epidemics-79667-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/South-Korea-Confirms-Lethal-Bird-Flu-in-Wild-Duck-78868-1.htm One of five wild ducks found dead in South Korea this week was confirmed Saturday to have been infected with a lethal strain of the bird flu virus as the country battles its first outbreak in over two years. Tests showed one of the five dead birds found in Sacheon City on December 26 had been stricken with the H5N1 virus, the agriculture ministry said in a statement. The same strain -- which poses a risk to humans -- has also been detected in wild birds and their faeces at four other locations ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/South-Korea-Confirms-Lethal-Bird-Flu-in-Wild-Duck-78868-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Dead-Bird-Tests-Positive-For-Bird-Flu-In-Hong-Kong-78429-1.htm Hong Kong authorities confirmed Thursday that a dead bird found in the southern Chinese territory had tested positive for the H5 strain of the bird flu virus. A government spokeswoman told AFP that laboratory tests had confirmed the highly decomposed chicken carcass found on the seashore of an island in the territory on December 18 carried the deadly strain. In a press release a spokesman said the Hong Kong government was "concerned about the incident and will continue to monitor the situation"....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Dead-Bird-Tests-Positive-For-Bird-Flu-In-Hong-Kong-78429-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/First-Human-Bird-Flu-Case-Since-2003-Confirmed-in-Hong-Kong-76853-1.htm First case of bird flu in humans in seven years has been confirmed in Hong Kong, with a 59-year-old woman in a serious condition after a visit to mainland China, health officials said Thursday. The government has raised Hong Kong's bird flu alert to "serious", meaning there is a "high risk" of contracting the potentially fatal disease, a spokesman for the Department of Health told AFP. Hong Kong recorded its last case of bird flu in humans in 2003, and had the world's first major outbreak ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/First-Human-Bird-Flu-Case-Since-2003-Confirmed-in-Hong-Kong-76853-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Backs-Tamiflu-As-First-Option-In-Relieving-Flu-Symptoms-76189-1.htm In adults with seasonal influenza A virus infection, the combination of the drugs oseltamivir (tamiflu) and zanamivir (relenza) is less effective than oseltamivir monotherapy and not significantly more effective than zanamivir monotherapy. This key finding comes from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial- in adults presenting with influenza symptoms at general practices throughout France during the seasonal influenza epidemic in 2008-2009- carried out by Catherine Leport from the University ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Study-Backs-Tamiflu-As-First-Option-In-Relieving-Flu-Symptoms-76189-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Pneumonia-Prevented-by-Tamiflu-74698-1.htm Tamiflu could have been helpful in preventing pneumonia in patients who had been attacked by swine flu in the 2009 pandemic, states a Chinese study. The researchers also show that the antiviral viral drug oseltamivir's treatment was associated with shorter duration of fever and viral RNA shedding (the period when a virus is contagious), although they stress that their findings should be interpreted with caution. Researchers reviewed the medical records of 1,291 ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Pneumonia-Prevented-by-Tamiflu-74698-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Animals-Infected-With-Bird-Flu-Detected-by-Biosensors-on-4-Feet-73135-1.htm An unusual experiment in which scientists trained mice to identify feces of ducks infected with bird influenza means that disease detector dogs may soon be a reality. Migrating ducks, geese, and other birds can carry and spread flu viruses over wide geographic areas, where the viruses may possibly spread to other species. Reported here today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), the proof-of-concept study may pave the way for development of biosensors-on-four-feet ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Animals-Infected-With-Bird-Flu-Detected-by-Biosensors-on-4-Feet-73135-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Discover-New-Mechanism-of-Bird-Flu-Virus-Transmission-70569-1.htm A new way of avian influenza circulation and transmission has been discovered by American researchers. Led by Mauro Delogu, virologist from the Veterinary Faculty of the Bologna University and researchers from the Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee), the study offers new insights into ecology, surveillance and prevention strategies of avian influenza viruses (AIVs). And ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Discover-New-Mechanism-of-Bird-Flu-Virus-Transmission-70569-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Pregnant-Chinese-Woman-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-69798-1.htm A young pregnant woman has died of bird flu, China's Health Ministry said, the first reported fatality from the virus since early last year. The 22-year-old, who was four months pregnant, contracted the illness in late May and died last Thursday in the central province of Hubei, a notice on the ministry's website said. She was diagnosed with avian influenza (H5N1) a day before dying, it said. An investigation by China's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention found that the woman had ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Pregnant-Chinese-Woman-Succumbs-to-Bird-Flu-69798-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Explain-Molecular-Changes-That-Helped-Tamiflu-Resistance-69704-1.htm A molecular explanation for the evolution of Tamiflu resistance has been revealed by American biologists. The study, led by David Baltimore, California Institute of Technology's Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology and postdoctoral scholar Jesse D. Bloom, appears in the journal Science. Tamiflu and other antiviral drugs directly target viruses, unlike vaccines, which instead stimulate our body's immune system to respond to the pathogens after an infection is established....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Scientists-Explain-Molecular-Changes-That-Helped-Tamiflu-Resistance-69704-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/H5N1-Pandemic-may-be-Prevented-by-Chicken-Antibodies-67939-1.htm Antibodies in common eggs laid by hens vaccinated against the H5N1 virus can potentially prevent a possible H5N1 pandemic, new research has shown. According to researchers, their finding raises the possibility that the same principle could be applied to the current H1N1 influenza pandemic. The research team, led by Dr. Huan Huu Nguyen at the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) and those at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tested the efficacy of the avian antibodies ...]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/H5N1-Pandemic-may-be-Prevented-by-Chicken-Antibodies-67939-1.htm http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Still-Remains-a-Threat-to-Humanity-WHO-66819-1.htm Bird flu outbreaks that have killed seven people in several countries so far this year show the virus remains a threat to humans, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Wednesday. "The newly confirmed human and poultry cases of avian influenza this year are a reminder that the virus poses a real and continuous threat to human health," the WHO said in a statement. One danger is that bird flu, also known as H5N1, may mutate, warned Takeshia Sakai, the WHO's regional adviser for communicable diseases....]]> http://www.medindia.net/news/Bird-Flu-Still-Remains-a-Threat-to-Humanity-WHO-66819-1.htm