News tagged with avian flu
Four US swans die from bird flu virus
Four swans found dead in Massachusetts had the bird flu virus, authorities said Wednesday, stressing that the strain was not dangerous to humans.
Feb 02, 2012 |
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NSABB and H5N1 redactions: Biosecurity runs up against scientific endeavor
In response to recent actions of the U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB), which recommended that two scientific journals withhold crucial details in upcoming reports about experiments with a novel ...
Jan 31, 2012 |
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Fear gone viral
If you were paying attention to the flap over two recent flu experiments involving ferrets, you may have come away with the impression that scientists all but waved a red flag in front of terrorists and said, "Here's a perfect ...
Jan 20, 2012 |
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Indonesia reports second bird flu death this year
Indonesia on Friday reported its second human death from bird flu this year, with the death of a five-year-old girl who recently lost her relative to the deadly virus.
Jan 20, 2012 |
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WHO 'deeply concerned' by mutant bird flu
The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "deeply concerned" about research into whether the H5N1 flu virus could be made more transmissible between humans after mutant strains were produced in labs.
Dec 31, 2011 |
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Controversial 'bird flu' edits move ahead
Top US scientists on Wednesday defended their bid to stop details of a mutant bird flu virus from being published and called for global cooperation to ward off an uncontrollable pandemic.
Dec 22, 2011 |
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US official says bird flu limits not 'censorship'
Leading US health official Anthony Fauci on Wednesday rejected claims that the United States is censoring science by seeking to limit potentially dangerous bird flu information in major journals.
Dec 21, 2011 |
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Hong Kong culls chickens to battle bird flu
Hong Kong culled 17,000 chickens Wednesday and suspended live poultry imports for 21 days after three birds tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus.
Dec 21, 2011 |
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Details of lab-made bird flu won't be revealed (Update)
The U.S. government paid scientists to figure out how the deadly bird flu virus might mutate to become a bigger threat to people - and two labs succeeded in creating new strains that are easier to spread.
Dec 20, 2011 |
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Catching a coral killer
Coral reefs play an important role in marine ecosystems, so it's concerning to scientists, as well as ocean conservationists, that many coral reefs around the world are in distress or dying off.
Dec 20, 2011 |
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Avian flu breakthrough raises question of potential risk
A University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist who is an expert on the avian flu virus is under federal scrutiny because of concerns his new research may fall into the wrong hands.
Dec 19, 2011 |
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Global flu watch: Report of rare flu coinfection in Southeast Asia hot spot
Researchers conducting influenza-like illness surveillance in Cambodia have confirmed a rare incidence of individuals becoming infected with a seasonal influenza and the pandemic strain at the same time, a reminder of the ...
Nov 02, 2011 |
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In search of virus fossils
Here's a theory for a comedian to consider: dinosaurs done-in by avian flu. Silly as that may be, we imagine that viruses have been infecting organisms since life first appeared on Earth, but this is mostly ...
Oct 19, 2011 |
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Culling more effective than vaccinating
In economic and epidemiological terms, the practice of culling on farms within a radius of 1 to 3 km of infected farms is the best method of combating Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Vaccinating ...
Aug 08, 2011 |
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When well-known flu strains 'hook up' dangerous progeny can result
A new University of Maryland-led study finds that 'sex' between the virus responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1) and a common type of avian flu virus (H9N2) can produce offspring -- new combined flu ...
Jul 13, 2011 |
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Avian influenza
Avian influenza, sometimes avian flu, and commonly bird flu, refers to "influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds." Of greatest concern is highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
"Bird flu" is a phrase similar to "swine flu," "dog flu," "horse flu," or "human flu" in that it refers to an illness caused by any of many different strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host. All known viruses that cause influenza in birds belong to the species influenza A virus. All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of influenza A virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the influenza A virus (note that the "A" does not stand for "avian").
Adaptation is non-exclusive. Being adapted towards a particular species does not preclude adaptations, or partial adaptations, towards infecting different species. In this way strains of influenza viruses are adapted to multiple species, though may be preferential towards a particular host. For example, viruses responsible for influenza pandemics are adapted to both humans and birds. Recent influenza research into the genes of the Spanish flu virus shows it to have genes adapted to both birds and humans; with more of its genes from birds than less deadly later pandemic strains.
For more information about Avian influenza, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
