Related topics: swine flu , virus , bird flu , h5n1
Avian influenza
hideAvian 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.
News tagged with avian flu
Predicting and tracking pandemics: HealthMap.org tracking H1N1 flu hot spots in real time
Apr 30, 2009 |
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At the end of July 2008, major news agencies reported an outbreak of jalapeño-related salmonella that sickened more than 1,000 people in Mexico and the United States. It was the biggest outbreak of its kind ...
Scientists put interactive flu tracking at public's fingertips
Nov 16, 2009 |
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New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University ...
Avian influenza strain primes brain for Parkinson's disease
Aug 10, 2009 |
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At least one strain of the H5N1 avian influenza virus leaves survivors at significantly increased risk for Parkinson's disease and possibly other neurological problems later in life, according to new research from St. Jude ...
Swine flu joins list of animal diseases that affect people
Apr 29, 2009 |
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The swine flu virus that is smoldering in this country and triggering a full-blown outbreak in Mexico is one of a growing number of animal pathogens to jump the species barrier -- and may be the microbe that jumpstarts the ...
Avian Flu Research Sheds Light on Swine Flu Outbreak (w/Podcast)
Apr 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study by University of Maryland researchers suggests that the potential for an avian influenza virus to cause a human flu pandemic is greater than previously thought. Results also illustrate ...
Deadly bird flu virus found in wild goose in Germany
Mar 10, 2009 |
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German authorities have discovered the first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus this year, the European Commission announced Tuesday.
Shades of 1918? New study compares avian flu with a notorious killer from the past
Biology /
Feb 10, 2009 |
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In the waning months of the First World War, a lethal virus known as the Spanish flu (influenza A, subtype H1N1), swept the United States, Europe and Asia in three convulsive waves. The year was 1918. The ...
Study: Excessive use of antiviral drugs could aid deadly flu
Jan 07, 2009 |
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Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread ...
Predicting pandemics: HealthMap.org tracks emerging hot spots in real time
Dec 24, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- At the end of July 2008, major news agencies reported an outbreak of jalapeño-related salmonella that sickened more than 1,000 people in Mexico and the United States. It was the biggest outbreak ...
Penn animal study identifies new DNA weapon against avian flu
Jul 01, 2008 |
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Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu. By delivering vaccine via DNA constructed to build antigens against flu, along with a minute ...
New 3-D structural model of critical H1N1 protein developed
May 22, 2009 |
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Singapore scientists report an evolutionary analysis of a critical protein produced by the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus strain in Biology Direct journal's May 20 issue.
Debate over speed vs. deliberation in developing vaccines heats up
Medicine & Health / Medications
May 03, 2009 |
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One week into the race to catch up with the swine flu virus, here's the score: Virus, hundreds. Vaccine, zero. While the virus has moved with lightning speed to four continents, U.S. authorities are debating whether to make ...
'Rational drug design' identifies fragments of FDA-approved drugs relevant to emerging viruses
Dec 06, 2009 |
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A massive, data-crunching computer search program that matches fragments of potential drug molecules to the known shapes of viral surface proteins has identified several FDA-approved drugs that could be the basis for new ...
Words matter in public health
Aug 07, 2009 |
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Giving people a sense of being in control is an important element in health messages, according to researchers at Nottingham and De Montfort universities. The research, which was funded by the Economic and Social Research ...
Humans are responsible for swine flu
May 01, 2009 |
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Swine flu. Bird flu. Mad cow disease. SARS. These diseases have all spread from animals to humans in one form or another. But animals aren't to blame for outbreaks of animal-borne diseases -- humans are.
