Avian Influenza Blog
Includes: Bird flu, H5N1
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Rapid Test to Detect Bird Flu in People Approved
Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, April 8 – A rapid test to detect the H5N1 strain of avian influenza has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency said in a news release.
The AVantage A/H5N1 Flu Test detects the deadly strain of bird flu using throat or nose swabs from people with flu-like symptoms. It takes less than 40 minutes to yield results, compared with previous tests that take three or four hours, the FDA said.
While the strain of bird flu has proven difficult to pass between fowl and people, experts worry that the virus will mutate and pose the threat of a human pandemic. The World Health Organization has recorded 412 confirmed cases of human infection with H5N1, mostly in Asia and Northern Africa. Read more...
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Discovery May Boost Bird Flu Vaccine Potency
Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, March 5 – Boosting T-cell immunity may be one way to improve existing vaccines so that they can protect people during a bird flu pandemic, says an Australian study.
"The 'killer T-cell' is the hit-man of the immune system. It is able to locate and destroy virus-infected cells in our body, helping rid us of infections," the study's lead author, Stephen Turner, from the microbiology and immunology department at the University of Melbourne, said in a university news release.
"Unfortunately, current influenza vaccines are poor at inducing killer T-cell immunity," he said. "Therefore, we wanted to see if we could improve the current vaccine formulation to induce killer T-cells after vaccination." Read more...
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FDA Medwatch Alert: Fraudulent Avian Flu Therapies
Posted 3+ months ago by Drugs.com
[Posted 12/29/2005] FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients that it issued warning letters to nine companies marketing bogus flu products behind claims that their products could be effective against preventing the avian flu or other forms of influenza. FDA is not aware of any scientific evidence that demonstrates the safety or effectiveness of these products for treating or preventing avian flu and the agency is concerned that the use of these products could harm consumers or interfere with conventional treatments.
Read more...
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