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U.S. Advisers Explain Call to Censor Bird Flu Research
Posted 13 days ago by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 31 – Concerns that research about a genetically mutated form of bird flu could escape from labs or fall into the hands of bioterrorists led U.S. scientific advisers to ask two prominent journals to withhold key details on the groundbreaking research, the advisers explained Tuesday. The U.S. National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) acknowledged that experiments on the potential threat of H5N1 bird flu "could lead to greater preparedness and potential development of novel strategies for disease control." But, releasing the complete research and results of two scientific papers in full in the journals Nature and Science could expose the United States and other nations to harm, the NSABB said, explaining its request to withhold some data from the public. The NSABB's main concern "is that publishing these experiments in detail would provide information that ... Read more
Related support groups: Avian Influenza
Researchers Agree to Postpone Bird Flu Research
Posted 20 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 20 – Scientists agreed Friday to a 60-day moratorium on research into a modified avian flu virus that has been demonstrated to be more transmissible among mammals. Although the investigators believe their research has a public health benefit, they acknowledge the fear of some governments and others that the genetically altered virus could escape from labs and infect people. This fear has caused a highly unusual debate among governments and scientists over the benefits and risks of the research. Some scientists and biosecurity experts worry that such a mutated virus could trigger a human pandemic that might rival the Spanish flu outbreak of 1918-19 that killed an estimated 20 million and 40 million people worldwide. In a letter appearing Jan. 20 in the journals Nature and Science, 38 researchers, including Yoshihiro Kawaoka from the University of Wisconsin and Ron Fouchier, ... Read more
Related support groups: Avian Influenza
Scientists Find Way to Stop Spread of Bird Flu in Chickens
Posted 13 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 13 – Scientists have developed genetically modified chickens that don't transmit bird flu to other chickens. This achievement could stop bird flu outbreaks from spreading within poultry flocks and possibly reduce the risk of bird flu epidemics that could lead to flu virus epidemics in humans, according to the researchers at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. The scientists developed the chickens by introducing a gene that makes a "decoy" molecule that mimics a crucial control element of the bird flu virus. This molecule interferes with the replication cycle of the virus. When the scientists infected the genetically modified chickens with bird flu, they became sick but did not transmit the virus to other chickens in the same pen. The study is published in the Jan. 14 issue of the journal Science. "Chickens are potential bridging hosts that ... Read more
Related support groups: Avian Influenza
Deadly Hybrid Flu Possible
Posted 22 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Feb. 22 – Research in mice suggests the avian flu virus and the ordinary seasonal flu virus could combine to create a new deadly kind of flu, researchers say. A single bit of genetic material from the seasonal virus converted the avian flu – officially known as H5N1 – into a very dangerous form, the scientists report in a study published in the Feb. 22-26 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Some hybrids between H5N1 virus and seasonal influenza viruses were more pathogenic than the original H5N1 viruses. That is worrisome," study senior author Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a virologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in a news release. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, has killed 262 people, according to the World Health Organization, but it hasn't become very infectious between people. The researchers warn that swine flu – H1N1 – ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Swine Influenza, Avian Influenza, Influenza A
New Weapon May Help Battle Bird Flu
Posted 25 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Dec. 24 – Based on findings in animals, researchers are reporting that a new compound may be a better choice for treating bird flu – also known as avian influenza (H5N1) – than the antiviral Tamiflu. "H5N1 virus is so pathogenic even Tamiflu doesn't protect all the infected animals. This compound works much better, even three days after infection," study senior author Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a University of Wisconsin-Madison virologist, said in a university news release. The researchers tested the compound in mice and found that it was effective against H5N1, seasonal flu and the H1N1 virus. But tests in humans aren't complete: the third phase of testing, in Japan, has yet to begin. The compound, known as T-705, could give doctors a new weapon against strains of flu that are resistant to Tamiflu, the study authors noted. The findings are published online in this week's issue of ... Read more
Related support groups: Avian Influenza
Rapid Test to Detect Bird Flu in People Approved
Posted 8 Apr 2009 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. So far, it hasn't been detected in the Americas, the agency said. In clinical studies, the AVantage test correctly diagnosed the absence of infection in more than 700 samples, ... Read more
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Discovery May Boost Bird Flu Vaccine Potency
Posted 5 Mar 2009 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." Turner and his fellow researchers added a compound known to increase immunity to a flu vaccine. "The addition of this compound promoted significant generation of potent killer T- cell ... Read more
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FDA Medwatch Alert: Fraudulent Avian Flu Therapies
Posted 29 Dec 2005 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
Related support groups: Avian Influenza