All avian influenza articles
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NewsBird flu viruses are resistant to fever, making them a major threat to humans
Bird flu viruses are a particular threat to humans because they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body’s ways of stopping viruses in their tracks, according to new research.
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NewsWild birds are driving the current U.S. bird flu outbreak
Researchers traced the introduction and spread of highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses during the first 18 months in North America using genomic sequencing and migratory flyway analysis, discovering that the viruses were spread primarily by wild migrating birds.
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NewsAI can speed antibody design to thwart novel viruses: study
Artificial intelligence (AI) and “protein language” models can speed the design of monoclonal antibodies that prevent or reduce the severity of potentially life-threatening viral infections, according to a multi-institutional study
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NewsBird flu outbreak in house cats: high-risk but survival possible
Cats can survive bird flu if they receive early care and antiviral treatment with oseltamivir and need not be euthanized in every case, a new study shows.
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NewsStudy of water bodies frequented by wild birds reveals presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in nine in 10 samples
The first UK study to monitor antimicrobial resistance and influenza viruses in water bodies has revealed that 92% of samples contained genes for resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort.
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NewsNew film series ‘The Deadly Five’ highlights global animal infectious diseases
The EU-funded WiLiMan-ID project is excited to announce the launch of a brand-new short film series, The Deadly Five. This series is aimed at raising awareness of five critical animal infectious diseases, classified as high priority.
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NewsPredictive AI model can help build vaccines for future versions of a virus
Researchers have created an AI tool called EVE-Vax that can predict and design viral proteins likely to emerge in the future. For SARS-CoV-2, panels of these “designer” proteins triggered similar immune responses as real-life viral proteins that emerged during the pandemic.
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NewsGlobal review of bird flu in cats points to risk of another pandemic
Bird flu (H5N1) is rapidly evolving into the possibility of a human pandemic, say researchers who have been documenting research on bird flu in cats and calling for urgent surveillance of cats to help avoid human-to-human transmission.
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OpinionIt’s game over for dangerous Gain of Function research
The Trump adminstration has signed an Executive Order halting federal gain of function research on microbes - but does it throw the baby out with the bathwater? Virologist Simon Wain-Hobson, Emeritus Professor with the Pasteur Institute, Paris, gives his take.
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NewsScientists develop nasal spray H5N1 avian influenza vaccine
Scientists have pioneered an influenza virus vector-based nasal spray vaccine platform and developed a nasal spray H5N1 avian influenza vaccine.
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NewsNew carrier birds brought avian flu to Europe, Americas
Unexpected wild species, from pelicans to peregrine falcons, are transporting the virus from poultry farms to new places around the world and changing where the risk of outbreaks is highest.
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NewsUKHSA highlights pathogens of greatest risk to public health in bid to boost preparedness
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has today published its view on the pathogen families that could pose the greatest risk to public health, in a bid to focus and guide preparedness efforts against these threats.
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NewsKilling H5N1 in waste milk — an alternative to pasteurization
Researchers have found that acidification can kill H5N1 in waste milk, providing dairy farmers an affordable, easy-to-use alternative to pasteurization of waste milk.
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NewsHow worried should we be about bird flu? An expert explains.
As U.S. health officials announce that a new strain of avian flu, H5N9, has been discovered on a duck farm in California, UC Berkeley School of Public Health’s John Swartzberg opens up on how much of a threat it poses.
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NewsNew roles in infectious process for molecule that inhibits flu
Researchers have identified new roles for a protein long known to protect against severe flu infection – among them, raising the minimum number of viral particles needed to cause sickness.
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NewsNew risks raise pandemic threat on a global scale: GPMB warning
A plethora of risks increase the likelihood of new pandemics according to a new report from the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB).
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News‘Food theft’ among seabirds could be transmission point for deadly avian flu
The deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus, which has killed millions of birds worldwide since 2021 – and in rare cases can be transmitted to humans – may be spread through the food-stealing behaviour of some seabirds.
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NewsStudy reveals oleoyl-ACP-hydrolase underpins lethal respiratory viral disease
Respiratory infections can be severe, even deadly, in some individuals, but not in others. Scientists have gained new understanding of why this is the case by uncovering an early molecular driver that underpins fatal disease.
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NewsTiny flyers with large impact: Blowflies carry bird flu virus
A new study from a wild bird colony in southern Japan reveals that blowflies are a potential means of bird flu transmission.
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NewsNasal COVID-19 vaccine halts transmission
Next-generation Covid vaccines that target the virus’s points of entry — the nose and mouth — may be able to do what traditional shots cannot: contain the spread of respiratory infections and prevent transmission.