H5N1 News and Research

Latest H5N1 News and Research

Scientists identify lab-made proteins that neutralize multiple strains of seasonal and pandemic flu

Scientists have identified a small family of lab-made proteins that neutralize a broad range of influenza A viruses, including the H5N1 avian virus, the 1918 pandemic influenza virus and seasonal H1N1 flu viruses.

22 Feb 2009

Scientists identify human monoclonal antibodies effective against bird flu

Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber), Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported the identification of human monoclonal antibodies (mAb) that neutralize an unprecedented range of influenza A viruses, including avian influenza A (H5N1) virus, previous pandemic influenza viruses, and some seasonal influenza viruses.

22 Feb 2009

Fifth bird flu death in China in less than a month

Reports from China's Ministry of Health of a fifth death from bird flu in less than a month shows just how the deadly H5N1 virus remains such a threat.

27 Jan 2009

Bird flu returns to China and claims another life

This latest outbreak has claimed the life of a young woman in eastern China and a young girl in the north of the country remains critically ill.

19 Jan 2009

Widespread antiviral drug use can accelerate the evolution of drug resistance in viruses

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 avian flu infection in humans, scientists say.

7 Jan 2009

Bird flu becoming more resistant to antivirals

A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows the resistance of the avian flu virus to a major class of antiviral drugs is increasing through positive evolutionary selection, with researchers documenting the trend in more than 30 percent of the samples tested.

7 Jan 2009

Bird flu appears again in heavily populated region of India

Another outbreak of deadly bird flu in India has put health authorities on high alert following the deaths of thousands of chickens.

5 Jan 2009

Secrets revealed into devastating 1918 flu pandemic

The secrets of why the 1918 flu pandemic was such a deadly one have been revealed by team of Japanese and American scientists.

30 Dec 2008

Bird flu returns again to Vietnam

Another outbreak of bird flu has hit Vietnam this time affecting the north of the country.

29 Dec 2008

Researchers develop universal influenza vaccine for animals

A University of Maryland-led science team has developed a universal influenza vaccine for animals that may help prevent or delay another human flu pandemic.

14 Dec 2008

Vaxfectin-formulated H5N1 pandemic influenza achieves T-cell responses and cross-clade reactivity in humans

Vical Incorporated has announced that the company's Vaxfectin-formulated H5N1 pandemic influenza DNA vaccines induced T-cell responses against a matching strain of influenza virus and demonstrated cross-clade antibody responses against a different strain in a Phase 1 clinical trial.

11 Dec 2008

Hong Kong on high alert over bird flu outbreak

Concerns that an outbreak of what is suspected to be the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in a wholesale market in Hong Kong, has prompted the culling of tens of thousands of chickens.

10 Dec 2008

Another outbreak of bird flu in Thailand has authorities on high alert

A dead chicken on a backyard farm in northern Thailand has signalled another outbreak of bird flu and comes six months after the country declared itself free of the disease.

11 Nov 2008

H5N1 protein hides in tiny tubules

A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in an online report in the journal Nature.

6 Nov 2008

Ministers urged to rethink rather than repackage $2 billion global response to infectious diseases

As the first globally co-ordinated plan for the planet's gravest health threats is hatched by government ministers from around the world this weekend, a new report sets out a 10-point plan for this new, globalised approach to infectious diseases such as avian flu.

23 Oct 2008

Bird flu appears again in Hong Kong

Bird flu is in the news again following the revelation that a dead crow found recently at a local community in Hong Kong was confirmed to be H5N1 positive.

21 Oct 2008

Universal vaccine could protect people and pets from deadly flu pandemics

A single vaccine could be used to protect chickens, cats and humans against deadly flu pandemics, according to an article published in the November issue of the Journal of General Virology. The vaccine protects birds and mammals against different flu strains and can even be given to birds while they are still in their eggs, allowing the mass vaccination of wild birds.

20 Oct 2008

New test for rapid detection of influenza

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the development of a new test for influenza, which received 510(k) clearance today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

30 Sep 2008

A DNA-based vaccine shows promise against avian flu

Though it has fallen from the headlines, a global pandemic caused by bird flu still has the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert. Yet, to date, the only vaccines that have proven even semi-effective are produced in chicken eggs, take five to six months to prepare and act against a single variant of the H5N1 virus, which mutates incredibly quickly.

30 Sep 2008