Clipmarks | invictus's Avian Flu collection

Scientists find bird flu antibody

Tue, 29 May 2007 19:25:28 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks:

Using this technique, we can isolate the cells that make these antibodies so that this antibody can now be reproduced in vitro and eventually massively produced to treat other individuals."

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Scientists find bird flu antibody

It's hoped human trials of the bird flu antibody could begin soon

Antibodies that could protect against bird flu in humans have been isolated by an international team of scientists.

The discovery could lead to treatments that complement flu vaccines in the event of a human epidemic of the virus.

The H5N1 bird flu virus is estimated to have killed more than 180 people around the world since 2003.

Some countries are already stockpiling vaccines for a possible bird flu outbreak in humans, but no one knows how effective they might be.

Tags: avian flu, vaccines, science

WHO: Deadly Bird Flu Virus Mutating

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 21:40:02 GMT

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clipper's remarks: Some thrilling news here...

Clip Source: dsc.discovery.com

WHO: Deadly Bird Flu Virus Mutating

Sept. 28, 2006 — The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu which has killed at least 148 people is showing signs of being able to mutate and develop resistance to the most effective anti-viral drugs and any possible vaccines yet to be produced, a WHO scientist said Thursday.

The H5N1 virus is splitting into genetically different groups, said Mike Perdue, a team leader with WHO's influenza program who took part in a two-day bird flu conference earlier this week sponsored by the U.N. health body.

No vaccine for the H5N1 virus has been produced yet, but scientists are confident they will develop one in future.

Tags: avian flu, bird flu, h5n1, mutation

Indonesian woman dies of bird flu

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 14:09:47 GMT

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Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Indonesian woman dies of bird flu

JAKARTA, Indonesia - A woman has died of bird flu in an Indonesian village where authorities were investigating a possible cluster of human cases of the H5N1 virus, a health official said Sunday.

Laboratory test results confirmed that Euis Lina, 35, had of the disease, said Nyoman Kandun, the Health Ministry's director general of communicable disease control. She died Thursday at a hospital in West Java province's Garut district.

The H5N1 virus has killed at least 141 people worldwide since it began ravaging Asian poultry stocks in late 2003. Indonesia has the highest toll — 46 — and has come under criticism for not trying aggressively enough to stop the disease from spreading.

Tags: avian flu, bird flu, h5n1, indonesia

Avian flu could devastate economy

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 15:46:21 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: "Small and large businesses that depend on foot traffic such as retail establishments would suffer the most as people avoid public places to keep from getting sick."

Clip Source: www.delawareonline.com

Avian flu could devastate economy

Small businesses would suffer the most, but few have a plan

Although the H5N1 virus does not readily spread among humans, experts are calling its spread among wild birds a pandemic.

Nearly everyone agrees avian flu is coming. It is expected to reach wild birds in Alaska in about three weeks and move to the East Coast, including Delaware, by summer.

The arrival of the flu this year does not necessarily signal the start of a human pandemic. People who have contracted the virus mostly consist of poultry farmers or individuals who have direct contact with infected or dead birds. But the virus is constantly changing, and scientists fear it will eventually acquire the ability to easily jump from person to person.

A worst-case scenario -- one in which an avian flu outbreak in humans sweeps the nation -- could have potentially disastrous economic effects.

Both economists and scientists forecast that the country will survive a pandemic. However, the world is so much more interconnected today than it was in years past that the economic impact, at least in the short term, could be devastating.

Small and large businesses that depend on foot traffic such as retail establishments would suffer the most as people avoid public places to keep from getting sick.

Tags: avian flu, pandemic, small business, economy