H5N1

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Bird Flu Study Shut Down Over Terrorism Fears

Scientists have already determined that it could go airborne

(Newser) - Researchers have temporarily shut down their investigations into a new, potentially devastating form of bird flu, giving in to widespread fear that terrorists might get their hands on the mutated virus. The researchers at Erasmus Medical College in the Netherlands have already determined that the strain, dubbed H5N1, is transmissible...

2 More Birds Found With Flu in Hong Kong

Concerns grow over H5N1 spread

(Newser) - Last month, two dead birds tested positive for the H5N1 virus, prompting Hong Kong authorities to kill some 20,000 more birds; now two more cases have been discovered. Two dead black-headed gulls—frequent winter visitors to the area and discovered separately—were found to have had the disease, fueling...

China Sees First Bird Flu Death in More Than a Year

Bus driver near Hong Kong dies

(Newser) - Let's hope it's an isolated case: A bus driver in southern China has died of the bird flu virus, the nation's first case in more than a year, reports Reuters . It's not clear how he contracted it: The 39-year-old apparently had no contact with poultry before...

UN: Bird Flu Is Back
 UN: Bird Flu Is Back 

UN: Bird Flu Is Back

Virus is on the rise after declining for years

(Newser) - Get ready for a possible resurgence of bird flu: The UN is warning that wild bird migrations have brought the deadly virus to formerly virus-free countries, and adds that a mutant strain of H5N1 is spreading in Asia. The mutant strain can get around the defenses of current vaccines, the...

Bird Flu Hits Hong Kong
 Bird Flu Hits Hong Kong 

Bird Flu Hits Hong Kong

Territory confirms first case since 2003

(Newser) - Bird flu is once again causing a flap in Hong Kong. A woman who recently traveled to mainland China has been diagnosed with the territory's first confirmed case of the disease since 2003, the BBC reports. She has been quarantined in intensive care, and Hong Kong's government has raised its...

Hong Kong Reports Bird Flu Outbreak

(Newser) - Three dead chickens tested positive for bird flu in Hong Kong, prompting the city to suspend poultry imports for 21 days and begin slaughtering tens of thousands of birds, an official said today. "We feel that Hong Kong is facing a new alert for bird flu," said the...

Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting
 Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting 

Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting

Experts fear spread of disease, entrenched in avian population, to humans

(Newser) - The danger of a worldwide bird flu epidemic is growing as the virus becomes established in the avian population, Reuters reports. World Health Organization experts today urged all nations to prepare in case the H5N1 virus mutates into a form easily transferable between humans. In birds, the strain has spread...

S. Korea Culls 3M Birds in Flu Fight

Nation on alert as troops sent in to slaughter poultry

(Newser) - South Korea has sent in soldiers to kill and bury birds as bird flu spreads rapidly throughout the country, Reuters reports. More than 3 million farm birds have been culled so far, but fresh cases continue to be reported and the disease is heading for the capital. The entire country...

Flu Shot May Help Fight Off Bird Flu: Study

Vaccinated patients more likely to have immune response to deadly H5N1 virus

(Newser) - A regular flu shot may offer at least some protection against the bird flu, a new study finds. Researchers tested the blood of 42 volunteers who'd recently gotten flu vaccines, exposing it to the deadly H5N1 avian flu, and found that in some of them, the immune system recognized the...

'US Ill Prepared for Disaster'
'US Ill Prepared for Disaster'

'US Ill Prepared for Disaster'

Study warns of inability to meet emergencies, funding cuts

(Newser) - The US is not prepared for major disasters, including biological attacks and pandemics, and funding to meet such emergencies is falling, according to a new study. Thirteen states don't have adequate plans to distribute vaccines, 12 states don't have systems to track the spread of diseases and 7 states are...

UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K
UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K 

UK Bird Flu Cull Widens to 22K

Culling seen as precautionary; no sign of disease spreading

(Newser) - Some 22,000 more birds are being killed in Britain after an outbreak of bird flu on a turkey farm in Suffolk, northeast of London. The cull has been extended to four nearby sites, although the disease has only been detected at the first farm. "This is a precautionary...

Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm
Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm

Deadly Bird Flu ID'd on UK Farm

Human-transmissible H5N1 strain detected; 6,000 birds killed as precaution

(Newser) - The avian flu that decimated a British turkey farm is the dangerous H5N1 strain, which can spread to humans. Authorities are taking extreme precautions, reports the Telegraph, slaughtering about 6,000 birds and forbidding the transportation of poultry within a 6-mile "surveillance zone.” The H5N1 strain has killed...

Next Up, Locusts: Bird Flu Closes In on Humans

Latest strain may be more dangerous to people

(Newser) - A new mutation of bird flu virus H5N1 allows it to survive in humans, which have cooler body temperatures than birds. The virus doesn’t currently transmit between humans, but the ability to survive in our respiratory tract could start an epidemic, researchers warn. "I don't like to scare...

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