Avian Bird Flu News

 

$300,000 CIHR Grant Awarded To Medicago, The Research Institute Of The MUHC And McGill University

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have awarded a $300,000 grant for research focusing on the nature of the immune response induced by the action mechanisms of plant-made Virus-Like Particles (VLP) to Dr. Louis Vezina, Chief Scientific Officer of Medicago and to Dr. Brian Ward and

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Inovio Biomedical H5N1 Avian Influenza DNA Vaccine Receives Korean Approval To Begin Clinical Trials

Inovio Biomedical Corporation (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced that its affiliate VGX International Inc. (Korean Stock Exchange: 011000) has received approval in Korea to begin a Phase I clinical trial in healthy volunteers for Inovio's SynCon™ preventive DNA vaccine (VGX-3400) targeting H5N1 avian

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News From The Journals Of The American Society For Microbiology

Campylobacter Bacteria in Cattle Manure May Survive Composting Contrary to popular belief, some disease causing bacteria may actually survive the composting

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Pandemic Hybrid Of Bird And Human Seasonal Flu Possible Say Scientists

An international team of scientists has created a highly pathogenic laboratory hybrid of the H5N1 bird flu and human seasonal flu viruses by swapping just one gene, and propose that a similar genetic interaction could happen in nature between the current pandemic H1N1 swine flu and H5N1 avian flu strains, highlighting the importance of continued

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Virus Hybridization Could Create Pandemic Bird Flu

Genetic interactions between avian H5N1 influenza and human seasonal influenza viruses have the potential to create hybrid strains combining the virulence of bird flu with the pandemic ability of H1N1, according to a new study. In laboratory experiments in mice, a single gene segment from a human seasonal flu virus, H3N2, was able to convert the avian H5N1 virus into a highly pathogenic

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Adamas Pharmaceuticals Announces In Vitro Data Demonstrating TCAD Therapy Is More Potent Than Double Combinations Or Monotherapy Against Resistant Flu

Adamas Pharmaceuticals,

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Voluntary System Works For Swine Flu Vaccination

Social interaction between neighbours, work colleagues and other communities and social groups makes voluntary vaccination programs for epidemics such as Swine Flu, SARS or Bird Flu a surprisingly effective method of disease

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Pandemic Preparedness Untested In Ontario Hospitals

One quarter of Ontario hospitals surveyed in a Queen's University-led study do not have an influenza pandemic plan and few plans that do exist have been tested. In addition, key players were not involved in developing the plans, and funding for pandemic preparedness was inadequate. "It's not good enough just to have a plan, you have to test

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1918 And 2009 H1N1 Flu Probably Not Spread By Birds

The two strains of the H1N1 influenza virus responsible for the 1918 and 2009 global flu pandemics do not cause disease in birds. The results of the study, published in the February issue of the Journal of General Virology, also show it is unlikely that birds played a role in the spread of the H1N1 virus in these

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New Research Findings Can Improve Avian Flu Surveillance Programs

Genetic analyses of avian influenza in wild birds can help pinpoint likely carrier species and geographic hot spots where Eurasian viruses would be most likely to enter North America, according to new U.S. Geological Survey

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NexBio Initiates Phase II Trial Of DAS181 (Fludase(R)) For Treatment Of Influenza, Including Pandemic Influenza A(H1N1)

NexBio, Inc. announced the initiation of a double blind placebo controlled multi-center trial in the U.S. and Mexico of DAS181 (Fludase®) for the treatment of laboratory confirmed influenza infection. DAS181 is an investigational host-targeted drug candidate that blocks entry of influenza virus into cells of the respiratory

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Also In Global Health News: ART Access In Zimbabwe; Indonesia Bird Flu Deaths; Kenya Floods; Solomon Island Tsunami

Zimbabwe Wants To Boost Access To ART By End Of 2010, Health Minister Says Zimbabwe's government plans work with international organizations to increase the number of people receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to 300,000 by the end of the year, up from the 180,000 who currently get the drugs, Henry Madzorera, the country's health minister, said on

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Compound Found To Safely Counter Deadly Bird Flu

The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public-health officials awake at night. Now, however, a study published this week

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Compound Found To Safely Counter Deadly Bird Flu

The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public health officials awake at night. Now, however, a study published this week

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Medicago Reports Positive Phase I Results For Its Avian Flu Pandemic Vaccine

Medicago Inc. (TSX-V: MDG) a biotechnology company focused on developing highly effective and affordable vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), reported positive interim results from a Phase I human clinical trial with its H5N1 Avian Influenza vaccine candidate ("H5N1

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'Rational Drug Design' Identifies Fragments Of FDA-Approved Drugs Relevant To Emerging Viruses

A massive, data-crunching computer search program that matches fragments of potential drug molecules to the known shapes of viral surface proteins has identified several FDA-approved drugs that could be the basis for new medicines -- if emerging viruses such as the H5N1(avian flu) or H1N1/09 (swine flu) develop resistance to current antiviral therapies -- according to a

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Transplant Infectious Disease Experts Provide Pandemic Guidance

Surgeons and other healthcare professionals specialising in solid organ transplants have been issued with expert advice to guide them through the complex clinical issues posed by the global H1N1 (swine flu)

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Scientists Put Interactive Flu Tracking At Public's Fingertips

New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University researchers

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Potential Downside Of Yearly Influenza Vaccination For Children

An article published Online First and in the December edition of The Lancet Infectious Diseases discusses the benefits and disadvantages of vaccination for children against seasonal flu. It reports that infection with "seasonal" influenza A could in fact benefit children by giving them improved immunity against pandemic strains such as the current swine flu H1N1

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News From The Journals Of The American Society For Microbiology

Genes May Determine Susceptibility to H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Infection A new study found genetic variations in mice affect their susceptibility to and severity of H5N1 avian influenza A virus infection suggesting that humans who contract the virus may be genetically predisposed. The researchers from

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Rice, UT-Austin Team Wins Stimulus Funds To Study Influenza A

Rice University scientists have won a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to scrutinize the influenza A virus for clues that could lead to more effective antiviral drugs. Strains of influenza A include this year's pandemic H1N1 variety, some seasonal varieties and the much-feared H5N1 bird

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Previous Flu Viruses Provided Some Immunity To Current Swine Flu, Study Shows

University of California, Davis, researchers studying the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, formerly referred to as "swine flu," have identified a group of immunologically important sites on the virus that are also present in seasonal flu viruses that have been circulating for

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ImmuneRegen BioSciences(R) Initiates Homspera(R) Studies Against Global Influenza Threat

ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.®, a wholly owned subsidiary of IR Biosciences Holdings, Inc. (OTCBB: IRBS), announced that its lead anti-influenza drug, Homspera, will be tested for efficacy against highly lethal H5N1 Avian Influenza in the laboratories of a widely respected University

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Protecting Humans And Animals From Diseases In Wildlife

Avian influenza (H5N1), rabies, plague, Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), and more recently swine flu (H1N1) are all examples of diseases that have made the leap from animals to

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News From Annals Of Internal Medicine, October 6, 2009

Early Releases: 1. Earlier H1N1 Vaccination Prevents More Deaths, Saves Health Care Costs A vaccine for H1N1 influenza is anticipated to become available this fall. With the amount and timing of vaccine release still in question, policy makers struggle to set priorities regarding who should be vaccinated

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