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Predicting hotspots for future flu outbreaks

By Guest PostMarch 20, 2013HealthBangladesh, bird flu, central china, egypt, flu outbreaks, flu season, flu strains, flu transmission, H1N1, h5n1 strain, hotspots, human flu, indonesia, kevin njabo, livestock, nile delta, original viruses, pandemic, poultry, predicting potential outbreak, seasonal h3n2, site, thomas smith, trevon fuller, ucla, Vietnam, wild birds

This year’s unusually long and rocky flu season would be nothing compared to the pandemic that could occur if bird flu became highly contagious among humans, which is why UCLA researchers and their colleagues are creating new ways to predict where an outbreak could emerge.

“Using surveillance of influenza cases in humans and birds, we’ve come up with a technique to predict sites where these viruses could mix and generate a future pandemic,” said lead author Trevon Fuller, a UCLA postdoctoral research fellow at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability’s Center for Tropical Research. (more…)

5 Myths About the Bird Flu

By Guest PostSeptember 29, 2012Healthabout, antibiotics, asia, bacteria, bird feces, bird flu, blog, chicken, cooked poultry, detective, false myths, jack meyer, myths, origin, poultry, vaccination, virus

With all of the information floating around regarding the bird flu epidemic it can be hard to discern what you should really be concerned about and what is nothing more than a rumor. Here are five myths regarding the bird flu that aren’t as factual as they first may seem:

Any ingestion of infected poultry can be deadly: If the poultry is cooked thoroughly enough, even if it was infected prior to cooking, then it can be safe to eat. The virus cannot live through the extreme heat required for cooking, and will die off. Just make sure to cook your poultry thoroughly before consuming it to err on the side of safety. (more…)

Climate Change Could Increase Levels of Avian Influenza in Wild Birds

By Guest PostAugust 31, 2012Environment, Naturea h5n1, american black duck, Arctic, avian influenza, biogeographic population, bird flu, choreographed interaction, climate change, delaware bay, domestic poultry, heat waves, horseshoe crab, human health, human infection, increase, influenza infection, level, mallards, mathematical model, melting glaciers, michigan, migratory flight, migratory paths, migratory shorebird, north american, pejman rohani, planetary woes, population ecologist, rainstorms, risk, sea levels, species, type a virus, university, victoria brown, western hemisphere, wild birds

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, more intense rainstorms and more frequent heat waves are among the planetary woes that may come to mind when climate change is mentioned. Now, two University of Michigan researchers say an increased risk of avian influenza transmission in wild birds can be added to the list.

Population ecologists Pejman Rohani and Victoria Brown used a mathematical model to explore the consequences of altered interactions between an important species of migratory shorebird and horseshoe crabs at Delaware Bay as a result of climate change. (more…)

MSU Researchers Show How New Viruses Evolve, And in Some Cases, Become Deadly

By Guest PostJanuary 27, 2012Sciencebacteria, beacon, beneficial mutation, bird flu, devin dobias, e coli bacterium, evolve, jeff barrick, justin meyer, lambda, michigan state university, mutation, natural selection, Netherlands, new virus, ompf protein, ribbon diagram, richard lenski, ryan quick, Science, survival of the fittest, united states, virus evolution

EAST LANSING, Mich. — In the current issue of Science, researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate how a new virus evolves, which sheds light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations.

The scientists showed for the first time how the virus called “Lambda” evolved to find a new way to attack host cells, an innovation that took four mutations to accomplish. This virus infects bacteria, in particular the common E. coli bacterium. Lambda isn’t dangerous to humans, but this research demonstrated how viruses evolve complex and potentially deadly new traits, said Justin Meyer, MSU graduate student, who co-authored the paper with Richard Lenski, MSU Hannah Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics. (more…)

New Research Suggests Wild Birds May Play a Role in the Spread of Bird Flu

By Guest PostMarch 25, 2011Environment, Health, Scienceafrica, anser indicus, asia, avian influenza, bar headed goose, bird flu, bird flu outbreak, China, diann prosser, disease, domestic geese and chickens, eurasia, global transmission of bird flu, gps data, H5N1, h5n1 transmission, h5n1 virus, lhasa, mongolia, peng cui, poultry, qinghai lake, qinghai-tibet plateau, scott newman, tibet, wild birds, wild migratory birds

LAUREL, Md. — Wild migratory birds may indeed play a role in the spread of bird flu, also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1.

A study by the U.S. Geological Survey, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Chinese Academy of Sciences used satellites, outbreak data and genetics to uncover an unknown link in Tibet among wild birds, poultry and the movement of the often-deadly virus. (more…)

How many people died from ‘Swine Flu’ till todate?

By ShamsAugust 4, 200913 commentsHealthA(H1N1), antivirals, bird flu, flu-like symptoms, H1N1, H5N1, influenza, inhaler, Mexico, pill, relenza, swine flu, tamiflu, treatment, vaccine, Washington state department of health, WHO

The H1N1 virus that’s responsible for the deadly ‘swine flu’ has killed so far till todate, 4^th of August 2009, at least 1,154 people worldwide, WHO says.

(more…)

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