News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Scientists who analyzed 67 H5N1 avian influenza viruses from across Africa report that the viruses fall into three distinct sublineages, or families, and that some have mutations that make them resistant to antiviral drugs.

(CIDRAP News) – An official in the west African country of Togo confirmed today that poultry have tested positive for the H5N1 avian influenza virus, raising the number of African nations hit by the virus to 10.

Yves Nagou, Togo's agriculture minister, said the results were confirmed at a lab in Accra, the capital of neighboring Ghana, Reuters reported today. Preliminary tests in Togo had already pointed to H5N1, he said.

(CIDRAP News) – More than 11,000 birds died in China's latest avian influenza outbreak this weekend, Reuters News reported today, and another 53,000 birds were culled to bring the outbreak in the southern province of Hunan under control, according to China's Ministry of Agriculture.