Sep 2, 2009
(CIDRAP News) Egyptian authorities have reported two more H5N1 avian influenza cases, both in children, raising the country's total for this year to 34, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.
Both patients have been treated with oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and are in stable condition, the WHO said.
Aug 27, 2008 (CIDRAP News) The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today that the recent novel H1N1 influenza outbreak in turkeys in Chile points up the possibility of poultry outbreaks elsewhere, increasing the risk of H1N1 mixing with the more deadly H5N1 avian flu virus.
Aug 11, 2009
GAO criticizes choice of Kansas for animal disease lab, report saysA draft report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used a flawed analysis in deciding to locate a special animal disease laboratory in Manhattan, Kan., the Washington Post reported today. The GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the risk of an accidental release of dangerous pathogens from the lab, as the site is in a tornado-prone area.
(CIDRAP News) The novel H1N1 (swine) influenza now circling the globe causes more serious lung disease than seasonal flu strains and sheds from the lung and throat tissue where it reproduces at higher rates, according to two animal studies published todayfindings that could explain autopsies and case reports of severe pneumonia as well as the virus's rapid spread.
Jul 1, 2009
(CIDRAP News) Against the backdrop of a global struggle to solve a dispute related to H5N1 avian influenza virus sharing and an anxious watch over the novel H1N1 virus sweeping the globe, a new public database for sharing influenza genetic sequences is easing the flow of data and winning the support of a growing community of researchers and health officials, even some from countries that have sparred in the past over intellectual property rights.
(CIDRAP News) – A well-known risk-communication expert said the World Health Organization (WHO) acted wisely in delaying its declaration of an influenza pandemic until yesterday, but he simultaneously expressed concern that the move may lead to complacency about the situation.
(CIDRAP News) Government officials and researchers may have underestimated the potential role of pigs as "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses and the importance of swine surveillance for identifying new pandemic threats, veterinary experts from Mexico asserted recently.
