Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

(CIDRAP News) – Two new reports on human cases of H5N1 avian influenza that occurred in Turkey and Indonesia last year show that the illness proved difficult to diagnose, with many tests yielding false-negative results.

(CIDRAP News) – Researchers recently reported identifying two mutations in the H5N1 avian influenza virus that seem to improve its ability to attach to human cells, a finding that may help scientists spot H5N1 strains capable of infecting humans.

(CIDRAP News) – The US government today announced the awarding of three contacts to buy enough additional H5N1 avian influenza vaccine to immunize almost 2.7 million people, at a cost of $199.45 million.

(CIDRAP News) – A Department of Health and Human Services official said today that loss of potency is affecting less than 20% of H5N1 avian influenza vaccine doses in the national stockpile, not a majority of doses as reported here yesterday.

Bill Hall, an HHS spokesman in Washington, DC, said the agency has acquired a total of about 7.5 million doses of H5N1 vaccine to date, and about 200,000 of those have been used for research.

Editor's note: The day after publication of this story, a federal official told CIDRAP News the amount of H5N1 vaccine in the US stockpile that had begun to lose potency was less than 20% of the total, not a majority of the doses. See the Nov 17 follow-up story for more details.

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Labor yesterday released revised Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidance to help employers protect their workers from job-related exposure to H5N1 avian influenza.

(CIDRAP News) – Scientists say they have developed an inexpensive "gene chip" test that can quickly identify a variety of influenza A viruses, including H5N1, and is less apt to be confused by viral mutations than other tests are.

(CIDRAP News) – Two new human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, one of them fatal, were reported in Indonesia today, raising the country's toll to 74 cases with 56 deaths.

A 30-month-old boy from Karawang in West Java province died of the illness today, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, citing information from the Indonesian health ministry. The boy became ill Nov 5 and was hospitalized Nov 10.

(CIDRAP News) – China said today it would share more avian influenza virus samples, despite reported misuse of some shared previously, and repeated its rejection of a report that a new strain of H5N1 virus has spread through southern China, according to news services.

(CIDRAP News) – A laboratory study indicates that the antiplatelet drug clopidogrel (Plavix) may limit the action of the antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which could mean trouble for cardiovascular disease patients who contract influenza.