H5N1 avian flu has struck two chicken factory farms in North Korea's capital of Pyongyang, killing more than 46,000 birds, according to a report posted yesterday by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
In the first outbreak, all 46,217 birds died of the disease in three holding pens for layer hens on a farm at the Hadang chicken factory. The outbreak began Mar 21. Samples from the birds tested positive on Mar 26.
Dutch researchers say they've found five mutations that make H5N1 airborne transmissible in ferrets.
Saudi Arabia has reported three more Middle East Respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases, according to a machine-translated Saudi government statement posted on disease-tracking Web sites.
A new assessment says that avian flu "gain of function" research poses a serious outbreak risk.
A new molecular strategy could diffuse some of the controversy over lab-modified flu viruses.
Doubts about BioWatch were aired in Congress today, with a House committee chair criticizing plans and a top federal disease expert expressing concerns.
Kansas officials break ground on new federal biodefense lab
May 22, 2013
May 3, 2013
(CIDRAP News) – Chinese scientists report that lab-generated hybrid viruses combining genes from avian H5N1 and pandemic 2009 H1N1 (pH1N1) influenza viruses can achieve airborne spread between guinea pigs, a finding that seems likely to renew the debate about the risks of creating novel viruses that might be able to spark a human pandemic.
