NightBlogger

An experiment mating H5N1 avian flu viruses and a strain of human flu in a laboratory produced a surprising number of hybrid viruses that were biologically fit, a new study reveals. And while none of the offspring viruses was as virulent as the original H5N1, about one in five were lethal to mice at low doses, showing they retained at least a portion of the power of their dangerous parent.

The work suggests that under the right circumstances - and no one is clear what all of those are - the two types of flu viruses could swap genes in a way that might allow the H5N1 virus to acquire the capacity to trigger a pandemic. That process is called reassortment. “This study is just showing exactly that: There is a risk this virus can successfully reassort with a human virus,” said Richard Webby, director of the World Health Organization’s collaborating centre for influenza research at St. Jude Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. “The problem is we don’t know at this stage whether there’s a benefit to these H5N1 viruses in doing that.” More

Kantipur Report
Avian Influenza Control Project has said six districts bordering India are at risk of bird flu. According to Dr Manas Kumar Banerjee, coordinator of Avian Influenza Control Project of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division under Ministry of Health and Population, Jhapa, Ilam, Panchthar, Taplejung, Sunsari and Morang districts are at risk of the flu. “There is embargo on the import of poultry items but despite the ban, items like white eggs which are found only in India are also found in the local market of the mentioned districts,” said Dr Banerjee.

He added that animal health and human health units of the government have been focusing on warning people against the risk of flu. He said the government is equipped with Personal Protective Equipment. “We also have a stock of antiviral medicine called Tamiflu that is needed in case any human gets infection by flu,” he added. Read more

Source recombinomics.com
Recombinomics, Inc. Founder and President, Henry L Niman earned a PhD at the University of Southern California in 1978. More recently, he became interested in infectious diseases while at Harvard Medical School. He then founded Recombinomics and discovered how viruses rapidly evolve. These latest findings are the subject of recent patent filings.

Report 5/6/08

“…this year the H5N1 in South Korea is at record levels, and the location of the H5N1 positive swans in Japan are in Akita and Hokkaido (see satellite map), which are where there has not been previously reported outbreaks. These northern locations suggest H5N1 will migrate into northeastern Siberia, which may lead to migration into North America.

The record levels of H5N1 in South Korea follows record outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, which may signal a higher endemic level and further geographic spread of H5N1 via migrating birds”. Read more