Mad-cow, bird-flu or swine-flu - the world is more than familiar with “human-animal diseases”.

It might be possible for human-tohuman airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found.

Tokyo: A single blood test can now detect the deadly H5N1 bird flu infection in just two hours time.

The local administration in Gorkha has banned import of poultry in the district after more than 200 chickens died in Jaubari and Gokhu VDCs recently.

An engineered influenza virus based on a haemagglutinin protein from H5N1 avian influenza, with just four mutations, can be transmitted between ferrets, emphasizing the potential for a human pandemic to emerge from birds.

Highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza A viruses occasionally infect humans, but currently do not transmit efficiently among humans. The viral haemagglutinin (HA) protein is a known host-range determinant as it mediates virus binding to host-specific cellular receptors1, 2, 3. Here we assess the molecular changes in HA that would allow a virus possessing subtype H5 HA to be transmissible among mammals.

Controversial study shows how dangerous forms of avian influenza could evolve in the wild.

When reporters aren’t given the facts, they are likely to jump to the most extreme conclusions, says David Brown.

Imperfect global biosafety standards and a threat to researchers’ motivations from biosecurity concerns are among the significant risks in current flu research. (Editorial)

Agartala: Timely vaccination of birds and animals, access to standard laboratories and maintaining bio-security are among the measures required to curb the sporadic outbreak of bird flu in India’s northeast, says a team of international and Indian experts touring the region.

Experts of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and India, who are on a five-day visit to Tripura to probe the causes of frequent bird flu outbreaks, have asked the northeastern states to maintain stipulated protocols to stop the contagious disease from resurfacing.

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