Record-level US Support For Bird Flu Program - Indonesia, Viet Nam And Egypt Among Major Beneficiary CountriesThe United States will provide an additional $44.4 million in support of FAO's avian influenza control and prevention campaign, FAO announced today. With the new funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), US support to the FAO avian influenza program has reached a total of $112.8 million. The United States remains the largest donor to FAO's bird flu control activities implemented in more than 96 countries.
Avian Flu Virus Freed From Immune Recognition By Protein 'Tubules'A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in an online report in the journal Nature.
Vaccinations Against Bird Flu Should Happen Now, Say ExpertsPeople should be vaccinated now against bird flu rather than waiting for a global pandemic to erupt, an international panel of experts - including a leading British influenza specialist - say in a new report. 1 The influenza researchers say the World Health Organisation (WHO) and national governments should give "urgent consideration" to the idea of priming people in advance of bird flu with a preparatory vaccination.
Genetic Evidence For Avian Influenza Movement From Asia To North America Via Wild BirdsWild migratory birds may be more important carriers of avian influenza viruses from continent to continent than previously thought, according to new scientific research that has important implications for highly pathogenic avian influenza virus surveillance in North America. As part of a multi-pronged research effort to understand the role of migratory birds in the transfer of avian influenza viruses between Asia and North America, scientists with the U.S.
Conference Focuses On Avian Flu ThreatAs the first globally co-ordinated plan for the planet's gravest health threats is hatched by government ministers from around the world this weekend, a new report sets out a 10-point plan for this new, globalised approach to infectious diseases such as avian flu.
Information Session For Owners Of Backyard Poultry Flocks The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador invite owners of small or backyard poultry flocks to attend a free information session on how to help prevent and detect poultry diseases, such as avian influenza. Area bird owners and the general public are welcome to attend the session from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29, 2008, at the Provincial Agriculture Building located at 308 Brookfield Road, in St.
Protection For People And Pets By Vaccine Based On A Bird Flu VirusA single vaccine could be used to protect chickens, cats and humans against deadly flu pandemics, according to an article published in the November issue of the Journal of General Virology. The vaccine protects birds and mammals against different flu strains and can even be given to birds while they are still in their eggs, allowing the mass vaccination of wild birds.
Studies Of How SARS And Bird Flu Evade Antiviral Responses Funded By NIAIDThe National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NAID), one of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a contract to the University of Washington (UW) to use systems biology approaches to comprehensively analyze and model the virus-host interactions and cellular response networks that are induced or altered during the course of acute respiratory virus infection. This new research program will be led by Dr.