A New Lab-Made COVID-19 Virus Puts Gain-of-Function Research Under the Microscope
On October 14, a team of scientists at Boston University released a pre-print study reporting that they had created a version of SARS-CoV-2 combining two features of different, existing strains that boosted its virulence and transmissibility. Scientists and the public raised questions about the work, which refocused attention on such experiments, and prompted the U.S. government to investigate whether the research followed protocols for these kinds of studies.
The concerns surround what is known as gain-of-function studies, in which viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens are created in the lab—either intentionally or ...
Source: TIME: Science - October 27, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Alice Park Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news
U.S. weighs crackdown on experiments that could make viruses more dangerous
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Source: ScienceNOW - October 19, 2022 Category: Science Source Type: news
‘We’re nervous.’ Deadly bird flu may be in North America to stay
When an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza spread across North America this spring, researchers hoped for a replay of what happened after a different avian flu variant arrived in the United States in December 2014. Although more than 50 million birds died or were destroyed in a matter of months, costing farmers more than $1.6 billion, the virus had essentially vanished by June 2015. Poultry outbreaks ended, wild birds stopped dying, and migratory waterfowl didn’t bring the virus back when they returned from their summer breeding grounds in Canada.
But this time is different. H5N1 infections in both ...
Source: ScienceNOW - August 23, 2022 Category: Science Source Type: news
Roche announces U.S. FDA approval of Xofluza to treat influenza in children aged five years and older
Xofluza is the first and only single-dose oral medicine for the treatment of influenza to be approved in the US for children as young as five years of ageThe FDA also approved Xofluza to prevent influenza in children aged five years and older following contact with an infected personBasel, 12 August 2022 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Xofluza ® (baloxavir marboxil) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in otherwise healthy children aged five to less than 12 years o...
Source: Roche Investor Update - August 12, 2022 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
Roche announces U.S. FDA approval of Xofluza to treat influenza in children aged five years and older
Xofluza is the first and only single-dose oral medicine for the treatment of influenza to be approved in the US for children as young as five years of ageThe FDA also approved Xofluza to prevent influenza in children aged five years and older following contact with an infected personBasel, 12 August 2022 - Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) today announced that the United States (U.S.) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Xofluza ® (baloxavir marboxil) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in otherwise healthy children aged five to less than 12 years o...
Source: Roche Media News - August 12, 2022 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
‘Falling from the sky in distress’: the deadly bird flu outbreak sweeping the world – podcast
The H5N1 strain of avian influenza is sweeping across the world, killing millions of birds. In the UK, it ’s causing disastrous losses of seabirds – populations that were already being hit by a number of threats, including habitat loss, overfishing and global heating. Biodiversity reporter Phoebe Weston tells Madeleine Finlay about how the virus made it into wild birds, why it’s having such a deva stating impact, and the long-term impact bird flu could have on some of our most vulnerable speciesContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 19, 2022 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Madeleine Finlay with Phoebe Weston, produced by Anand Jagatia, sound design by Rudi Zygadlo, and the executive producers were Lorna Stewart and Danielle Stephens Tags: Science Environment Bird flu Birds Animals Wildlife Conservation Source Type: news
Bird flu is on the rise in the UK. Are chickens in the back garden to blame?
The risk to humans from the disease, spread by wild birds, is low but a record level of outbreaks this year has researchers worriedBird flu outbreaks rose nearly fivefold last year, creating an urgent need for research into preventing the spread of the disease, according to the head of a new consortium investigating the virus.The record of 26 outbreaks involving H5N1 in 2021 has been shattered, with 121 outbreaks involving the H5 serotype this year, according to Prof Ian Brown, head of virology at the government ’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha).Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 19, 2022 Category: Science Authors: James Tapper Tags: Bird flu Health Infectious diseases Medical research UK news Birds Society Environment Source Type: news
Avian Influenza Is Affecting Wild Mammals
As a new version of bird flu spread through North America this spring, scientists began finding the virus in red foxes, bobcats and other mammals. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - June 18, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Emily Anthes Tags: your-feed-science Birds Animal Behavior Avian Influenza Tests (Medical) Foxes Mammals United States H5N1 your-feed-animals Michigan Wisconsin Ontario (Canada) Source Type: news
A Gull Flaps Its Wings and a Deadly Virus Explodes
This year ’s outbreak of the H5N1 virus has resulted in the deaths of nearly 400,000 wild birds worldwide. Scientists are studying the pathways of contagion among species. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - June 17, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jim Robbins Tags: Wildlife Die-Offs Animal Migration Avian Influenza Research North America your-feed-science Source Type: news
H5N1 Avian Influenza: Q & A With the CDC's Tim Uyeki, MD H5N1 Avian Influenza: Q & A With the CDC's Tim Uyeki, MD
Dr Tim Uyeki, Chief Medical Officer of the Influenza Division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, answers questions about H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called"bird flu."CDC Expert Commentary (Source: Medscape Infectious Diseases Headlines)
Source: Medscape Infectious Diseases Headlines - June 8, 2022 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Infectious Diseases Commentary Source Type: news
CDC Issues Treatment Recs for Suspected Bird Flu Cases
(MedPage Today) -- Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of influenza A(H5N1) bird flu in humans with exposure to poultry after a Colorado inmate tested positive for the highly pathogenic strain, the CDC announced late Friday.
The A(H5N1... (Source: MedPage Today Public Health)
Source: MedPage Today Public Health - May 2, 2022 Category: American Health Source Type: news
The first human case of avian flu in the U.S. is reported in Colorado
The patient, an inmate in a pre-release program, was involved in culling poultry presumptively infected with H5N1 bird flu at a farm. The virus, while deadly for birds, poses a low risk to humans.(Image credit: Charlie Neibergall/AP) (Source: NPR Health and Science)
Source: NPR Health and Science - April 29, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Rina Torchinsky Source Type: news
First Human Bird Flu Case in U.S.; Okla. Nears Abortion Ban; Ebola Outbreak in DRC
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CDC confirmed the first human case of the H5N1 bird flu in the U.S., in a Colorado man with direct exposure to birds.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) is expected... (Source: MedPage Today Public Health)
Source: MedPage Today Public Health - April 29, 2022 Category: American Health Source Type: news
CDC confirms case of bird flu in Colorado man but says the public health risk assessment remains low
A case of influenza A(H5), also known as H5 bird flu, has been confirmed in a man in Colorado who had direct exposure to poultry and the culling of birds with presumptive H5N1 bird flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement Thursday. (Source: CNN.com - Health)
Source: CNN.com - Health - April 29, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
H5N1 Vaccine Readied for a Possible Influenza Pandemic H5N1 Vaccine Readied for a Possible Influenza Pandemic
Adjuvanted H5N1 influenza vaccine has been shown to be highly immunogenic in younger and older adults. It is being developed in light of a possible H5N1 influenza pandemic that could cause global harm.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)
Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines - April 8, 2022 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Infectious Diseases News Source Type: news
