Flu Resistance

Filed under Video on Thursday, August 25, 2011.


With flu season approaching, experts are worried about an old strain. Researchers at the University of Florida’s Emerging Pathogens Institute don’t expect the old strain of H1N1 to return as a threat. But, they’re concerned about what the current strain of H1N1 might learn from the old one, because of key enzymes both strains share. The older version’s resistant to Tamiflu, a critical anti-viral drug used both to prevent and reduce the severity of influenza.

Ira Longini/UF biostatistics researcher: “So there’s certainly quite a danger because of the shared N1, the shared neuraminidase, that the new pandemic strain which is spreading and is our new influenza threat right now will also acquire a resistance quite rapidly with time. It’s not a certainty but it’s a distinct possibility. What we’ve done is shown what to look for and how this can happen on a global scale.”
Researchers say new anti-viral drugs don’t come along everyday, meaning a Tamiflu-resistant strain of influenza could pose a serious problem.

Ira Longini/UF biostatistics researcher: “Influenza is not treatable by any over-the-counter drugs. You can treat the symptoms, but you can’t treat, prevent or mitigate the virus. In order to do that, you have to have a prescription for either Tamiflu or Relenza, two common antiviral drugs.”

Anti-virals remain a last defense in controlling the spread and severity of the virus.

http://news.ufl.edu/2011/08/25/flu-resistance/

also video at this link above...



Bird flu no threat to Aust: chief medic


Australia's chief medical officer says people shouldn't be worried about reports that a mutant strain of the deadly bird flu virus is spreading across Asia and beyond.

Chris Baggoley, who was officially appointed the nation's top doctor on Tuesday, argues Australia is well served by strict testing and customs regimes.

Avian migration patterns also mean infected birds are highly unlikely to arrive down under.
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There is concern about spread of the new bird flu virus to Korea, Japan, Malaysia and elsewhere in Asia but Australia is not presently on the high alert list," the Sydney University professor said in a statement.

"Australia is quite unlikely to be affected by this new bird flu mutant - the Asian birds don't migrate our way."

There have been no outbreaks of bird flu in Australia to date.

But the virus has infected 565 people worldwide, killing 331, since it first appeared in 2003.
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Australians travelling to southeast Asia are being advised to avoid contact with live chickens.

"They should avoid wet markets ... selling poultry or live birds," the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza's Melbourne-based deputy director Ian Barr told AAP.

The chance of catching bird flu in Asia was low "but not zero", Dr Barr said. what an idiot

http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaki ... 1jjw1.html

Vietnam: Warning on Bird Flu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on Monday warned of “a possible major resurgence” of the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in the coming months.

The virus had been fading since 2006, but migratory birds now seem to be carrying it to infect poultry in more countries, while a variant of the virus has emerged in Vietnam and China that is not easily stopped by vaccines, the F.A.O. said. The resurgence of the virus poses “unpredictable risks to human health,” the agency said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/30/world ... &ref=world


Guess whats making a come back now that both H1N1 and H5N1 have made front page news again...yup those question and answer news releases


Q&A: Bird flu Officials fear the virus could spread from Vietnam Continue reading the main story
Related Stories

Bird flu fear as strain mutates

Concern is growing about a mutant strain of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus that is spreading in Asia and beyond.

Existing vaccines appear to be powerless against the new strain.

What is bird flu?

Avian influenza, or 'bird flu', is an infectious disease caused by viruses that normally infect only birds

There are many different types or strains.

The one concerning experts at the moment is the "highly pathogenic" H5N1 strain - this means that it is highly likely to cause disease.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14714456


Mutant strain of bird flu is spreading...

and it's resistant to existing vaccines, warns UNTop flu expert has warned that the main drug stockpiled by UK to fight bird flu may now be useless

Fears of a resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus have been raised by the United Nations, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries.

A mutant strain of the disease is said to be spreading through Asia and at least eight people have died in Cambodia this year of bird flu.

The new strain of the H5N1 virus is spreading in China and Vietnam and can apparently sidestep defences of existing vaccines, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation said in a statement yesterday.

It urged greater surveillance to ensure that any outbreaks are contained, although it is still uncertain though whether the mutant virus can be passed on to humans.

Last week, the World Health Organization reported that a six-year-old Cambodian girl had died on August 14 from bird flu, the eighth person to die from H5N1 avian influenza in the country this year.

Vietnam suspended its springtime poultry vaccination this year, FAO said.
Most of the northern and central parts of the country where the virus is endemic have been invaded by the new strain.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/artic ... z1WX093PoV

Avian flu's back, warns UN – and new strain is resistant to vaccines

Fears of a fresh outbreak of bird flu this winter have been raised by the United Nations, after an increase in the number of deaths and, crucially, the emergence of a new, mutated strain of the disease.


At least eight people have died of bird flu in Cambodia this year, the most recent being a six-year-old girl earlier this month, and the virus has reached countries that had been free of it for several years.

Existing vaccines appear to be powerless against the new strain of the H5N1 virus which, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said, has now spread across much of Vietnam and China. It remains uncertain whether the mutant virus can be transmitted to humans, and if so how dangerous it potentially is.

The FAO has urged stiffer surveillance measures to prevent the disease spreading to new areas. "Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people's actions in poultry production and marketing spread it," said Juan Lubroth, the FAO's chief veterinary officer.

And he warned: "The general departure from the progressive decline in 2004-08 could mean that there will be a flare-up of H5N1 this autumn and winter, with people unexpectedly finding the virus in their backyard."

Some countries which were previously free of the virus have suffered outbreaks over the past two years as a result of it being introduced by migratory birds. These include Bulgaria, Romania, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Nepal and Mongolia.Bird flu was first detected in 2003 and 331 deaths worldwide have been attributed to it from 565 cases of bird flu in humans. At its peak in 2006 it was present in 63 countries and there were 4,000 outbreaks of the disease in wild birds and poultry.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style ... 45855.html


Mutation of H5N1 virus could revive bird flu threat, says UN

Appearance of variant strain of virus in China and Vietnam appears to be resistant to existing vaccines



The United Nations has warned of a possible resurgence of bird flu and said a mutant strain of the H5N1 virus is spreading in Asia and elsewhere.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on Monday urged increased surveillance and preparation for a potential outbreak of the virus, which it says has infected 565 people since it first appeared in 2003, killing 331 of them.

The virus was eliminated from most of the 63 countries infected at its peak in 2006 after a poultry cull, but since 2008 it has been spreading in both poultry and wild birds, partly due to migration patterns, the FAO said.


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"Wild birds may introduce the virus, but people's actions in poultry production and marketing spread it," said Lubroth.

"Preparedness and surveillance remain essential ... no one can let their guard down with H5N1," he added.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/au ... -bird-flue



Bird flu deaths in Asia prompt call for scrutiny


(Reuters) - Virologists warned on Tuesday that there was no vaccine against a mutant strain of H5N1 bird flu now spreading in China and Vietnam and called for closer monitoring of the disease in poultry and wild birds to stop it spreading to people.

The call came after the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday of a possible resurgence of bird flu and said a mutant strain of the H5N1 was spreading in Asia and beyond.

While scientists are uncertain if this new strain -- called H5N1-2.3.2.1 -- is more virulent in people, they said it was different enough from its predecessor to escape a human H5N1 vaccine that can tackle the parent strain.

"There is a human H5N1 vaccine candidate that is a (WHO)recommended vaccine ... But it doesn't confer full protection against the (new variant)," said leading virologist Malik Peiris at the University of Hong Kong.

"But that is not unusual. H5 viruses keep changing and we have to change the vaccine strain."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/ ... VM20110830

Diffently something to watch, it would not take much (mutation) to make it very bad

I will be updating daily as the news comes out on the Radio Show. I am on Mon-Fri 2-4pm Eastern Time

http://justmeasurescs.com/?page_id=18