Topic

Bird flu virusesi

Avian influenza - more commonly known as bird flu - is a disease caused by the influenza A virus. It is adapted to birds, but capable of crossing over to human beings, with the H5N1 variant being probably the best known. In 2023, the H3N8 variant killed a woman in China - making her the first person to die of this strain.

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  • Samples taken from dead birds in South Georgia, north of Antarctica’s main land mass
  • Virus was most likely brought by birds returning from their migration to South America
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World Health Organization confirms death of 56-year-old patient in Guangdong province but stresses likelihood of human-to-human transmission remains low.

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As bird flu hits more and varied animals, like at a mink farm in Spain, the fear is that the virus could evolve to spread more easily between people, and potentially trigger a pandemic.

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The UN health body says the risk to humans is low ‘for the moment’, though the spillover to animals like foxes, sea lions and bears needs to be watched closely.

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Acute shortages are the result of soaring feed prices caused by Ukraine war which forced many Malaysian farmers to cut output, but a new government subsidy is expected to aid recovery.

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Zhong Nanshan, China’s top respiratory expert, among experts warning of parallel risks as pandemic measures, reduced immunity and chill affect public health.

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The outbreak of the highly pathogenic H1N1 strain of avian flu was detected late December; around 500,000 chickens have since died of the disease or been culled.

Formally established in 1921, the Hong Kong branch of the SPCA has spent the past 100 years rescuing animals, neutering and fostering strays, and educating the public. It’s been an uphill struggle.

President and the head of US intelligence suggest Wuhan lab warrants investigation, while Chinese state newspaper asks US to explain a 2018 bird flu experiment.

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The spread of bird flu types H5N1, H7N9 and H5N6 in China is closely connected to poultry trade networks rather than just wild bird migration, researchers have found.

Move to lift import ban on live poultry from the United States took effect on Friday, and comes after deadly H5N1 bird flu was found in chickens in two provinces in China.

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Documentary series airing as China battles coronavirus outbreak warns a new flu pandemic is inevitable, and points out it is the country where ‘virtually all of the deadly influenza viruses’ of past 50 years have emerged.

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Amid the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we look at seven of the most deadly infections humans can catch and how they’re transmitted and treated.

Exercise simulated a global health disaster with fictional elements to force government officials and experts to make the kinds of key decisions they could face in a real pandemic