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UN warns of new bird flu outbreak

The United Nations warned Monday of a possible resurgence of the deadly bird flu virus, saying wild bird migrations had brought it back to previously virus-free countries and that a mutant strain was spreading in Asia.
A mutant strain of H5N1, which can apparently sidestep defences of existing vaccines, is spreading in China and Vietnam, Tthe U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said in a statement Monday. It urged greater surveillance to ensure that any outbreaks are contained.

continued

http://www.thespec.com/news/world/article/585758–un-warns-of-new-bird-flu-outbreak

Australia
• Bird flu no threat to Australia: chief medic

Bangladesh
• 21,500 chickens culled in Chuadanga

India
• Research on HINI deaths
• Kanpur: Three cases of swine flu detected
• Lucknow: Swine flu alert in state; 13 cases in 10 days
• FAO alerts India of possible bird flu resurgence
• Bangalore: Man succumbs to H1N1

New Zealand
• Big chill brings flu crisis

Thailand
• Thailand alerted to bird flu after patients reported in neighbouring countries

United States
• MA: State will cut free flu shots by over half
• OH: Flu vaccinations now mandatory for Children’s Medical Center workers

General
• UN warns of new bird flu outbreak
• Bird Flu in China and Vietnam

Commentary
• Recombinomics: Indiana trH3N2 Case With Pandemic H1N1 MP
• Recombinomics: trH3N2 Sequence Cluster Raises Pandemic Concerns
• Australia: Bird-swine flu hybrid could be a killer combo

Research

• Sweden: Positive avian flu trial data using Isconova’s Matrix M published
• Elderly more susceptible to seasonal flu but better protected against H1N1, researchers say
• Australia: Treat all household contacts of flu patients “Intrahousehold Transmission of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, Victoria, Australia”:

MIT Researchers Announce Broad Spectrum Treatment For Viral Infections

Some of the biggest human health threats facing the world today come from viruses which can cause anything from the common cold to deadly hemorrhagic fevers like Ebola. Over the years, researchers have struggled to find an efficient way to treat viral infections, leaving many people to struggle with disease. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have announced the creation of a broad spectrum treatment for viral infections that works by killing just the cells in the body infected with the virus.

The research was led by a team from MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory and was published in the journal PLoS One. Invented by researcher Todd Rider, the treatment is a drug called DRACOs (Double-stranded RNA Activated Caspase Oligomerizers). It was tested on human cells in a lab and in mice against 15 different viruses and was effective against all of them, including the common cold, H1N1 (swine flu), influenza, polio, and dengue fever.

According to the researchers, the drug works by targeting a type of RNA that will only be present in cells that have been infected by a virus. This allows the virus to be treated without having to damage other healthy cells in the body. The DRACOs are inspired by the natural defense systems of cells.

When a virus invades a cell, it takes over the cell’s natural replication process to create more copies of the virus. During this takeover, the virus creates a double stranded RNA (dsRNA) that is not found in normal human or animal cells. Human cells have proteins that will will attach to dsRNA to try to keep the virus from replicating, but many viruses are able to get around these natural defenses. There are a few drugs that fight specific viruses, like the protease inhibitors that control HIV infection, but these treatments are few in number and can also be subject to viral resistance. Rider combined a dsRNA binding protein with another cellular protein that induces apoptosis (cell suicide). What the DRACOs do is bind to a dsRNA strand and then cause the cell to be destroyed, derailing the replication of the virus. The DRACOs also include a delivery tag, a protein that allows the drug to cross the cell membrane. The drug is targeted to the dsRNA, so it will only destroy a cell if it has been infected with a virus.

The researchers are reporting that this is a completely new way to treat viral infections, one that could be widely applicable if the drug proves useful in living humans. To date, a human trial has not been attempted, so it is unknown if this research will work once it moves from the lab to the clinic. Continued:

http://www.geekosystem.com/broad-spectrum-viral-treatment/

Canada
• Avian flu testing continuing

Colombia
• Continued outbreaks of H1N1 alert (translated)

Brazil
• Girl hamburguense is the first confirmed case of influenza A in the city in 2011

Egypt
• WHO confirms 1 new human H5N1 case

Ghana
• Pandemic influenza awareness campaign held in Sunyani

Nepal
• Viral fever grip Jajarkot; 1killed, 300 taken ill
• Viral fever affects Tanahun villages
• Viral fever forces PM to nix envoy call

South Korea
• Korean data show few serious adverse events with flu vaccine

United States
• Walgreen begins seasonal flu vaccine push
• Southern California man pleads guilty in bird flu remedy case
• Get flu vaccination early, CDC urges

Uruguay
• New patient died from influenza A virus

Research
• Transcription analysis on response of swine lung to H1N1 swine influenza virus
• Second Antibody Fights Many Flu Strains • Study puts global 2009 H1N1 infection rate at 11% to 21%
• Mutation gave H1N1 wings
• New research reveals patenting trends around vaccines

General
• Culling more effective than vaccinating
• Seeing a Health Expert Leads to Higher Rate of Flu Shots

Commentary
• Recombinomics: More H1N1 Low Reactors In Japan Raises Vaccine Concerns

New research reveals patenting trends around vaccines

Excerpt:
Key analyses of the Boliven LandscapeTM report into patents relating to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics for Pandemic Influenza H5N1 (‘bird-flu’) and H1N1 (‘swine-flu’) include:

• Since 2001 there have been more than 400 patents and patent applications related to ‘bird-flu’ and ‘swine-flu’ vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.

• Seven out of the Top 10 patent owners (or ‘assignees’) are private sector companies

• Close to 10% of the patents analysed were a result of the collaboration between just one company Medimmune Inc and the US government’s National Institutes of Health

• 43% of the patents considered were filed in North America and Europe, with more than 14% filed in East Asia

http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/article/default.aspx?objid=84747

Brazil
• Girl from the city of [New] Hamburg is the first confirmed case of influenza A in the city in 2011

Canada
• Avian flu testing continuing

Colombia
• Continued outbreaks of H1N1 alert

Egypt
• WHO confirms 1 new human H5N1 case

Ghana
• Pandemic influenza awareness campaign held in Sunyani

Nepal
• Viral fever grip Jajarkot; 1killed, 300 taken ill
• Viral fever affects Tanahun villages
• Viral fever forces PM to nix envoy call

South Korea
• Korean data show few serious adverse events with flu vaccine

United States
• Walgreen begins seasonal flu vaccine push
• Southern California man pleads guilty in bird flu remedy case
• Get flu vaccination early, CDC urges

Uruguay
• New patient died from influenza A virus

Research
• Transcription analysis on response of swine lung to H1N1 swine influenza virus
• Second Antibody Fights Many Flu Strains
• Study puts global 2009 H1N1 infection rate at 11% to 21%
• Mutation gave H1N1 wings

General
• Culling more effective than vaccinating
• Seeing a Health Expert Leads to Higher Rate of Flu Shots

Commentary
• Recombinomics: More H1N1 Low Reactors In Japan Raises Vaccine Concerns

US: Feds raid San Diego vaccine developer NexBio

SAN DIEGO – FBI and other federal agents took over the office of a San Diego flu vaccine developer Thursday morning to serve search warrants tied to a white-collar criminal investigation, authorities said. FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth would not say what type of crime was being investigated at NexBio, which is located on Sorrento Valley Road. No arrests have been made.
The privately owned company has spent years working on Fludase, a treatment designed to block a receptor that all flu virus strains use to enter cells in the airways. Continued:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/04/feds-raid-san-diego-vaccine-developer/

Colombia
• Alarm custody for death of woman with H1N1 virus (translated)

India
• Expert finger on district pulse – National Institute of Virology team to detect viral strains, report to Centre

New Zealand
• Swine flu no longer dominant strain

Uruguay
• Four deaths from the H1N1 virus in Uruguay, with more than 60 infected in 2011

Vietnam
• 5 H5N1 outbreaks in birds in Nghe An province
• Vietnam Still Dealing with Bird Flu

United States
• Feds raid San Diego vaccine developer NexBio

Research
• Study: 2009 H1N1 and seasonal H3N2 cause similar impact on kids
• US: UGA researchers use gold nanoparticles to diagnose flu in minutes

Commentary
• Recombinomics: CDC Testing Two New Seasonal H3N2 Vaccine Targets
• Recombinomics: CDC Testing Three New Influenza B Vaccine Targets

• Recombinomics: CDC Testing New H1N1 Vaccine Target
• Recombinomics: CDC Testing Pandemic trH3N2 Vaccine