Minnesota groups issue reports

Jan 30, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – Minnesota health groups today unveiled two preliminary guidance reports designed to help the state make and implement difficult decisions about allocating scare resources such as antivirals, respirators, ventilators, and vaccines during a severe influenza pandemic.
(Snip)
Magnan said the reports predict that in a pandemic as bad as the one [...]

Bird flu spreads to new areas in Assam

With a fresh outbreak of bird flu in poultry being detected in Assam, authorities are prepared to start the culling of thousands of chickens.
Reports say the virus has spread to the districts of Barpeta and Nalbari from Hajo in Kamrup District, where it was first reported.
Samples were sent to laboratories in Bhopal and have tested [...]

Old and new viruses spread by air travel, crowding

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tourists traveling by plane and the growth of cities are combining to help new and old infections spread around the world, experts said on Monday. Viruses such as Chikungunya and dengue fever are finding new homes or returning to places where they were eradicated, the researchers told an infectious diseases meeting. And [...]

First Confirmed H1N1 in CanadaTamiflu Resistant

 
Recombinomics Commentary
October 23, 2008 Since 1 September 2008, National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) has antigenically characterized three influenza viruses: one influenza A/Brisbane/59/2007(H1N1)-like and two influenza B/Florida/4/2006 viruses, which are the influenza A(H1N1) and influenza B components recommended for the 2008-09 influenza vaccine.
The testing results showed that the influenza A(H1N1) isolate was sensitive to amantadine, however, it [...]

Nigeria: New strain raises good questions

New bird flu strain detected in Nigeria
FAO calls for increased surveillance
11 August 2008, Rome – A strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza previously not recorded in sub-Saharan Africa has been detected in Nigeria for the first time, FAO said today. Nigeria has recently reported two new Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks in the states of [...]

Thinking the unthinkable in the 21st century

This is by monotreme, of PFI.

Thinking the unthinkable in the 21st century: Who would use influenza as a biological weapon?
http://tinyurl.com/5rhdue
[links at the blog (lots of them)]
There have been occasional speculations in Flublogia as to whether H5N1 could have been some how manipulated by man. When this has been discussed in Flublogia, the idea has [...]