Latest bird flu Stories

By Jim LoneyATLANTA - Closing schools may not help contain the spread of bird flu or other potentially pandemic illnesses, according to U.S. research released on Tuesday.Public health officials are considering school closings, cancellation of big gatherings such as sports events and concerts and other methods to limit contact among people and control the spread of avian influenza.Urging people to stay at home if they or someone in their household is sick is likely to work better, according to...

By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - From Hawaii to New Hampshire, states are beginning to struggle with the prospect of bird flu arriving in the United States by considering measures ranging from mandatory quarantines to extra cash for hospitals. Pandemic-related legislation has been introduced, though generally not yet enacted, in at least 13 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, with money a key ingredient in some of the measures. The efforts tend to go...

By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - From Hawaii to New Hampshire, states are beginning to struggle with the prospect of bird flu arriving in the United States by considering measures ranging from mandatory quarantines to extra cash for hospitals. Pandemic-related legislation has been introduced, though generally not yet enacted, in at least 13 states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, with money a key ingredient in some of the measures. The efforts tend to go...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The H5N1 strain of bird flu in humans has evolved into two separate strains, U.S. researchers reported on Monday, which could complicate developing a vaccine and preventing a pandemic. One strain, or clade, made people sick in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in 2003 and 2004 and a second, a cousin of the first, caused the disease in people in Indonesia in 2004. Two clades may share the same ancestor but are distinct -- as are different clades, or strains, of the AIDS...

ATLANTA (Reuters) - The H5N1 strain of bird flu in humans has evolved into two separate strains, U.S. researchers reported on Monday, which could complicate developing a vaccine and preventing a pandemic.One strain, or clade, made people sick in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in 2003 and 2004 and a second, a cousin of the first, caused the disease in people in Indonesia in 2004.Two clades may share the same ancestor but are distinct -- as are different clades, or strains, of the AIDS virus,...

CHICAGO -- Five people can be protected with just one dose of seasonal flu vaccine, researchers said on Monday, but the development was unlikely to have an effect on the expected coming battle with bird flu.The researchers were able to stretch the supply of vaccine by administering doses one-fifth the normal strength with injections under the skin instead of into muscle, the way full-strength doses are normally delivered."Although these results are preliminary, we found that the reduced...

In ZURICH item of March 16 headlined "Roche aims for 400 mln Tamiflu doses by end 2006" please read in paragraph 13 ... another Chinese company, HEC Group ... instead of ... another Chinese company, Hangzhou Electrochemical Group Ltd. ... A corrected version follows. By Tom Armitage ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drug maker Roche is boosting output of its flu drug, Tamiflu, by a third to meet increased demand from governments building stockpiles for a potential pandemic triggered by bird...

By Tom ArmitageZURICH -- Swiss drug maker Roche is boosting output of its flu drug Tamiflu by a third in order to meet increased demand from governments building stockpiles to deal with a potential pandemic triggered by bird flu.The Basel-based group said on Thursday it would lift production capacity by an additional 100 million treatments to a total of 400 million treatments by the end of the year, after striking deals with external producers.Roche said it expects 1.1 billion to 1.2 billion...

By Telly NathaliaJAKARTA -- An Indonesia-Japan venture said on Thursday it has created what it believes is a more effective bird flu vaccine for poultry and hopes to quickly boost production to help nations fight the deadly H5N1 flu strain.PT. IPB Shigeta said it is using a new production technique called reverse genetics in which an inactivated, genetically modified form of the H5N1 virus is grown in special chicken eggs.The inactivated virus is then harvested for production of the...

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain took a strong stand on Wednesday against the use of bird flu vaccines for poultry, approved the same day by the EU, saying they could hide and spread the disease.Britain's farm ministry issued a statement almost simultaneously with a decision by farm experts meeting in Brussels, who approved a plan by France and the Netherlands, two of Europe's biggest poultry producers, to vaccinate their flocks.While the British statement made no mention of that decision, it did...