Latest Orthomyxoviridae Stories

The duck genome provides new insight into fighting bird flu The duck genome consortium, consisted of scientists from China Agricultural University, BGI, University of Edinburgh and other institutes has completed the genome sequencing and analysis of the duck (Anas platyrhynchos), one principal natural host of influenza A viruses. This work reveals some noteworthy conclusions and provides an invaluable resource for unraveling the interactive mechanisms between the host and influenza...

New Fluzone® Quadrivalent (Influenza Virus Vaccine): LYON, France, June 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi (EURONEXT: SAN and NYSE: SNY), announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for licensure of its four-strain influenza vaccine, Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine. Fluzone Quadrivalent vaccine is the newest addition to the Fluzone family of influenza vaccines....

As concerns rise with the Avian Influenza A (H7N9) virus AKA “Bird Flu,” antimicrobial product manufacturers, consult and conduct studies with industry leading testing lab, BioScience Laboratories Inc. Bozeman, MT (PRWEB) May 30, 2013 H7N9 is an influenza virus which is sometimes found in birds, but normally not in humans. Beginning in March, 2013, China reported H7N9 infections in humans, as well as poultry. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this new H7N9 strain has...

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have developed a new gene therapy to thwart a potential influenza pandemic. Specifically, investigators in the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, directed by James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, demonstrated that a single dose of an adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing a broadly neutralizing flu antibody into the nasal passages of mice and ferrets gives them complete protection and...

Researcher urges targeted vaccination of those under 65 in comparable scenarios As the world prepares for what may be the next pandemic strain of influenza virus, in the H7N9 bird flu, a new UC Irvine study reveals that the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic was deadliest for people under the age of 65, while those 65 and over had greater immunity due to previous exposure to similar viruses. Deaths from flu pandemics tend to skew younger than those from seasonal flu because of "antigenic...

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Swine flu can now officially be considered a misnomer for H1N1, as a team of American and Chilean scientists have identified it in a population of northern elephant seals living off the coast of central California, according to a new report in the journal PLOS ONE. In an attempt to understand how viruses surface and move among species, the study authors from the University of California, Davis have been investigating flu viruses in...

Chinese scientists recommend strong measures to prevent a pandemic in open access article On 31 March 2013, the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission announced human cases of novel H7N9 influenza virus infections. A group of scientists, led by Professor Chen Hualan of the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, has investigated the origins of this novel H7N9 influenza virus and published their results in Springer’s open...

MIT study identifies influenza viruses circulating in pigs and birds that could pose a risk to humans. In the summer of 1968, a new strain of influenza appeared in Hong Kong. This strain, known as H3N2, spread around the globe and eventually killed an estimated 1 million people. A new study from MIT reveals that there are many strains of H3N2 circulating in birds and pigs that are genetically similar to the 1968 strain and have the potential to generate a pandemic if they leap to...

Flublok is the world's first FDA approved recombinant protein vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza LONDON, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on its recent analysis of the influenza vaccines market, Frost & Sullivan recognises Protein Sciences with the 2013 Global New Product Innovation Award. Flublok is the world's first recombinant protein vaccine for the prevention of seasonal influenza disease in individuals aged 18-49 years to gain U.S. FDA approval....

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online A novel strain of the bird flu (H7N9) that has now infected more than 100 people in China and has taken the lives of at least 22 is being called “one of the most lethal” strains known, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And as of Wednesday April 24, the strain has moved beyond the constraints of the Far East nation. Taiwanese officials reported that a 53-year-old citizen who had made regular trips to the Chinese...