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By Region: Asia/Pacific

UW-Madison study: New bird flu in China could cause global outbreak

(TheJournalTimes) A new kind of bird flu that has killed 43 people in China shows potential in the lab for sparking a global outbreak, according to a study by UW-Madison researcher Yoshihiro Kawaoka. “We don’t know how many more changes are needed for this virus to cause a pandemic,” said Kawaoka, a flu expert whose Read More »

July 11, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Public Health, and Research
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New Infectious Diseases like MERS Remains a Major Threat

(Time) About a week and a half ago, I was lucky enough to be walking through San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park on a purely perfect northern California summer day. I was thinking what I usually think whenever I visit the Bay Area: “Why don’t I live here?” (The BART transit strike that began the next Read More »

July 10, 2013
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, Biosafety, and Countermeasures
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Study puts troubling traits of H7N9 avian flu virus on display

(EurekAlert) The emerging H7N9 avian influenza virus responsible for at least 37 deaths in China has qualities that could potentially spark a global outbreak of flu, according to a new study published today (July 10, 2013) in the journal Nature. An international team led by Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University Read More »

July 10, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, International, and Research
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NIH scientists assess history, pandemic potential of H7 influenza viruses

(EurekAlert) The emergence of a novel H7N9 avian influenza virus in humans in China has raised questions about its pandemic potential as well as that of related influenza viruses. In a commentary published online today, scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, address these Read More »

July 10, 2013
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, and International
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H7N9 influenza: History of similar viruses gives cause for concern

(EurekAlert) The H7N9 avian flu strain that emerged in China earlier this year has subsided for now, but it would be a mistake to be reassured by this apparent lull in infections. The virus has several highly unusual traits that paint a disquieting picture of a pathogen that may yet lead to a pandemic, according Read More »