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By Category: Agriculture

Flu surveillance lacking

(Nature.com) When researchers created strains of the H5N1 avian influenza virus that could spread easily between mammals, they argued that their work would aid in surveillance, by identifying mutations to watch for in the wild. But an analysis by Nature paints a dire picture of how animal flu viruses are being monitored. In 2010, the Read More »

March 30, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, South America, South Asia, Agents & Toxins, Agriculture, International, and Public Health
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UN: Egypt’s foot-and-mouth outbreak could spread

(VIDEO) (AP) A U.N. agency is warning that an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Egypt could spread and threaten livestock in North Africa and the Middle East, leading to possible food shortages. The disease is not a direct threat to humans but meat and milk from sick animals are unsafe for consumption.

March 29, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Middle East, and Agriculture
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H5N1 surveillance: Shift expertise to where it matters

(Nature.com) Tools and training for responding to diseases such as avian flu must relocate to countries where infections are most likely to emerge, says Jeremy Farrar. Every day on my way to the hospital, I pass streets lined with poultry. The birds disappeared a few years ago, but have gradually returned. This would be of Read More »

March 29, 2012
| Filed under Asia/Pacific, Europe, North America, Agriculture, Countermeasures, International, Policy & Initiatives, and Public Health
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H5N1: How to track a flu virus

(Nature.com) Four experts pinpoint ways to improve monitoring of H5N1 avian influenza in the field. The H5N1 influenza outbreak in Asia is unprecedented: never before has a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus prevailed for so long, spread to so many countries or generated so many genetic variants. Why? Partly because of its persistence in …

March 29, 2012
| Filed under Africa, Asia/Pacific, Europe, Middle East, North America, Agriculture, Countermeasures, International, and Public Health
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How bad could it be?

(CattleNetwork.com) An outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the United States could shut down beef and pork exports and profoundly disrupt our markets for years. Fortunately, we have not had FMD in this country since 1929, and experts around the country are working to keep it that way. But today, with more international movement Read More »