Universal flu jab ‘could be available within five years’
8 months, 1 week ago

Universal flu jab ‘could be available within five years’

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Even after almost 100 years of evolution, the virus can’t change those critically important parts of itself Prof Jonah Sacha The researchers said their work raises hope that a “one and done” vaccine that confers lifelong immunity against an evolving virus could be on the horizon. “This could actually become a vaccine in five years or less.” Current flu vaccines target proteins that protrude from the surface of the virus, known as spike proteins. Prof Sacha said the flu virus is “always evolving the next variant and we’re always left to chase where the virus was, not where it’s going to be”. Douglas Reed, associate professor of immunology at the University of Pittsburgh’s Centre for Vaccine Research in the US, said: “Should a deadly virus such as H5N1 infect a human and ignite a pandemic, we need to quickly validate and deploy a new vaccine.” The researchers said their vaccine technology, which is licensed by immunology company Vir Biotechnology, could also work on other viruses, such as Sars-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, to deliver long-lasting immunity.

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History of this topic

UK detects first H5N1 bird flu case in sheep, raising livestock spread fears
Trending News
5 days, 16 hours ago

UK detects first H5N1 bird flu case in sheep, raising livestock spread fears

Firstpost  

The H5N1 virus was detected in a single sheep in Yorkshire, England, during routine testing conducted on a site where avian influenza had previously been identified in birds. The UK’s first case of H5N1 bird flu in sheep has been confirmed in Yorkshire, prompting authorities to step up efforts to prevent large-scale outbreaks similar to those seen in US livestock. …

Experts are anxious that bird flu could become airborne — and jump-start another pandemic
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Experts are anxious that bird flu could become airborne — and jump-start another pandemic

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Could H5N1 bird flu become airborne and spread between people? Previous …

Bird flu mutating very fast: Health experts warn after first human death in US
2 months, 1 week ago

Bird flu mutating very fast: Health experts warn after first human death in US

India Today  

Scientists have raised alarm bells after the first H5N1 death in the US was reported in January 2025, following exposure to infected chickens. Researchers have identified nine mutations in a bird flu strain in another infected person in Texas, US. After conducting experiments on mice, they revealed that the new strain has become quite adept at replicating in human cells, …

First Bird Flu Death In US: 66-Yr-Old Dies Of H5N1 Virus As US Gears Up To Contain Spread
2 months, 3 weeks ago

First Bird Flu Death In US: 66-Yr-Old Dies Of H5N1 Virus As US Gears Up To Contain Spread

ABP News  

Bird Flu: A US man aged 66 has died after battling a bird flu infection for almost three weeks, the country’s apex health body, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has reported. The US health authority states that while the death from H5N1 bird flu is tragic, it is not unexpected because of the known potential for infection with …

Why bird flu could be the biggest health problem in 2025
3 months ago

Why bird flu could be the biggest health problem in 2025

Firstpost  

Malaria, tuberculosis and HIV claim number of lives in the world each year. But as the new year emerges, health professionals are more concerned about another infectious disease — bird flu — that is spreading rapidly across the globe US recorded 61 cases of bird flu this year as opposed to two cases the previous year. Indeed, bird flu can …

Which infectious disease is likely to be biggest emerging problem in 2025?
3 months ago

Which infectious disease is likely to be biggest emerging problem in 2025?

The Hindu  

COVID emerged suddenly, spread rapidly and killed millions of people around the world. Indeed, bird flu can infect humans with 61 cases in the U.S. this year already, mostly resulting from farm workers coming into contact with infected cattle and people drinking raw milk. Coupling this with a 30% mortality rate from human infections, bird flu is quickly jumping up …

Infectious disease expert reveals the pathogens that could spark another pandemic in 2025
3 months ago

Infectious disease expert reveals the pathogens that could spark another pandemic in 2025

Daily Mail  

With the country’s near-total return to normalcy after years of quarantine and isolation measures, the Covid pandemic increasingly feels like a distant memory for many. Coupling this with a 30 percent mortality rate from human infections, bird flu is quickly jumping up the list of public health officials’ priorities.’ This week, the US reported its first severe human case of …

This Disease Is Likely To Be Biggest Emerging Problem In 2025
Trending News
3 months ago

This Disease Is Likely To Be Biggest Emerging Problem In 2025

ABP News  

Nottingham, Dec 26 COVID emerged suddenly, spread rapidly and killed millions of people around the world. Indeed, bird flu can infect humans with 61 cases in the US this year already, mostly resulting from farm workers coming into contact with infected cattle and people drinking raw milk. Coupling this with a 30% mortality rate from human infections, bird flu is …

Letters to the Editor: L.A. Times’ coverage of the bird flu is a great public service
3 months ago

Letters to the Editor: L.A. Times’ coverage of the bird flu is a great public service

LA Times  

To the editor: Thanks to The Times’ editorial staff for publishing Dr. Peter Chin-Hong’s Dec. 20 opinion piece, “Bird flu is coming for humans. We can either get ready or court disaster.” Thanks also to The Times for its excellent coverage of the spread of H5N1 across our state and nation. As a physician who cared for patients, families and …

Why scientists say we are fighting H5N1 bird flu with one hand tied behind our backs
3 months ago

Why scientists say we are fighting H5N1 bird flu with one hand tied behind our backs

LA Times  

As the H5N1 bird flu virus steamrolls its way across the globe — killing wild animals, commercial livestock and even some people — scientists and health officials fear we’re on the precipice of another global pandemic. “YES.” Felicia Goodrum, a molecular virologist at the University of Arizona, said gain-of-function research could enable health officials to recognize worrisome H5N1 mutations and …

Bird flu vaccine deal agreed to bolster pandemic preparedness
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Bird flu vaccine deal agreed to bolster pandemic preparedness

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “Adding the H5 vaccine to our stockpile is one part of our preparedness plans, …

Five million doses of bird flu vaccine bought by UK to prepare for pandemic
3 months, 3 weeks ago

Five million doses of bird flu vaccine bought by UK to prepare for pandemic

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The UK government has bought more than 5 million doses of …

As California bird flu outbreak worsens, a Missouri patient who caught it is alarming experts
5 months, 2 weeks ago

As California bird flu outbreak worsens, a Missouri patient who caught it is alarming experts

Salon  

The H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, has created an enduring crisis this year, massacring millions of birds and other wild animals, while stirring outbreaks in dairy farms across the U.S. As the number of confirmed bird flu cases continues to climb in various states across the country, many public health experts are anxiously awaiting results from testing performed …

New push for mRNA bird flu vaccine development: WHO
8 months ago

New push for mRNA bird flu vaccine development: WHO

The Hindu  

The World Health Organisation announced Monday, July 29, 2024, a new project to accelerate the development in poorer countries, of vaccines for human bird flu infections, using cutting-edge messenger RNA technology. Vaccine equity Swiftly developed mRNA Covid vaccines were game-changers during the pandemic, but they also exposed glaring global vaccine inequity and demands for a fairer distribution amid efforts to …

Drugmaker Sinergium will share bird flu vaccine data in low and middle-income countries, says WHO
8 months ago

Drugmaker Sinergium will share bird flu vaccine data in low and middle-income countries, says WHO

Live Mint  

- Bird flu vaccine developer Sinergium Biotech will share its data with manufacturers in low and middle-income countries to help to accelerate a fair rollout if a pandemic occurs, the World Health Organization said on Monday. The Argentine private sector biopharmaceutical company is at an early stage of developing mRNA vaccines against the H5N1 virus and has pledged to share …

Bird flu seems to be slowly mutating to better infect humans. Experts warn the time to act is now
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Bird flu seems to be slowly mutating to better infect humans. Experts warn the time to act is now

Salon  

In late March, a worker on a commercial dairy farm in Texas developed a case of pink eye. “There's good news and bad news,” co-author of the study Keith Poulson, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, told Salon. Indeed, in the last part of the study scientists discovered that unlike older strains of H5N1, this one has the capacity …

Anticipating a major bird flu crisis, the U.S. government just awarded $176 million for a vaccine
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Anticipating a major bird flu crisis, the U.S. government just awarded $176 million for a vaccine

Salon  

In the ongoing waves of bird flu outbreaks, with the virus spreading to more than 141 herds in 12 states, the risk of another full-blown pandemic like COVID-19 is becoming a distinct possibility. In preparation for just such a disaster, the U.S. government will pay pharmaceutical company Moderna $176 million to develop a vaccine that protects against the H5N1 virus. …

Inadequate bird flu testing is making pandemic experts concerned we're "flying blind" with H5N1
10 months, 2 weeks ago

Inadequate bird flu testing is making pandemic experts concerned we're "flying blind" with H5N1

Salon  

After public health officials confirmed H5N1, the virus also known as bird flu, jumped from poultry to cows and recently infected an American, they’ve warned that if the virus strain made its way to pigs, it could be a time to press the panic button. This specific trait might allow the virus to sp “The biggest question is whether cows …

FDA says it's preparing for a bird flu pandemic in people that could kill one in four Americans
10 months, 2 weeks ago

FDA says it's preparing for a bird flu pandemic in people that could kill one in four Americans

Daily Mail  

The FDA is gearing up for a bird flu pandemic in people that could kill one in four of those it infects, the agency's top official has revealed. Dr Robert Califf, FDA commissioner, pictured speaking to the Senate's agriculture committee on Wednesday The above graph shows the dairy herds that have tested positive for bird flu over time. Officials fear …

A one-shot vaccine for COVID, flu and future viruses? Researchers say it's coming
11 months, 1 week ago

A one-shot vaccine for COVID, flu and future viruses? Researchers say it's coming

Salon  

At the beginning of the pandemic, many people hoped that infections with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 — or vaccines against the virus — would provide durable lifetime immunity, as is the case with diseases like measles or mumps. This new RNA-based technology, the research paper reports, would target a part of the viral genome that is common to …

Current bird flu variant could spread to people via pigs, Ministers warn
1 year, 2 months ago

Current bird flu variant could spread to people via pigs, Ministers warn

NL Times  

The possibility exists that the currently circulating variant of the highly contagious bird flu virus could infect pig farms and then spread to people, Ministers Piet Ademan and Conny Helder said in a preparation document sent to parliament on Monday. Pigs that roam outdoors and come into contact with wild water birds, in particular, form a possible bridge to humans, …

Two-year trial of bird flu vaccines "too slow" say experts
1 year, 6 months ago

Two-year trial of bird flu vaccines "too slow" say experts

Dutch News  

Some 1,800 day-old chicks have been vaccinated against bird flu as a first step in a two-year trial to test the effectiveness of two vaccines but experts say the process could be speeded up. Over seven million chickens, ducks and turkeys have been killed in the last two years as a result of the spread of the highly contagious bird …

Bird flu might infect humans ‘more easily’, UN agencies warns: What it means
1 year, 8 months ago

Bird flu might infect humans ‘more easily’, UN agencies warns: What it means

Hindustan Times  

Amid avian flu outbreaks globally, three UN agencies warned that the virus might adapt to infect humans more easily, urging countries to strengthen disease surveillance and improve hygiene at poultry farms. This comes as a new highly contagious H5N1 strain of bird flu among wild birds spread to new geographical regions, raising fears of a pandemic among humans. “There is …

Experts warn of rapidly spreading avian virus, risk of next human pandemic
1 year, 9 months ago

Experts warn of rapidly spreading avian virus, risk of next human pandemic

Live Mint  

Experts have issued warnings about the rapidly changing nature of the virus causing record cases of avian influenza in birds worldwide. While the risk to humans remains relatively low, the increasing number of bird flu cases in mammals has raised concerns among experts. To mitigate the risk to humans and reduce the number of bird flu cases, experts recommend widespread …

'Just in case': Vaccine makers say bird flu shots for humans can be made in months
2 years ago

'Just in case': Vaccine makers say bird flu shots for humans can be made in months

India Today  

Some of the world's leading makers of flu vaccines say they could make hundreds of millions of bird flu shots for humans within months if a new strain of avian influenza ever jumps across the species divide. NEW APPROACHES In a pandemic, vaccine manufacturers would shift production of seasonal flu vaccines and instead make shots tailored to the new outbreak …

Experts gather with Avain flu risk on the agenda
2 years, 1 month ago

Experts gather with Avain flu risk on the agenda

Hindustan Times  

The world's leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months. At this week's meeting, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was a key topic, the World Health Organization and global flu experts told Reuters. Read here: …

Flu experts meet over H5N1 threat to humans amid record bird deaths globally
2 years, 1 month ago

Flu experts meet over H5N1 threat to humans amid record bird deaths globally

Hindustan Times  

The world's leading experts on influenza met this week to discuss the threat posed to humans by a strain of H5N1 avian flu that has caused record numbers of bird deaths around the world in recent months. At this week's meeting, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was a key topic, the World Health Organization and global flu experts told Reuters. Experts have …

Explainer: H5N1 Bird Flu in Mammals Sparks Fears of Virus Spreading Among Humans
2 years, 1 month ago

Explainer: H5N1 Bird Flu in Mammals Sparks Fears of Virus Spreading Among Humans

Bloomberg  

The strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, known as H5N1 has proved to be alarmingly adept at jumping continents and species. First discovered in 1996 in geese bred on a farm in southern China, the virus has rampaged through populations of captive, commercial birds in recent years, prompting governments to order the slaughter of tens of millions of turkeys, …

Why Public Health Officials Are Not Panicked About Bird Flu? An Analysis
2 years, 1 month ago

Why Public Health Officials Are Not Panicked About Bird Flu? An Analysis

News 18  

A new strain of bird flu that transmits easily among wild birds has triggered an explosive spread into new corners of the globe, infecting and killing a variety of mammals species and raising fears of a pandemic more lethal than COVID-19. But the very changes that have allowed the virus to infect wild birds so efficiently likely made it harder …

Mammalian spread of H5N1 and its pandemic potential
2 years, 1 month ago

Mammalian spread of H5N1 and its pandemic potential

The Hindu  

Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects birds. H5N1 is a highly pathogenic subtype of avian influenza that causes severe disease and death in birds. The recent findings of transmission of H5N1 between mammals thus raise concerns on the potential for H5N1 to cause a pandemic in humans if it were to spill …

Researchers Prepare New mRNA Flu Shot that Can Target All Strains, Prevent Influenza Pandemic
2 years, 4 months ago

Researchers Prepare New mRNA Flu Shot that Can Target All Strains, Prevent Influenza Pandemic

News 18  

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania are developing a new mRNA vaccine targeting all known flu strains in a single shot and said the vaccine is showing promise in animal studies. Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia told CBC: “Our approach was to make a vaccine that encoded every influenza subtype and lineage that we …

Scientists: Duck is 1st wild bird flu case in US in 5 years
3 years, 2 months ago

Scientists: Duck is 1st wild bird flu case in US in 5 years

Associated Press  

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A duck killed by a hunter in South Carolina had a contagious and dangerous bird flu that has not been detected in the wild in the U.S. in five years, officials said. The Eurasian H5 avian influenza was first detected by Clemson University scientists and confirmed by federal testing, the school said in a news release. Anyone …

Oxford vaccine chief struggling to raise funding for non-Covid jabs
3 years, 6 months ago

Oxford vaccine chief struggling to raise funding for non-Covid jabs

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “But when we try to return to projects that we were working on earlier and …

Russian Scientists Detect World’s 1st Case of H5N8 Avian Flu in Humans, Alert WHO
4 years, 1 month ago

Russian Scientists Detect World’s 1st Case of H5N8 Avian Flu in Humans, Alert WHO

News 18  

Russia said Saturday that its scientists had detected the world’s first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu from birds to humans and had alerted the World Health Organization. In televised remarks, the head of Russia’s health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, said scientists at the Vektor laboratory had isolated the strain’s genetic material from seven workers at …

Russia detects first cases of H5N8 bird flu in humans in poultry farm, says it has alerted WHO
4 years, 1 month ago

Russia detects first cases of H5N8 bird flu in humans in poultry farm, says it has alerted WHO

Firstpost  

Russia’s health watchdog said that its scientists have isolated the strain’s genetic material from seven workers at a poultry farm in southern Russia, where an outbreak was recorded among the birds in December Russia said Saturday its scientists had detected the first case of transmission of the H5N8 strain of avian flu to humans and had alerted the World Health …

Covid vaccine: Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is safe and up to 90% effective, new analysis confirms
4 years, 3 months ago

Covid vaccine: Oxford-AstraZeneca jab is safe and up to 90% effective, new analysis confirms

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. So that work’s underway.” However, Dr Merryn Voysey, author of the report, said that further …

Scientists have just gotten closer to creating a universal flu vaccine
4 years, 3 months ago

Scientists have just gotten closer to creating a universal flu vaccine

Salon  

A new report reveals that scientists may have taken the first crucial steps toward developing a vaccine that will treat not specific strains of influenza, but all of them. The new study, which was first published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine on Monday, describes a universal flu vaccine candidate that could change the way we vaccinate ourselves against influenza. …

Amid Campaign Jabs Over Vaccine, Senate Holds Hearing On Treatment Development
4 years, 6 months ago

Amid Campaign Jabs Over Vaccine, Senate Holds Hearing On Treatment Development

NPR  

Amid Campaign Jabs Over Vaccine, Senate Holds Hearing On Treatment Development Enlarge this image toggle caption Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images Updated at noon ET The U.S. Senate is holding a hearing Wednesday on the development of vaccines aimed at eradicating the coronavirus amid escalated political rhetoric regarding the potential effectiveness of a fast-tracked vaccine. Seizing on the Biden/Harris …

Scientists in China identify a new strain of swine flu virus with 'pandemic' potential
4 years, 9 months ago

Scientists in China identify a new strain of swine flu virus with 'pandemic' potential

Op India  

Amidst the Coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 1 cr people and killed over 5 lacs worldwide, researchers have reportedly found a new strain for swine flu in China which possesses genes of pandemic potential. While researchers have noted that the new strain from swine flu is not an immediate problem but has the potential of a global outbreak …

Flu virus with ‘human pandemic potential’ discovered in pigs in China
4 years, 9 months ago

Flu virus with ‘human pandemic potential’ discovered in pigs in China

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “G4 viruses have all the essential hallmarks of a candidate pandemic virus,” wrote the researchers …

New swine flu found in China has pandemic potential
4 years, 9 months ago

New swine flu found in China has pandemic potential

The Hindu  

Researchers in China have discovered a new type of swine flu that is capable of triggering a pandemic, according to a study published on Monday in the U.S. science journal PNAS. From 2011 to 2018, researchers took 30,000 nasal swabs from pigs in slaughterhouses in 10 Chinese provinces and in a veterinary hospital, allowing them to isolate 179 swine flu …

Animal testing: Scientists test several candidates on ferrets, monkeys in hopes of making a safe COVID-19 vaccine
4 years, 9 months ago

Animal testing: Scientists test several candidates on ferrets, monkeys in hopes of making a safe COVID-19 vaccine

Firstpost  

Ferrets develop a fever and they also cough and sneeze, infecting each other much as people do. Three recently reported studies in monkeys tested different COVID-19 vaccine approaches, including shots made by Oxford University and China’s Sinovac. Some only partially protected monkeys – but one fully protected eight monkeys from any sign of the virus, said Dr Dan Barouch, who …

Monkeys, ferrets offer needed clues in COVID-19 vaccine race
4 years, 9 months ago

Monkeys, ferrets offer needed clues in COVID-19 vaccine race

Associated Press  

The global race for a COVID-19 vaccine boils down to some critical questions: How much must the shots rev up someone’s immune system to really work? Three recently reported studies in monkeys tested different COVID-19 vaccine approaches, including shots made by Oxford University and China’s Sinovac. Some only partially protected monkeys -- but one fully protected eight monkeys from any …

Monkeys were protected from coronavirus after being given prototype vaccines, Harvard study finds
4 years, 10 months ago

Monkeys were protected from coronavirus after being given prototype vaccines, Harvard study finds

Daily Mail  

Two new studies offer some of the first signs that surviving the novel coronavirus may result in immunity from reinfection - and that a vaccine is on the horizon. In one study, 25 monkeys were given six prototype vaccines while 10 received a fake vaccine. In one study, published on Wednesday in the journal Science, researchers infected nine adult monkeys …

Potential Oxford vaccine fails to prevent coronavirus spread in monkeys, but protects from pneumonia
4 years, 10 months ago

Potential Oxford vaccine fails to prevent coronavirus spread in monkeys, but protects from pneumonia

The Hindu  

A high-profile potential vaccine for COVID-19 being tested by researchers at Oxord University failed to protect vaccinated monkeys from being infected by the virus. The vaccine candidate, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, being tested is a weakened form a common cold virus that affects chimpanzees but has been neutered to prevent replication in humans. Rajesh Gokhle, Faculty, National Institute of Immunology and former …

People are getting paid to be infected with the flu
5 years, 4 months ago

People are getting paid to be infected with the flu

CNN  

CNN — It’s widely accepted that the flu and the torrent of uncomfortable symptoms that come with it are to be avoided at all costs. For a handsome sum of up to $3,300, 80 adult participants across four research facilities will receive a nasal spray with the virus and spend at least one week at an inpatient facility until they’ve …

‘Groundbreaking advance’ in flu treatment could save thousands of lives, research suggests
5 years, 5 months ago

‘Groundbreaking advance’ in flu treatment could save thousands of lives, research suggests

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Successful animal experiments of an antiviral drug which induces mutations in the genetic material of …

Tackling vaccine fears and misinformation key to preventing next pandemic, WHO says
6 years ago

Tackling vaccine fears and misinformation key to preventing next pandemic, WHO says

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Addressing misinformation about vaccines will be key to preventing the next …

Single jab that protects against all strains of flu for 10 years
7 years ago

Single jab that protects against all strains of flu for 10 years

Daily Mail  

A single jab which protects against all strains of flu for up to a decade could be available on the NHS in just two years. The results of a UK human trial being announced today suggest the jab is more effective than existing vaccines which target only a few types of the virus. The FLU-v jab, which is the work …

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