H5N1

Born Free USA Applauds the Introduction of Bill to End Mink Farming in Illinois; Urges Swift Passage

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Born Free USA , a leading wildlife nonprofit, applauds the introduction of Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act (S.B.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Born Free USA , a leading wildlife nonprofit, applauds the introduction of Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act (S.B.
  • Sponsored by State Senate Assistant Majority Leader Linda Holmes, this bill would ban mink fur farming in the state of Illinois to protect public health.
  • Says Angela Grimes, Born Free USA CEO, "The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us that fur farming is harmful to human health and safety.
  • Born Free USA calls on the Illinois legislature to act quickly to pass the bill into law.

CSL Seqirus Announces Third U.S. Government Award in Relation to Influenza A(H5N8) Candidate Vaccine

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 28, 2023

This acquisition of a bulk lot will increase BARDA's stockpile of vaccine to support rapid response in an associated influenza pandemic.

Key Points: 
  • This acquisition of a bulk lot will increase BARDA's stockpile of vaccine to support rapid response in an associated influenza pandemic.
  • Under the terms of the agreement, CSL Seqirus will deliver one bulk lot of H5N8 A/Astrakhan antigen to support the U.S. government's pandemic response readiness.
  • CSL Seqirus used its cell-based influenza vaccine technology, as utilized for FDA-approved AUDENZ™ (Influenza A(H5N1) Monovalent Vaccine, Adjuvanted), to manufacture the H5N8 A/Astrakhan bulk vaccine at the company's Holly Springs, North Carolina, facility, which was built in partnership with BARDA.
  • CSL Seqirus established and will maintain the required pandemic readiness to deliver 150 million doses of cell-based pandemic influenza vaccine within six months of an influenza pandemic declaration in the U.S.

Gain-of-function research is more than just tweaking risky viruses – it's a routine and essential tool in all biology research

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Some research on emerging viruses can result in variants that gain the ability to infect people but this does not necessarily mean the research is dangerous or that it is not fruitful.

Key Points: 
  • Some research on emerging viruses can result in variants that gain the ability to infect people but this does not necessarily mean the research is dangerous or that it is not fruitful.
  • Concerns have focused on lab research on the virus that causes bird flu in 2012 and on the virus that causes COVID-19 since 2020.
  • Clarifying what gain-of-function research really is can help clarify why it is an essential scientific tool.

What is gain of function?

    • To study how a living thing operates, scientists can change a specific part of it and then observe the effects.
    • These changes sometimes result in the organism’s gaining a function it didn’t have before or losing a function it once had.
    • This mutated immune cell, called a CAR-T cell thereby “gains the function” of being able to bind to cancerous cells and kill them.

Medical advances from gain-of-function research

    • Only decades later does the research bring a new treatment to the clinic or a new technology within reach.
    • The development of most antibiotics have relied on the manipulation of bacteria or mold in gain-of-function experiments.
    • Alexander Fleming’s initial discovery that the mold Penicillium rubens could produce a compound toxic to bacteria was a profound medical advance.
    • Gain-of-function research in virology has also been critical to the advancement of science and health.

Nature’s gain-of-function experiments

    • Many viruses that infect such nonhuman animals as bats, pigs, birds and mice have the potential to spill over into people.
    • Gain-of-function experiments in the lab can help scientists anticipate the changes viruses may undergo in nature by understanding what specific features allow them to transmit between people and infect them.
    • In contrast to nature’s experiments, these are conducted in highly controlled lab conditions designed to limit infection risk to laboratory personnel and others, including air flow control, personal protective equipment and waste sterilization.
    • Scientists have a better appreciation of the tangible risk of bird flu spillover because of gain-of-function experiments published a decade ago.

Oversight on gain of function

    • Many researchers would likely agree that gain of function as a general tool is an important way to study biology that should not be restricted, while also arguing that it should be curtailed for research on specific dangerous pathogens.
    • While updates to current oversight are not unreasonable, we believe that blanket bans or additional restrictions on gain-of-function research do not make society safer.
    • Clarifying which specific research areas are of concern regarding gain-of-function approaches can help identify how the current oversight framework can be improved.

Migrating birds could bring lethal avian flu to Australia's vulnerable birds

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

In 2021, avian influenza evolved into a new form – a new and remarkably lethal variant first found in Europe.

Key Points: 
  • In 2021, avian influenza evolved into a new form – a new and remarkably lethal variant first found in Europe.
  • Bird flu is usually most dangerous to birds kept in close quarters, such as chicken farms.
  • But as it spread around the world, the highly pathogenic HPAI A(H5N1) variant began killing millions and millions of wild birds too.
  • Black swans, for instance, are especially vulnerable to all types of avian flu.

Could it really get here?

    • Instead, the government is likely to focus on the major wetlands and shallow inlets which attract migratory birds.
    • Responses like the mass destruction of beehives after the devastating varroa mite arrived are unlikely to work for a virus.
    • A tailored vaccine could help domestic birds, but it would be all but impossible to administer to wild birds.
    • Read more:
      Australia's iconic black swans have a worrying immune system deficiency, new genome study finds

Haven’t our birds survived bird flu before?

    • In 2020, three egg producers in Victoria had an outbreak of another highly pathogenic influenza variant, H7N7.
    • To stop it spreading, authorities culled all birds in the farms.
    • This variant emerged when low pathogenic viruses carried by local wild birds evolved into a deadlier form.
    • But if the virus gets into wild birds and takes off, we have no plan.

We must prepare

    • As we back nature into a corner, we can find ourselves more exposed to the viruses wild animals carry.
    • That’s a similar death rate to many of the birds dying of the avian flu elsewhere in the world.
    • The main protection we have at present is the fact avian flu finds it hard to infect us in the first place.

SOUTH DAKOTA VACCINE INNOVATOR USING USDA-APPROVED PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP URGENTLY NEEDED VACCINE OPTIONS FOR POULTRY INDUSTRY

Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 24, 2023

BROOKINGS, S.D., April 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medgene, a South Dakota-based animal health company, will be conducting a study to test a vaccine produced by its USDA-approved platform technology against a variant of avian influenza.

Key Points: 
  • Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, or bird flu) has become widespread among wild birds and created significant economic loss to the U.S. poultry industry.
  • While the total economic impact of HPAI is difficult to measure, the need for potential solutions is urgent.
  • "People are often surprised that a vaccine technology can work across species.
  • Our platform technology allows our influenza vaccine for swine to be adopted to address influenza in turkeys as well as the H5N1 variant in all birds."

UK poultry can roam free outside again – but bird flu risk hasn't gone away

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, April 20, 2023

The UK government recently announced that as of April 18, poultry and captive birds can be kept outside again as the threat from bird flu eases.

Key Points: 
  • The UK government recently announced that as of April 18, poultry and captive birds can be kept outside again as the threat from bird flu eases.
  • These mandatory housing measures were introduced across England and Wales in the autumn of 2022 following the unprecedented spread of bird flu in the UK and Europe.
  • Read more:
    Bird flu: domestic chicken keepers could be putting themselves – and others – at risk

    Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is caused by the influenza A virus which can lead to disease in many hosts including humans.

  • In general, human influenza viruses have little capacity to infect animal species and vice versa, but sporadic infections can sometimes occur between species.

How did the current outbreak spread?

    • The origins of all influenza A serotypes are thought to be in aquatic birds such as ducks, geese, gulls and wading birds.
    • The 2.3.4.4b clade of the H5N1 serotype, for example, is descended from the goose/Guangdong lineage, first isolated in a goose in Guangdong, China.
    • This clade emerged around 2021 and has caused several outbreaks globally, including in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, most likely spread by migratory birds.
    • And while avian flu has traditionally been a problem primarily for chickens and other domestic birds, this outbreak has been unusual in its capacity to cause disease and death in wild birds too.

Beyond birds

    • Mammals can become infected with bird flu as a result eating infected birds – through predation or scavenging – or from coming into contact with bird faeces.
    • In the UK most mammalian cases are in species likely to have consumed infected birds including foxes, otters and weasels.
    • The UK Health Security Agency has a zero to six level of threat for pandemic avian influenza.

Balancing risk with animal welfare

    • The greatest risk of influenza to poultry is through the autumn and winter months with the migration of birds, such as barnacle geese.
    • As we move out of peak influenza season, the risk should be lower in the short term.
    • The removal of housing restrictions is a decision that balances infection risk with animal welfare.

Virax Biolabs Group Limited Introduces Avian Influenza A Virus Real-Time PCR Test Kit

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, March 7, 2023

LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Virax Biolabs Group Limited ("Virax" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: VRAX), an innovative diagnostics company focused on the prevention, detection, and diagnosis of viral diseases, announced today that it has entered into an agreement for the distribution of an Avian Influenza A Virus ("AIV") real-time PCR test kit to markets accepting the CE mark, namely the European Union.

Key Points: 
  • LONDON, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Virax Biolabs Group Limited ("Virax" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: VRAX), an innovative diagnostics company focused on the prevention, detection, and diagnosis of viral diseases, announced today that it has entered into an agreement for the distribution of an Avian Influenza A Virus ("AIV") real-time PCR test kit to markets accepting the CE mark, namely the European Union.
  • The test kit is for the detection and differentiation of ribonucleic acid from AIV and the H5, H7 and H9 subtypes, including the H5N1 strain currently spreading in Europe.
  • The test kit is for use in laboratory settings and can help healthcare professionals accurately identify an AIV infection.
  • With a real-time PCR test kit poised to accurately and reliably detect AIV, including the deadly H5N1 strain, we expect to facilitate rapid and potentially life-saving interventions especially in vulnerable jurisdictions."

Todos Medical Initiates Validation Plan for PCR-based Avian Influenza A (H5N1, Bird Flu) Test at CLIA/CAP Testing Lab Provista Diagnostics

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

New York, NY, and Tel Aviv, ISRAEL, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Todos Medical, Ltd. (OTCQB: TOMDF), a comprehensive medical diagnostics and related solutions company, today announced that its CLIA/CAP-certified laboratory Provista Diagnostics has initiated a validation plan for PCR-based Avian Influenza A (H5N1, bird flu) human testing.

Key Points: 
  • New York, NY, and Tel Aviv, ISRAEL, Feb. 14, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire -- Todos Medical, Ltd. (OTCQB: TOMDF), a comprehensive medical diagnostics and related solutions company, today announced that its CLIA/CAP-certified laboratory Provista Diagnostics has initiated a validation plan for PCR-based Avian Influenza A (H5N1, bird flu) human testing.
  • Under the plan, the Company will validate commercial and internally developed H5N1 PCR reagents and launch the most sensitive test.
  • The H5N1 PCR test is being developed as a Laboratory Developed Test (LDT).
  • Over 58 million poultry birds have been affected, and cases in birds have been reported in every state in the US .

CSL Announces Closing of Global Collaboration and Licensing Agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics

Retrieved on: 
Monday, December 12, 2022

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CSL Limited (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) today announced that its subsidiary, CSL Seqirus, finalized its global collaboration and license agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc ("Arcturus Therapeutics"; NASDAQ: ARCT). The agreement grants access to Arcturus Therapeutics' late-stage self-amplifying mRNA (sa-mRNA) vaccine platform technology, which recently reported results from a large COVID-19 Phase III vaccine efficacy study, meeting its primary and secondary endpoints of prevention of infection and severe disease with a favorable safety and tolerability profile.

Key Points: 
  • CSL to access late-stage next-generation mRNA platform technology, enabling development of vaccines for COVID-19, influenza, multi-pathogen pandemic preparedness and other respiratory pathogens
    KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Dec. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --CSL Limited (ASX:CSL; USOTC:CSLLY) today announced that its subsidiary, CSL Seqirus, finalized its global collaboration and license agreement with Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc ("Arcturus Therapeutics"; NASDAQ: ARCT).
  • "This is a significant leap forward with a demonstrated platform that will allow us to further explore influenza-adjacent therapies."
  • Today, CSL including our three businesses, CSL Behring, CSL Seqirus and CSL Vifor provides lifesaving products to patients in more than 100 countries and employs 30,000 people.
  • CSL Seqirus is part of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL).

SINOVAC Varicella Vaccine Prequalified by WHO

Retrieved on: 
Friday, November 4, 2022

This marks the first WHO prequalified Chinese varicella vaccine and the fourth SINOVAC vaccine to receive WHO approval.

Key Points: 
  • This marks the first WHO prequalified Chinese varicella vaccine and the fourth SINOVAC vaccine to receive WHO approval.
  • Mr. Weidong Yin, Chairman, President and CEO of Sinovac, commented, Now that SINOVAC has received WHO prequalification for our varicella vaccine, we can provide a new weapon for prevention and control of infectious diseases globally.
  • Previously, three other vaccines by SINOVAC were also approved by WHO in various uses and conditions, including Healive (the hepatitis A vaccine), CoronaVac (the COVID-19 vaccine) and the Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine.
  • In 2022, SINOVACs Sabin-strain inactivated polio vaccine (sIPV) and varicella vaccine were prequalified by the WHO.