Chinese scientists have confirmed for the first time that a new strain of bird flu which has killed 23 people in China has been transmitted to humans from chickens. In a study published online in the Lancet medical journal, the scientists echoed previous statements from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Chinese officials that there […] Read more
Scientists confirm new H7N9 flu comes from chickens
WHO says new bird strain ‘one of most lethal’ flu viruses
A new bird flu strain that has killed 22 people in China is “one of the most lethal” of its kind and transmits more easily to humans than another strain that has killed hundreds since 2003, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday. The H7N9 flu has infected 108 people in China since […] Read more
Mystery of Chinese bird flu outbreak grows
Health officials raised further questions on Friday about the source of a new strain of bird flu infecting humans in China, after data indicated more than half of patients had had no contact with poultry. The H7N9 virus has been found in 87 people, mostly in eastern China, and killed 17. But it is not […] Read more
Scientists race to gauge pandemic risk of new bird flu
Genetic sequence data on a deadly strain of bird flu previously unknown in people show the virus has already acquired some mutations that might make it more likely to cause a human pandemic, scientists say. But there is no evidence so far that the H7N9 flu — now known to have infected nine people in […] Read more
Study on rats fed Roundup-tolerant corn draws skepticism
In a study that prompted sharp criticism from other experts, French scientists said on Wednesday that rats fed on Monsanto’s genetically modified corn or exposed to its top-selling weedkiller suffered tumours and multiple organ damage. The French government asked the country’s health watchdog to investigate the findings further, although a number of scientists questioned the […] Read more
Diseases from animals hit over two billion people a year
A global study mapping human diseases that come from animals, such as tuberculosis, AIDS, bird flu or Rift Valley fever, has found that just 13 such diseases are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths a year. The vast majority of infections and deaths from so-called "zoonotic" diseases are in […] Read more
Foot-and-mouth study suggests culls may be reduced
Scientists studying foot-and-mouth disease have found that cattle with the virus are infectious for only a very short time — suggesting that mass culling previously used to reduce the disease’s spread may in future be avoided. In research published in the journal Science on Thursday, scientists found that even if the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
