Wild birds and poultry flocks alike continue to drop dead from the bird flu that began spreading globally in 2020. Almost 59 million commercial birds have already been culled in the United States.
two cases Tuesday, both poultry workers with asymptomatic infections detected via routine testing. Chile reported one infection in March and Ecuador one case in January.
Developing new, better-tailored shots for the current strain would be complicated, though, because most flu vaccines are grown in chicken eggs — "a slow process fraught with production issues," according to Dr. Gregory Poland, founder and director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group. The process requires individually inoculating each egg with a modified virus and, of course, depends on an ample supply of healthy chickens.
So vaccine researchers are preparing. Moderna said that later this year, it expects to begin clinical testing of an mRNA vaccine specific to the strain now circulating in birds, called 2.3.4.4b. mRNA technology offers an advantage because it allows vaccines to be produced and updated quickly. Given that experts think a future bird flu pandemic would be caused by a strain of H5N1 that hasn’t evolved yet, the ideal vaccines could be easily tweaked to target it.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Prosecutors refile charges against Philadelphia officer in 2020 protest arrest after judge dismisses caseA Philadelphia judge dismissed all charges against a former police officer accused of assaulting a woman who accidentally drove a sport utility vehicle into a 2020 protest with her young son in the vehicle — but prosecutors quickly refiled the case.
Read more »
COVID ICU patients reach zero for first time since Oct. 2020 in central New YorkFor the first time in 952 days, COVID Intensive Care Unit hospitalizations reached zero in Central New York, according to New York State Department of Health data.
Read more »
Murder, arson charges filed in 2020 death of Chicago womanPolice said Victor Terrell participated in arson and the death of a 34-year-old Chicago woman who was found in a house fire in November 2020.
Read more »
Suspect released while awaiting trial in deadly 2020 downtown Seattle shooting back in jailA man accused of starting a shootout that left one dead and seven injured in downtown Seattle in 2020 is back in jail after he was released earlier this year.
Read more »