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Just received this interesting idea … it’s called the Band of Blessing

This is an arm band which serves as a reminder to be a blessing. Cool.

See the site too: bandofblessing.org

After a two year pause, Avian Influenza has resurfaced in Germany. We got the news late Sunday evening that swans and a Canada goose have been found dead and tested positive for H5N1.

On one side there is quite a bit of surprise that this would come in the month of June since birds are not migrating right now. On the other side, since bird flu broke out on a turkey farm in neighboring Czech Republic last week it is feasible that the cases are related. The Czech border is only 120 Km (75 miles) from Nuremberg where the swans were found dead.

As usual Germany sprang into action Read the rest of this entry →

Over the past few weeks there has been a flurry of bad news regarding Avian bird flu including the death of a 15 year old girl in Laos. There have been various outbreaks especially in the Middle East and several countries including China reporting fresh cases.

However, behind all those headlines (all of which you can read in our “Current Headlines” section) there were also so interesting stories about vaccines being developed.

Just days ago, GlaxoSmithKline r Read the rest of this entry →

NIAID DNA Vaccine for H5N1 Avian Influenza Enters Human Trial

The first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avian influenza infection began on December 21, 2006, when the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD. Scientists from the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of the NIH Institutes, designed the vaccine. The vaccine does not contain any infectious material from the influenza virus. Read the rest of this entry →

I just came across Avian Alert, a Canadian company who state their mission as “to notify you of Avian Flu outbreaks in the shortest amount of time possible.

What they do is they deliver real time alerts on global pandemics via email or SMS. Suppose for example you were traveling to Singapore and want to keep track of what is going on in your area. Just add a few details to Avian Alert and you can be assured you will know in record time via your cell phone what is happening.

I suppose a possible problem is that if you are traveling to Singapore, Avian Alert can’t tell you if Bird Flu beat your plane to Singapore, but nothing is perfect. It is still an interesting concept which I am sure will be approved upon.

Check them out at avianalert.com

Press Release from GISAID

INTERNATIONAL COALITION COMES TOGETHER FOR GREATER TRANSPARENCY OF AVIAN FLU DATA

H5N1 Data to be Shared by More Than 70 Top Flu Scientists in New Partnership

August 24, 2006

Contact: Lorie Fiber

LOS ANGELES – A group of leading medical researchers from around the world announced the formation of a consortium designed to improve the sharing of influenza data, analyze data findings jointly, and publish the results collaboratively as part of the Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID). This initiative was announced today in a letter published online by the website for the journal Nature. Among the letter’s 70 signatories are six Nobel laureates.

Data collected under the Initiative will be deposited in three publicly available databases participating in the International Sequence Database Collaboration. GISAID’s policies for rapid and complete data release are modeled upon those already established for other initiatives, such as data on DNA sequence variations in the human genome.

The GISAID consortium not only spans national borders, but scientific disciplines as well, with leaders in the fields of Veterinary Medicine, Human Medicine, Bio-Informatics, and Intellectual Property. This cross-disciplinary effort will provide new means to communicate and share information, as each discipline has distinct interests but also shares similar goals.

The Initiative is coming together to work around restrictions which have previously prevented influenza information sharing, with the hope that more shared information will help researchers understand how viruses spread, evolve, and potentially become pandemic.

The GISAID consortium is open to all scientists, provided they agree to share their own data, credit the use of others’ data, analyze findings jointly, and publish results collaboratively. The three major publicly available databases participating in the International Sequence Database Collaboration are the EBML in the United Kingdom, DDBJ Japan and US based GenBank. The consortium would publish the data as soon as possible after analysis and validation, with a maximum time window of six months to be reduced in time.

The Initiative has earned widespread international support around the goal of better understanding the spread and evolution of the influenza virus, its transmissibility and pathogenicity. With this goal in mind, the group determined scientists from different fields of expertise needed full access to comprehensive genetic sequencing, clinical and epidemiological data, and analysis from both human and animal isolates in order to better understand the virus and its potential mutation to a pandemic pathogen. It is already hailed as a model for future initiatives.

Additional information is available about the consortium and a full list of signatories to the letter is posted at www.gisaid.org and on www.nature.com

CONTACTS:

Peter Bogner (Director GISAID, Santa Monica, CA, USA)
Please contact through Courtney Walker (New York, NY, USA)
Tel:; eMail

Nancy Cox (Chief of Influenza Division, CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA)
Please contact through Christine Pearson
Tel:; eMail

Ilaria Capua (Director of Virology, Padova, Italy)
Please contact through Michaela Mandelli
Tel:; eMail

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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) announced July 24 that they have launched the Global Early Warning and Response System (GLEWS) as a tool to track the emergence and proliferation of zoonoses, animal diseases transmissible to humans.

A July 24 joint press release from the agencies describes GLEWS as a Web-based electronic platform that will combine data accumulated from all three agencies and their diverse constituencies to detect outbreaks or patterns of disease, and issue warnings as appropriate.

Background:

In January 2005, following the tsunami disaster, Secretary General Kofi Annan called for a global early warning system for all hazards and all communities. Later, as a step toward this goal, he requested the ISDR secretariat and its UN partners to undertake a global survey of capacities, gaps and opportunities in respect to early warning systems.

Sound scientific information, including an understanding of the environment and migratory bird populations, is a necessity for understanding the HPAI H5N1 epidemic. HPAI H5N1 is an avian virus. Humans and other mammals are currently aberrant hosts.

Early detection is essential for the control or eradication of Asian lineage HPAI H5N1. FAO, OIE, and WHO – Global Livestock Early Warning and Response System (GLEWS).

Based on other Global Networks

In April 2000, WHO and partners started the Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN) with the aim to combating the international spread of outbreaks among humans.

The achievements of GOARN are impressive. Since April 2000, the network has established detailed standard operating procedures and documents on its structure, an outbreak verification procedure, guiding principles on alert and response, logistical support, and a communications protocol, providing a basis for international collaboration during major outbreaks. However, GLEWS is still necessary.

GLEWS has the potential to be enhanced to also track the spread of HPAI H5N1 in populations of wild birds. The integration of The Global Avian Influenza Network for Surveillance (GAINS) into this EWS is encouraged. This system must be rapid, transparent, and have local, national and international levels.

Link to the PowerPoint Presentation of GLEWS

Link to the U.S. Department of State article entitled: U.N. Health Agencies Launch New Disease-Detection Mechanism

View the 6 minute video called Global Alert, Global Response (windows media player file) (very good)