Bird Flu
Bird flu detected in cow in Netherlands for first time outside US
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The bird flu virus H5N1 has been detected for the first time outside the US in a cow in the Netherlands. Antibodies against the pathogen were found in the milk of the animal on a farm in the province of Friesland. The Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut in Greifswald confirms that no such case was previously known worldwide.
Scientists from the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow have shown why many bird flu viruses can keep replicating at fever-like temperatures that typically curb human flu. A study in Science identifies the viral PB1 gene as crucial to this heat tolerance, raising concerns about pandemic risks if such genes move into human strains.
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Bird flu has been confirmed on a new farm in Ängelholm municipality, leading to the culling of around 19,000 broiler chickens. This follows an initial outbreak where 9,500 turkeys and several thousand chickens and ducks were culled. The Swedish Board of Agriculture describes the situation as ominous amid a season with many outbreaks in Europe.