New South Wales has its first suspected case of the deadly H5 bird flu in a giant petrel that was found near Hawks Nest, north of Newcastle, on the state’s coast. If CSIRO testing confirms it is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain, it would mark the first detection of the deadly disease on the Australian east coast. Five cases have already been confirmed since late June – four in Western Australia and one in South Australia – all in migratory sub-antarctic birds. The NSW agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, said the disease had so far not been detected in any poultry flocks, captive or other wild birds in NSW. She said initial testing at NSW labs had confirmed the petrel was positive for H5 influenza. Testing by the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness was needed to confirm it was the highly pathogenic strain of the disease that has devastated wildlife populations globally. “This latest development is incredibly concerning for both agriculture and for wildlife,” Moriarty said. “The impact of H5 worldwide on wild birds and poultry has been devastating. But NSW and the rest of the country have been preparing for this moment for many years.” The New South Wales government...

Springer Nature has removed two studies by Max Planck. A bot may be to blame

#19,221 Last January (see Netherlands: NVWA Announcement on Avian Flu Antibodies Detected In Dairy Cow ) we learned of the detection of H5...

Testing confirms spread of deadly H5N1 virus on the subantarctic Heard Island, about 4,000km south-west of Perth

Defendants face prison time for criminal charges but samples may all have been inactivated and used for routine diagnostics

Sarah Otto* * Department of Zoology & Biodiversity Research Centre, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC Canada V6T 1Z4. E-mail: otto@zoology.ubc.ca A year ago, we raised concerns about ...

Coverage of the recent Federal Budget proves standards of economic reporting are at an all-time low.

Clinical metagenomics uses sequencing for culture-independent identification of pathogens directly from clinical specimens. While a number of protocols claim to be pathogen agnostic, sensitivity for R...

Abstract. Megalocytiviruses are pathogens of global significance that can lead to substantial economic losses in aquaculture. Recombination among megalocyt

Pollinators support our nutritional health and are critical for crops of fruit, vegetables and beans.

In this study, authors conduct a genomic analysis of 15,000 Acinetobacter baumannii isolates, revealing a dominant multidrug-resistant super-lineage (accounting for approximately 70% global…

The malaria drug is a small interfering molecule that binds to and snips RNA molecules so that cells make less of the prion protein.

Using a phylogenetic framework to characterize natural selection, we investigate the hypothesis that zoonotic viruses require adaptation prior to zoon…

Skip to PDF content

Wildlife Health Australia coordinated an inclusive and collegial collaboration process for development of the National guidance for vaccination of koalas against chlamydia, which has just been publish...

Share Tweet Pin Mail SMS Any time I write about vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines, things get dicey. Any negative comments might fuel attacks from ...

Op een melkveebedrijf in Noardeast-Fryslân zijn na screening vijf koeien met antistoffen tegen vogelgriep gevonden, maar er is geen actief virus aangetoond. Minister Wiersma verwacht volgende week een...

The headlines would have you believe we're hurtling toward another global pandemic; this time an outbreak of Nipah virus. But how true is that actually? And what do the Australian Government and healt...

Introduction by Croakey: The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has expressed deep shock and sorrow at the fatal shooting

The post holder will work within the newly established NIHR Health Protection Unit for Public Health Genomics, a partnership between the University of Birmingham and the UK Health Security Agency. You...

Clade 2.3.4.4b highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 viruses are widely circulating in North America with unprecedented transmission into novel host species. A high incidence of neurologic disease is observed in carnivores infected with clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 viruses, and historical outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 in humans are also associated with neurologic complications, raising concerns about neurotropism and neurovirulence of clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 viruses.MethodsWe analyzed virus replication kinetics, cellular tropism, and host responses to infection in human cerebral organoids (hCOs) inoculated with clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 viruses compared to a historical clade 1 HPAI H5N1 virus and a 2007 seasonal influenza A virus.ResultsHPAI H5N1 viruses replicated to high titers in hCOs, but replication of the seasonal influenza A virus was not detected. Viral antigen and RNA were detected primarily in neuron- and astrocyte-like cells. Interferon responses to infection with HPAI H5N1 viruses were observed in a small population of bystander cells. Higher levels of cell death and proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines were observed in organoids inoculated with the historical HPAI H5N1 isolate.ConclusionsClade 2.3.4.4b HPAI H5N1 viruses exhibit similar neurotropism compared to a historical clade 1 HPAI H5N1 virus. Lower levels of cell death and inflammatory cytokine production induced by clade 2.3.4.4b viruses may indicate reduced neuropathogenic potential of these viruses in humans.

18 fully funded studentships for October 2026 start: interdisciplinary infection bioscience training to address disease threats to human and animal health.

An emerging area of research is uncovering hidden links between nature and human health.

Credit NIAID   #18,947 Yesterday's announcement for the first known human H5N5 infection has captured a good deal of attention, but the `ot...

Ethiopia has confirmed its first Marburg outbreak after nine cases were identified in the southern region of the country that borders South Sudan.