U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation

[Guest guest]

U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation

Atlanta, GA, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention has begun a series of experiments to see how likely the bird flu

virus could result in a human pandemic.

 

The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulate the mixing and matching of

genes from the H5N1 avian flu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human flu

virus that public-health experts fear could turn avian flu into a pandemic, the

Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

 

CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory have started swapping the genes

of the H5N1 avian virus with the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behind most

recent human flu outbreaks.

 

The goal is to substitute the eight genes of each virus, one by one, with the

eight genes from the other virus to see which of more than 250 possible

combinations create flu viruses that could spread easily among humans.

 

The work responds to fears by global public health experts that the bird flu

virus could mutate to form one that could spawn a global outbreak of the

disease.

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

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Cc: avian2005 ; mememachine ; paranoidtimes ; the_octopus ; sptember_eleven_vreeland ; the_golden_ghetto ; theneuschwabenlandtimes ; thinktheunthinkable

Wednesday, April 05, 2006 5:51 PM

[the_octopus] " U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation "

surprise..^http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050324-030452-8400r.htm" U.S. to create a bird flu virus mutation " Atlanta, GA, Mar. 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Centers forDisease Control and Prevention has begun a series ofexperiments to see how likely the bird flu virus couldresult in a human pandemic.The six-month series of experiments seeks to simulatethe mixing and matching of genes from the H5N1 avianflu virus that has plagued Asia and a common human fluvirus that public-health experts fear could turn avianflu into a pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reportedThursday.CDC scientists inside an ultra-secure laboratory havestarted swapping the genes of the H5N1 avian viruswith the genes of an H3N2 virus, the strain behindmost recent human flu outbreaks.The goal is to substitute the eight genes of eachvirus, one by one, with the eight genes from the othervirus to see which of more than 250 possiblecombinations create flu viruses that could spreadeasily among humans.The work responds to fears by global public healthexperts that the bird flu virus could mutate to formone that could spawn a global outbreak of the disease. The OctopusIn Memoriam: Danny CasolaroJim KeithRon BondsWilliam Cooper Graham BirdsallGary WebbJoe Viallsthe_octopus