The take-home message? Veterinarians are at greater risk of contracting more virulent forms of avian influenza if they hatch in the United States. Iowa City, Iowa - 06/01/2007 - DVMs who work with birds have significantly higher levels of antibodies fighting avian influenza strains compared to control groups, according to a University of Iowa study. Because of this, we suggest that veterinarians should be considered for inclusion on priority-access lists for pandemic influenza vaccines and...

The CSIRO team is working on a genetic change that could be bred into chickens, making them immune to avian influenza. CSIRO scientists in Victoria are in an international race to develop a genetically modified chicken immune to the killer bird flu. The project builds on work by the CSIRO into ribonucleic acid (RNA) and adapts it to poultry so that chickens are unable to catch bird flu. The super chickens would have to be labelled genetically modified but would still taste like regular chicken.

School kids are helping keep chickens disease-free in Mozambique, and the organizer of the program says it could help other African countries in the battle against bird flu. The children are trained on how to use eye-droppers to give the vaccine to the chickens. Heifer said it decided to use village schoolchildren because of the challenges of past vaccination programs and a shortage of qualified veterinary workers in rural Africa. Geneti Debia, the organization's program officer for...

Imugene Limited (IMU) has received results from further trials of its avian influenza vaccine for chickens showing efficacy levels reaching 100 percent, states a news release. The single dose vaccine was successful in achieving 82 percent protection (nine out of 11 birds survived) against H5N1 avian influenza challenge at the age of only 14 days. Seven out of eight chickens in the unvaccinated control group died within 48 hours of the same exposure to the H5N1 avian influenza virus. This...

Eastern Shore on short list for poultry litter fueled plant By Greg Latshaw Staff Writer SALISBURY The company that next month will launch the country s first poultry-waste-fueled power plant has said the Lower Shore would be an excellent location for its next plant. Eastern Shore on short list for poultry litter fueled plant By Greg Latshaw Staff Writer SALISBURY The company that next month will launch the country s first poultry-waste-fueled power plant has said the Lower Shore would be...

The Punjab poultry industry, which was ranked first in India in 1984, has dropped to the seventh due to what farmers' term as the anti-poultry attitude of the government. Punjab poultry farmers see big market players as threat to their industry. Agitated poultry farmers claim that they experiencing huge losses due to natural calamities and with the presence of mega companies. Punjab is the first state in the country to introduce contract farming at the government level. The Punjab poultry...