Scientists Spot Potential Bird-Flu Pathway to Humans - Yahoo! News
Scientists Spot Potential Bird-Flu Pathway to Humans

Okay, now I'm starting to get nervous... This article comes out in tomorrow's issue of Science so I'll see what it says then. (Here's an NPR interview with the author of the article)
March 17th update-The story in question wasn't in this issue, but is a "rapid publication" on-line. None of my subscriptions (through NU or UIC) allow me to access this type of paper, so I'll have to wait until it appears in print. I did find an article in today's San Diego Union Tribune that describes how the team of scientists have developed a rapid screening technique, based on microarray technology, to allow screening for viruses capable of binding to human cells.

On a related note, I e-mailed the mayor of Kaua'i County (the island of Kaua'i) in the Hawai'ian Islands asking their position on the article in today's Wall Street Journal (see below) about concerns that chickens running around in Key West, Florida, would become infected with H5N1 ("Avian flu") and destroy the local tourist trade. Among our fondest memories of our visits to Kaua'i are the chickens in the parking lots and along the roads. The chickens have roamed free ever since the ~1990 hurricane that struck Kaua'i. There are T-shirts (the one below says, "Hitting a chicken is not the same as getting a birdie"):

or one I found on e-Bay that says, "Kauai's Adopt-A-Chicken Farm: Take home a dozen. We've got plenty moa"!


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* Wall Street Journal citation & abstract:

Key West's Many Chickens May Run Afoul of Bird-Flu Fears Cynthia Crossen. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition ). New York, N.Y.:Mar 16, 2006. p. B.1

"One outbreak, and you can forget tourism down here," he says. "It would be over." The chicken population, largely unchecked by natural predators, has been steadily growing on the tiny two-mile-by-four-mile island. "Key West is a town, not a barnyard," says Mark Rossi, another commissioner who supports getting rid of the chickens. "I don't want to do this, but I'm charged by the public to look out for [its] health and well-being." Mr. Rossi says he believes the seven-member city commission will pass the ordinance. "I don't know what it is about chickens people love so much," says Linda O'Brien, owner of the Market Share Co., a local marketing firm. "But I often see people taking pictures of them. When the sun hits the front of the bird, it's a piece of art, and you can't buy art like that." If migratory birds are the ones carrying avian flu, some chicken supporters ask, why pick on the chickens? "There's nothing the citizens of Key West can do to control the populations of seagulls or pelicans," says Mr. [Bill Verge]. "We can only control the birds we can control. The rest is nature. And I guarantee you, if there's an outbreak of avian flu in, say, Georgia, the people of Key West will be saying, 'Get rid of the chickens!"' ___________________

- posted by Larry H @ 1:50 PM