Epidemiologic studies during 2004-05 mainly focused on HPAI H5N1
virus persistence in relation to the agro-ecology of poultry and duck production systems (6), and little attention was paid to the role of wild birds in local viral persistence or long-distance spread during that period.
The mosquito-home
virus gets its name from the West Nile region of Africa, where it was first identified in the 1930s.
In studying a strain of the Sindbis
virus stripped of its capability to reproduce, however, the researchers noticed that the strain itself could invade and kill many types of cancer cells growing in lab dishes.
Several authors have stated that large-droplet transmission is the predominant mode by which influenza
virus infection is acquired (1-3).
When the
virus particles arrange themselves this way, they can move more freely in a solution (SN: 8/15/98, p.
Doctors suspect the culprit is one of two types of infectious microbes: a bacteria, a single-celled organism, or a
virus, a chemical package of genetic material (either RNA or DNA).
Identification of measles
virus genotypes is a valuable tool for epidemiologic investigations and evaluation of control activities in countries that have eliminated indigenous measles.
The
virus was reported in the Western Hemisphere for the first time in August 1999 in New York City, where it caused a cluster of human cases of flulike symptoms, some of which turned into fatal brain inflammation.
