January 14, 2011

 

European scientists develop chickens that don't spread bird flu

 

 

European scientists have developed new genetically modified chickens that do not transmit bird flu.

 

Scientists from the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh said the modified chickens could get bird flu but could not pass it on to other chickens.

 

Bird flu, also known as H5N1 avian influenza, usually afflicts poultry but can cross over to humans and cause lethal respiratory problems and other complications.

 

A wider global outbreak took hold in 2004 and cases have flared across parts of the world ever since.

 

"Chickens are potential bridging hosts that can enable new strains of flu to be transmitted to humans. Preventing virus transmission in chickens should reduce the economic impact of the disease and reduce the risk posed to people exposed to the infected birds," said Laurence Tiley, of the University of Cambridge's Department of Veterinary Medicine.

 

However, Tiley noted that the research still in its early stages, and the birds they developed are not intended to be eaten by people.

 

"The genetic modification we describe is a significant first step along the path to developing chickens that are completely resistant to avian flu. These particular birds are only intended for research purposes, not for consumption," Tiley said.

 

The birds were altered by a new gene that makes a "decoy" molecule that imitates an element of bird flu virus.

 

Then the virus is "tricked into recognizing the decoy molecule instead of the viral genome and this interferes with the replication cycle of the virus," the study said.

 

When scientists infected the genetically modified chickens with avian influenza, the birds fell ill but did not spread the flu to other birds, whether those birds were genetically modified or not.

 

"The results achieved in this study are very encouraging," said researcher Helen Sang of the University of Edinburgh.