Scientists concerned spread of bird flu to mink signals growing threat to humans
By DW
12 February 2023 |
3:11 pm
A bird flu outbreak on a Spanish mink farm is alarming scientists. The virus may be spreading for the first time from mammal to mammal — and could become a danger for humans.
In this article
Related
Related
11 Sep 2022
Our current vaccines don't protect well against the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. But scientists say they have produced an antibody in a mouse model that could lead to new vaccines that fight all variants.
29 Oct 2022
Researchers in Botswana and South Africa, who separately identified the COVID-19 omicron variant, are the winners of the 2022 German Africa Award.
26 Oct 2022
Sikhulile Moyo und Tulio de Oliveira discovered the Omicron coronavirus variant, an achievement for which they were recognized, but also insulted and threatened.
12 Feb
A bird flu outbreak on a Spanish mink farm is alarming scientists. The virus may be spreading for the first time from mammal to mammal — and could become a danger for humans.
7 Feb
We take a look at how the press is covering the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, and how, for some, the tragedy is both a natural disaster story but a political one as well. We also discuss controversies over the Grammy Awards and a trans Harry Potter video game character.
26 Feb
After an 11-year-old girl died from bird flu in Cambodia, health officials urged parents to keep their children away from poultry. It is the country's first known human H5N1 infection since 2014.
19 Mar
Leaked plans for the world’s first octopus farm detail how the eight-legged creatures would be slaughtered: by hypothermia. Experts say it’s inhumane.
23 Mar
A new lineage of avian flu H5N1 is ripping through wild bird populations and also affecting mammals, such as minks, badgers, pigs, bears. Are humans next?
4 Apr
It has ravaged farms, decimated wild birds and spilled onto mammals. Could avian flu spark the next human pandemic? The Down to Earth team takes a closer look.
1 Apr
A recent report points to raccoon dogs as possible transmitters at the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. DNA samples collected at the Huanan Wholesale Seafood Market in China show that several raccoon dogs were present in areas where the SARS-CoV-2 virus was found. FRANCE 24's Science Editor Shirli Sitbon looks at what the data may have revealed and why it has disappeared from data-sharing site GISAID.
15 Apr
A Chinese woman has become the first person to die from a form of avian influenza rarely caught by humans, the WHO says. Only three people have so far been known to have contracted the disease, all of them in China.
29 Jun
Astronomers have made a discovery that confirms the existence of gravitational waves, which sound like the hum at a large gathering. These ripples in space-time were proposed by Albert Einstein over a century ago.
Latest
32 mins ago
Africa is often portrayed in Western films in a cliche or exotic way. Young African filmmakers want to change this by telling stories from an African point of view. Germany's largest festival for African productions gives this fresh perspective a stage.
32 mins ago
As Myanmar's junta fights armed rebel groups, and North Korea is running out of food, the two pariah states have a mutual interest in closer cooperation.
32 mins ago
China's second-largest real estate developer is close to bankruptcy, leaving millions of property investors nursing heavy losses. Worst still, Beijing's post-COVID economic rebound will be further derailed.
1 hour ago
More than 102,000 people have tried to cross the Mediterranean from Tunisia in 2023 so far in 2023 — a stunning 260% increase from last year.
1 day ago
The French diplomat left the capital Niamey for Chad early Wednesday, Paris said. The military junta had ordered his expulsion some weeks ago.
1 day ago
Republicans in the US House of Representatives have launched a formal impeachment hearing against President Joe Biden. Day one of the hearing served as a review of evidence that Republicans have gathered so far.