Recombinant strain of bird flu
July 26th, 2006
Latest biological research into bird flu strains spreading across Africa has revealed that the sequence of H5N1 found in the Ivory Coast, shares part of its structure with polymorphisms of other Qinghai isolates. However, at the same time, other clues point to the fact that the Ivory Coast isolate is a recombinant virus and was independently introduced into the region. It has been found that the specific strain has little similarities with other strains found in Nigeria or Niger. Thus the conclusion arises that flocks of migrating birds along African migratory paths have brought in many different versions of the virus from Asia into western Africa. The Ivory Coast resides within the East Atlantic Flyway, connecting Africa with western Europe and northeast Canada and therefore exposing these continents to a further spread of the virus.