[ad_1]
At an advanced stage, British scientists are developing genetically engineered chickens designed to withstand the flu as part of a new approach to preventing a deadly pandemic of humans.
Genetic modification resists flu
"The first generation of modified chickens is expected to hatch this year at the Roslyn Institute of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland," said Vidie Barclay, professor of virology at Imperial College's London and co-chair of the project, Wendy Barclay.
"The idea is to produce poultry that can not be infected with the flu and is a barrier between wild birds and humans," she said.
The DNA has been modified for birds with the help of a new gene modification technique called Cresper. In this case, the "adjustments" are made to remove some of the protein that the flu virus usually depends on, making the chicken completely resistant to the flu.
The transition process is progressive
At the same time, health and infectious disease experts around the world have put the risk of a human influenza pandemic at the top of their agenda. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 killed about 50 million people.
The greatest concern remains that a deadly strain of bird flu is being transmitted from humans to wild birds, and then transformed into an airborne epidemic that can easily be transmitted between humans.
"If we can prevent the flu virus from pbading wild birds to chickens, we will stop the pandemic from its origin," said Barkley, adding that one of the biggest hurdles to this approach lies in the concerns of growers of poultry in terms of acceptance by the public.
"People eat foods from farm animals that have been modified during decades of traditional hybridization, but may be concerned about eating genetically modified foods," she said. declared.
[ad_2]
Source link
