outbreak, but there have been cases in Asia in recent years.Īt Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, scientists are using genetic engineering to try to control bird flu in two ways: by blocking initial infections in egg-laying chickens and preventing birds from transmitting the virus if they become infected. No humans have been infected in the latest U.S. ![]() ![]() People who are in close contact with infected poultry are most at risk for flu infections, and scientists are concerned about the risk for a human pandemic if the virus infects someone and then mutates. Health regulators around the world have yet to approve any animals bred as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for use in food because of long-standing safety and environmental concerns.īird flu has become a global concern among researchers over the past decade because of its threat to poultry and human health, and UK researchers have been toiling in genetic engineering for years to control its spread. Their research, which has been backed by the UK government and top chicken companies, could potentially prevent repeats of this year’s wipeout: 48 million chickens and turkeys killed because of the disease since December in the United States alone.īut these promising chickens - injected with a fluorescent protein to distinguish them from normal birds in experiments - won’t likely gatecrash their way into poultry production any time soon. REUTERS/Norrie Russell of The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh/Handout via Reutersīritish scientists say they have genetically modified chickens in a bid to block bird flu and that early experiments show promise for fighting off the disease that has devastated the U.S. A baby chick, genetically modified to block transmission of bird flu, glows under an ultraviolent light, next to a chick that has not been modified, in this undated handout photo provided by Norrie Russell of The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh.
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