image: Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, the Official Journal of the ISICR, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. view more
Credit: © 2011, Mary Ann Liebert Inc., publishers
New Rochelle, NY, July 28, 2011—Avian influenza virus is a threat to the commercial chicken industry and, with its recent rapid spread across China, has also shown the ability for transmission from chickens to humans and other mammals. In an article in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Chinese researchers report that oral chicken interferon-alpha may significantly reduce influenza virus levels when given either preventively or therapeutically. The article is available free online at www.liebertpub.com/jir
Chickens can serve as a reservoir for epidemic avian viruses such as avian influenza virus (AIV), which can then be transmitted to mammals such as humans. AIV causes mild to severe respiratory illness in chickens. Interferon-alpha is a cytokine, a chemical produced by immune cells that has a role in inducing antiviral immunity.
Shanshan Meng and colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan, People's Republic of China, present the results of a study in which healthy chicks 7 or 33 days old were given chicken interferon-alpha either before or after exposure to AIV. The level of virus in their respiratory tracts was then measured and compared. The authors report their findings in the article "Recombinant Chicken Interferon-α Inhibits H9N2 Avian Influenza Virus Replication In Vivo by Oral Administration."
"The poultry industry is vulnerable to infection of the birds by pathogenic viruses such as avian influenza virus. This study shows that interferon can be used for both treating the infected chickens as well as protecting the neighboring uninfected ones; moreover oral administration, which is convenient and inexpensive, is effective," says Ganes C. Sen, PhD, Chairman, Department of Molecular Genetics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Co-Editor in Chief of Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research.
Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, edited by Ganes C. Sen, PhD, and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Chairman, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly in print and online that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is the official journal of the International Society for Interferon and Cytokine Research. Complete tables of content and a free sample issue may be viewed online at www.liebertpub.com/jir
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and Vector-Borne & Zoonotic Diseases. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available at www.liebertpub.com
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Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research