Specialists of the Novosibirsk Scientific Center of Clinical and Experimental Medicine and the company «Biooil» in collaboration with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) conducted an expedition to the Pacific to study the spread of avian influenza in the area living gulls, said Monday the company «Biooil», informs «Pacific Russia».
«The main scientific objective of the expedition — the study of the role of gulls in the spread of influenza virus in the North Pacific on the Australian-Pacific migration path that extends from Australia, through South-East Asia, China, North and South Korea, Japan, Russia and the further Alaska «- said in response to a request of experts.
The company explained that the pathogenic variants of influenza virus recently often occur in China and Southeast Asia, where they overwinter gulls. Summer birds fly along the Asian coast in North America. In this area and conducted research with which experts plan to investigate whether the seagulls carry the virus.
Russian scientists, together with colleagues from Australia, UK, USA and Japan on one of the Aleutian Islands (Alaska coast) gulls caught and sampled to examine them for the presence of influenza virus. The field phase of the study was completed on July 11.
«Now the material delivered to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he is made an analysis. Results will be transferred to parties participating in the work, and published in scientific journals,» — the ITAR-TASS in the company.
«Biooil» created in Koltsovo near Novosibirsk and is developing a number of projects in the field of veterinary and environmental safety, in particular the mechanisms of virus transmission from animals to animals and from animals to humans. Experts have also developed a variety of biological preparations for remediation of contaminated land and cleaning water.