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The avian flu culprit, virus H5N1 was first identified in Europe in 1959, but the strain was very different from its current highly pathogenic strain, capable of killing 80-100% of the birds it infects.
Guus Koch is one of the main european experts on H5N1. His team is currently participating in six different european programs with different scientific aims; developing vaccines for avian species, settling improved diagnosis and also developing early warning systems.
The Friedrich-Loeffler Institute is another bastion for Animal Health Research in Europe. Molecular biology, infectology, immunology, epidemiology... 8 different research institutes and a number of reference laboratories try to unveil the misteries behind animal diseases like Creutzsfeld-Jacobs in bovines, classical swine fever, bluetongue in domestic cattle, goat pox. and, of course, avian influenza.
Researchers here think that one of the best ways to isolate H5N1 virus -and preventing its spreading to humans- is to develop new, more powerful and more effective vaccines for animals.
Fighting H5N1 is at the centre of a huge european research effort, worth almost 42 million euros for the period 1998-2013, with dozens of EU programs aimed not only at improving preparedness, prevention, detection and control of avian flu but also at encouraging transnational cooperation between researchers.