New H7N9 bird flu resists antiviral medication, ‘bigger arsenal’ of drugs and vaccines needed

A new strain of the bird flu has been identified by researchers that remains powerful after becoming resistant to antiviral drugs. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveals how an avian strain of influenza A has emerged that can develop a resistance to antiviral medications. Labeled as H7N9, the mutation that originated in China, has no vaccine to protect patients from the potentially deadly virus. “Many of the people infected with H7N9 during the outbreak in China were elderly or had other conditions that predisposed them to severe influenza illness,” lead investigator Dr. Nicole Bouvier from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, said in a press release. “Nevertheless, our study suggests that flu viruses can indeed develop drug-resistant mutations without suffering a penalty in terms of their own fitness.” Doctors studied an outbreak of the H7N9 last spring. The virus infected at least 135 people and caused 44 deaths. Without a...