Genetically modified (GMO) chickens with glow-in-the-dark feet and beaks might help scientists find a cure for bird flu. British scientists announced that they have genetically modified chickens in a research study aiming to find ways to block bird flu.
Early experiments show promise for find a cure for the disease that has devastated the U.S. egg and poultry industries, according to reports from Reuters Health.
The research has been backed by the top chicken companies and the United Kingdom's government. According to the scientists, it could potentially prevent repeats of this year's disastrous wipeout of 48 million turkeys and chickens turkeys killed because of the disease in the U.S. alone.
The genetically modified chickens are injected with a fluorescent protein in order to distinguish them in experiments from normal birds. Since health regulators around the world did not yet approve any GMOs for use in food, they won't likely gain their way into poultry production any time soon. GMOs are prohibited for use in food because of environmental and safety concerns.
Over the past decade, bird flu has become a global concern among researchers, because of its threat to poultry and human health. The researchers from the U.K. have been trying genetic engineering for years in order to control the spread of the disease, according to The Market Business.
Most at the risk for flu infections are people who are in close contact with infected poultry. Scientists are concerned about the danger for a human pandemic in case that the virus infects someone and then mutates. So far, in the latest U.S. outbreak, no humans have been infected so far, but in recent years there have been cases in Asia.
According to Laurence Tiley, a senior lecturer in molecular virology at the University of Cambridge involved in the experiments, the public is aware of the gravity of these outbreaks and might be wondering why there is not much done in order to control it.
At the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute and at Cambridge, scientists are using genetic engineering to try to control bird flu in two ways: by preventing infected birds from transmitting the virus and by blocking initial infections in egg-laying chickens.
Scientists have now new hopes that GMO livestock will help control diseases, but their breakthroughs might be slow to come to market.For instance, for the past 20 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been reviewing a type of GMO salmon, but it is still not approved on the market even though the agency deemed it safe for humans in 2010.
