Sun Apr 27 16:35:35 UTC 2025: ## Indian Scientists Share Avian Flu Genome Data After Delays
**Chennai, April 27, 2025** – The Pune-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) has finally shared the genome sequence data of the H5N1 avian flu virus with the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). This follows criticism after a report in *The Hindu* highlighted the delay in data sharing.
The data, collected from a two-year-old girl in Andhra Pradesh, was submitted on April 21st. The girl was diagnosed with the virus on March 7th, and the NIV confirmed the subtype as H5N1 on March 31st. The Andhra Pradesh government was informed on the same day.
Experts like Dr. Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics and Biology at Ashoka University, emphasized the importance of prompt data sharing for effective pandemic response. He stated that timely availability of genome sequence data is crucial for its usefulness.
This development comes amidst reports from the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) indicating that H5N1 has been detected in 99 cats globally, with 18 fatalities.
First Piper 