Author: Claudinne Miller
Why Is the Letter “X” Used for a Kiss?
History Facts The letter “X” has ambiguous linguistic roots, and has carried various meanings in different contexts. “X” marks the spot of buried treasure on a map, represents a variable in mathematics, or can be used to select a choice on a ballot. Nowadays, it’s also commonly used as a symbol of affection and endearment […]
Jun 12, 2024
Our Desire for Inexpensive Food Is Putting Us in Danger
NYT/Opinion A dairy worker in Texas contracts H5N1 bird flu after contact with infected cows, and suffers eye inflammation. Weeks later, a dairy worker in Michigan begins to cough and then tests positive for the virus. A ferret in a cage (ferrets are often used as study proxies for humans) becomes infected with the virus by airborne […]
Jun 12, 2024
‘Uncertainty’ Is Indeed a Bad Word: A Second Opinion on Pandemic Communication
MedPageToday In a MedPage Today op-ed earlier this week, the authors made a plea for the government to “communicate about [H5N1] more efficiently and effectively.” Who could disagree? But their title opens with a dogmatic statement, “Uncertainty Isn’t a Bad Word,” and the piece calls for our federal agencies to “communicate what they don’t know as clearly as […]
Jun 12, 2024
New Long COVID Definition Proposed by National Academies
MedPageToday A new reportopens in a new tab or window from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) offers a new definition of long COVID in an effort to streamline the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, which has serious medical, social, and economic consequences for patients, according to the authoring committee. Long COVID should […]
Jun 12, 2024
Mosquitoes With West Nile Virus Surround Las Vegas in Record Numbers
Time Some people may want to put their summer vacation plans to the Las Vegas area on hold, after health officials reported that Southern Nevada is experiencing the highest level of mosquito activity in known history, with more than 3,000 mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile virus. Southern Nevada Health District said in a press release Monday that as of […]
Jun 12, 2024
(H5N1) Explained: Toddler Infected With Another Strain—Second Human Case In India
Forbes Here’s the latest news about a global outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that started in 2020, and recently spread among cattle in U.S. states and marine mammals across the world, which has health officials closely monitoring it and experts concerned the virus could mutate and eventually spread to humans, where it has proven rare […]
Jun 12, 2024
Tiger mosquitoes behind dengue fever rise in Europe
BBC An invasive species of mosquito has set up home in 13 countries in the EU, including France, Spain and Greece, with experts linking their presence to a rise in dengue fever in Europe. Climate change is creating favourable conditions for the tiger mosquito to spread, said the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control […]
Jun 12, 2024
Europe taps CSL Seqirus to produce bird flu vaccines for pandemic preparedness efforts
Fierce Pharma Right after signing on to help with bird flu pandemic preparedness efforts in the U.S., CSL Seqirus has agreed to do the same in Europe through a vaccine supply pact. The European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) tapped CSL Seqirus to deliver 665,000 doses of its pre-pandemic bird flu vaccine […]
Jun 12, 2024
South Africa records first mpox death after five cases confirmed
Reuters A 37-year-old man has become South Africa’s first recorded death from mpox after five laboratory-confirmed cases of the viral infection were recorded in the past month, the health minister said on Wednesday. The man died in Tembisa Hospital on Monday, Health Minister Joe Phaahla told a news conference. Mpox spreads through close contact, causing […]
Jun 12, 2024
With So Much Bird Flu Around, Are Eggs, Chicken, and Milk Still Safe to Consume?
Wired Recent outbreaks of bird flu—in US dairy herds, poultry farms in Australia, and elsewhere, and isolated cases in humans—have raised the issue of food safety. So can the virus transfer from infected farm animals to contaminate milk, meat, or eggs? How likely is this? And what do we need to think about to minimize our risk when shopping […]
Jun 12, 2024