Author: Claudinne Miller
The Next Stage of COVID Is Starting Now
The Atlantic What happens when everyone first gets immunity to the coronavirus as a very young kid? To be a newborn in the year 2023—and, almost certainly, every year that follows—means emerging into a world where the coronavirus is ubiquitous. Babies might not meet the virus in the first week or month of life, but […]
Mar 21, 2023
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus in a Harbor Porpoise, Sweden
CDC We found highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b associated with meningoencephalitis in a stranded harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena). The virus was closely related to strains responsible for a concurrent avian influenza outbreak in wild birds. This case highlights the potential risk for virus spillover to mammalian hosts. Europe and, more recently, North […]
Mar 21, 2023
Nirmatrelvir-Ritonavir Effective Against Omicron BA.4, BA.5 SARS-CoV-2 Variant
Pulmonology Advisor Real-world evidence from the Omicron period of the COVID-19 pandemic shows the benefit of nirmatrelvir-ritonavir for vaccinated outpatients and those younger than 65 years of age with non-severe COVID-19 at high risk of hospitalization or death, according to study findings published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. Investigators sought to examine the real-world effect of […]
Mar 21, 2023
First Texas Case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in Mammals
Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed this week the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in a striped skunk recovered from Carson County. This is the first confirmed case of HPAI in mammals for Texas. Detected in all states across the U.S. except Hawaii, HPAI is a […]
Mar 21, 2023
Bird flu may be making foxes and other animals behave in unusual ways
(New Scientist) Analysis of wild mammals infected with H5N1 bird flu in the US found that many had brain infections and neurological symptoms, including lack of fear of people. Bird flu is infecting the brains of wild mammals such as foxes and raccoons and may be making them behave in unusual ways, according to a […]
Mar 21, 2023
USGS Initially restricted to wild birds and poultry, spillover into wild mammals was first confirmed at the beginning of May 2022 in Canada and then a few days later in the United States. The detections were in wild red fox kits. A new study co-authored by USGS scientists describes the detections of disease due to natural infection […]
Mar 21, 2023
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Outbreak in New England Seals, United States
CDC We report the spillover of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) into marine mammals in the northeastern United States, coincident with H5N1 in sympatric wild birds. Our data indicate monitoring both wild coastal birds and marine mammals will be critical to determine pandemic potential of influenza A viruses. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses are […]
Mar 21, 2023
SARS-CoV-2 infection weakens immune-cell response to vaccination
NIH NIH-funded study suggests need to boost CD8+ T cell response after infection. The magnitude and quality of a key immune cell’s response to vaccination with two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were considerably lower in people with prior SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to people without prior infection, a study has found. In addition, the […]
Mar 21, 2023
The Strongest Evidence Yet That an Animal Started the Pandemic
The Atlantic A new analysis of genetic samples from China appears to link the pandemic’s origin to raccoon dogs. For three years now, the debate over the origins of the coronavirus pandemic has ping-ponged between two big ideas: that SARS-CoV-2 spilled into human populations directly from a wild-animal source, and that the pathogen leaked from […]
Mar 16, 2023
COVID, bird flu, mpox – a virologist on why we’re seeing so many viruses emerge
The Conversation From the widespread outbreak of mpox (formerly called monkeypox) in 2022, to the evolving bird flu situation, to recent cases of Marburg virus in Equatorial Guinea, COVID isn’t dominating the headlines as much as it used to. Instead, we’ve been regularly hearing about outbreaks of newly emerging or re-emerging viruses. So, is the incidence of virus outbreaks […]
Mar 14, 2023
