Author: Claudinne Miller

Masks Cut Secondary SARS-CoV-2 Infections by Half

JAMA After exposure to someone with SARS-CoV-2 infection, an uninfected person’s risk of infection is cut in half if both people wore masks, researchers reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases. Public health authorities in Johnson County, Iowa, launched their study after the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) in September 2020 overrode the CDC’s recommended 14-day quarantine […]

Mar 8, 2023

How to stop the bird flu outbreak becoming a pandemic

Nature From tracking the disease’s spread in wild birds to updating human vaccines, there are measures that could help keep avian influenza in check. Fears are rising about bird flu’s potential to spark a human pandemic, as well as its destruction of wildlife and farmed birds. An 11-year-old girl tragically died in Cambodia last week after […]

Mar 7, 2023

New Covid Boosters’ Protection Waned After Two Months, Study Says

Bloomberg Covid-19 bivalent boosters’ protection against death and hospitalization in elderly people began waning as soon as two months after vaccination, according to a preprint study. Link to Study The findings build on previous reports about the effectiveness of updated boosters from Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc., which showed the shots sharply reduced risks of severe Covid in older adults, […]

Mar 7, 2023

Bacterial co-infections cause twofold increase in mortality in COVID patients: study

Fierce Healthcare Though the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be ebbing significantly in the U.S., endemic COVID-19 still poses a challenge, experts say. Last Friday saw 31,443 new cases of COVID-19, while 344 people died from the disease, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Experts continue to measure the full effects of the pandemic. A study published last […]

Mar 7, 2023

Chile reports sea lions affected by bird flu

Gov Website (Machine Translated) It reiterates the call to the population not to touch or approach wildlife in general, to protect the well-being and integrity of people. Specialists from the National Service of Natural Areas Protected by the State (Sernanp), an agency attached to the Ministry of the Environment, recorded the death of 3,487 funny […]

Mar 7, 2023

U.S. Considers Vaccinating Chickens as Bird Flu Kills Millions of Them

(New York Times) The largest outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. history has driven up egg prices and raised concerns about a human pandemic, though C.D.C. experts say the risk of that is low. The Biden administration, keeping a watchful eye on an outbreak of avian influenza that has led to the deaths of tens […]

Mar 7, 2023

Cameroon – Anticipatory action for Marburg

Relief Web Since February 7, 2023, several suspected cases with symptoms of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever have been declared in Equatorial Guinea in districts of Kie-Ntem province. On February 13, 2023, the first Marburg epidemic was declared by confirmation of a positive sample. Several contact cases are to be traced and Cameroon has recorded suspect cases […]

Mar 7, 2023

U.S. to lift covid testing requirements on travelers from China

Washington Post U.S. officials are set to relax coronavirus testing requirements on travelers from China as soon as Friday, a decision that comes amid declining covid cases in that country, according to three officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plan. The White House declined to comment on the plan, which the officials […]

Mar 7, 2023

Some parents misled others about their kids’ covid status, study finds

Washington Post Some also did not follow quarantine guidelines. The parents’ behaviors could have contributed to the spread of the coronavirus, the study’s authors said. Some parents in the United States were dishonest about their children having the coronavirus or did not follow testing and quarantine guidelines, according to a study published Monday. The parents’ behaviors could have contributed […]

Mar 7, 2023

Study shows artificial sweetener erythritol linked to increased stroke and cardiac risks

Chemistryworld The sweetener erythritol has been linked to a dramatically increased risk of cardiovascular problems. Erythritol is a four-carbon sugar alcohol naturally present in small amounts in fruits and vegetables, but at levels 1000 times higher in some processed foods such as pastries and ice creams. It is around two-thirds as sweet as sucrose and […]

Mar 7, 2023