Author: Claudinne Miller
Medical Express Vaccination remains the most effective strategy for avian influenza prevention and control in humans, despite varying vaccine efficacy across strains. That’s according to the authors of a new review which delves into existing research into bird flu vaccines for humans. Published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, the results of the paper are […]
May 29, 2024
CHP closely monitors human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) on Mainland
gov.HK The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (May 27) closely monitoring a human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) on the Mainland, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel. The case involves a 52-year-old female living in Quanzhou […]
May 28, 2024
Wastewater and the Current Outbreak of Influenza A (H5N1) in birds, cattle, and other animals
CDC During the two most recent weeks, (May 5, 2024–May 18, 2024), a total of 281 of 689 sites reported data meeting criteria for analysis for influenza A virus for both weeks or for either week, and 3 (1%) sites from 2 states were at a high level (>80th percentile compared to levels recorded at that site between October 1, 2023 and March 2, 2024).
May 28, 2024
Bird flu in U.S. cows caught scientists by surprise. Canadian research has seen it coming since 1953
CBC Older lab studies showed flu viruses like H5N1 can spread through unusual routes, but may have been overlooked. When U.S. dairy cows began falling ill with a dangerous form of bird flu, many scientists were struck by an unusual pattern: The virus kept showing up in cows’ udders, of all places. Influenza is usually […]
May 28, 2024
Covid will still be here this summer. Will anyone care?
Washington Post Despite “FLiRT” variants, this may be the first covid wave with little federal pressure to limit transmission or data to even declare a surge. By now, it’s as familiar as sunscreen hitting the shelves: Americans are headed into another summer with new coronavirus variants and a likely uptick in cases. This is shaping up to […]
May 28, 2024
Is It Covid, Spring Allergies or a Cold?
NY Times It’s sniffle season. Here’s how to figure out what’s causing your symptoms. As summer approaches, many people with spring allergies are still suffering. And as new Covid variants circulate, experts say we may also soon see an uptick in cases. (Though wastewater data suggests that Covid cases are currently fairly low.) It can be tricky to distinguish […]
May 28, 2024
The Disease Detectives Trying to Keep the World Safe From Bird Flu
NY Times When a child in a small Cambodian town fell sick recently, his rapid decline set off a global disease surveillance system. As Dr. Sreyleak Luch drove to work the morning of Feb. 8, through busy sunbaked streets in Cambodia’s Mekong river delta, she played the overnight voice messages from her team. The condition […]
May 28, 2024
New malaria vaccine delivered for the first time
NPR The Central African Republic is the first country to receive thousands of doses of a new malaria vaccine first recommended by the World Health Organization last October. A total of 43,000 doses arrived by air today from UNICEF, and another 120,000 are scheduled to show up in the coming days. The vaccine — called […]
May 28, 2024
Medical Express Speaking at the World Health Assembly, authors of a new Lancet Series call for urgent global action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Authors say if the world does not prioritize action on AMR now, we will see a steady increase in the global death toll—currently 4.95 million per year from infections linked to AMR—with young infants, elderly people, […]
May 28, 2024
Strategic framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox- 2024-2027
WHO This Strategic framework for enhancing prevention and control of mpox (2024–2027) outlines a road map for health authorities, communities, and stakeholders worldwide to control mpox outbreaks in every context, advance mpox research and access to countermeasures, and minimize zoonotic transmission. There are two known clades of monkeypox virus (MPXV) with distinct epidemiological patterns and […]
May 28, 2024