Author: Claudinne Miller
Free-Range Egg Supply at Risk as UK Poultry Kept Indoors While Bird-Flu Rages
(Bloomberg) UK chickens and hens will stay indoors until the country’s worst-ever bird flu outbreak abates further. While risk levels are reviewed weekly, housing orders in place since November in England may not lift until spring, when wild birds that carry the virus migrate elsewhere, Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said Tuesday. That means free-range eggs — […]
Jan 31, 2023
Three Montana Grizzly Bears Euthanized Last Fall Tested Positive for Avian Flu
(NYT) The bears are believed to have contracted the virus from diseased birds, amid what a U.S.D.A. spokesman called the “largest foreign animal disease outbreak in U.S. history.” Three young grizzly bears in Montana that were euthanized last fall later tested positive for the highly contagious avian influenza, the state’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks service announced […]
Jan 31, 2023
As egg prices soar, the deadliest bird flu outbreak in US history drags on
(ARS Technica) The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the US is now the longest and deadliest on record. More than 57 million birds have been killed by the virus or culled since a year ago, and the deadly disruption has helped propel skyrocketing egg prices and a spike in egg smuggling. Since highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) […]
Jan 31, 2023
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection in farmed minks, Spain, October 2022
(Eurosurveillance) This report describes an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) detected in intensively farmed minks in Europe, which occurred in the Galicia region in northwest Spain in October 2022. We present an in-depth description of the epidemiological, clinical and genetic investigations of this outbreak affecting a single farm and discuss public health […]
Jan 31, 2023
‘Incredibly concerning’: Bird flu outbreak at Spanish mink farm triggers pandemic fears
(Science) Spread among captive mink could give the H5N1 strain opportunities to evolve and adapt to mammals. When mink at a big farm in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain, started to die in October 2022, veterinarians initially thought the culprit might be SARS-CoV-2, which has struck mink farms in several other countries. But lab […]
Jan 31, 2023
Happy belated birthday, Phil Collins!
As I was collecting content for this issue of The Transmission, I learned Phil Collins turned 72 yesterday! His music will live on forever, especially In the Air Tonight, a true classic. I heard a story long ago about the origin of that song, a dark tale of an icy murder, and anger. The real […]
Jan 31, 2023
Bangladesh: Nipah virus kills at least five this winter, infects more
(BG News) Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the Nipah virus afflicted eight people around the country this winter, claiming five lives. Most of the cases were from Rajshahi Division and all were currently in treatment, Maleque said on Sunday. “The infected are under care at the Mohakhali Infectious Disease Hospital. Authorities have set up […]
Jan 31, 2023
Plasma from patients with pulmonary embolism show aggregates that reduce after anticoagulation
(Nature) Background Microclots, a term also used for amyloid fibrin(ogen) particles and henceforth named aggregates, have recently been reported in the plasma of patients with COVID-19 and long COVID. These aggregates have been implicated in the thrombotic complications of these diseases. Methods Plasma samples from 35 patients with acute pulmonary embolism were collected and analysed […]
Jan 31, 2023
When is it OK to make germs worse in a lab? It’s a more relevant question than ever
(NPR) Over 150 virologists have signed on to a commentary that says all the evidence to date indicates that the coronavirus pandemic started naturally, and it wasn’t the result of some kind of lab accident or malicious attack. They worry that continued speculation about a lab in China is fueling calls for more regulation of experiments with […]
Jan 31, 2023
COVID flashback: On Jan. 30, 2020, WHO declared a global health emergency
(NPR) On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization sounded the alarm about an unfamiliar and deadly new virus, declaring it a global health emergency. “Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Tedros was […]
Jan 31, 2023
