Author: Claudinne Miller
H5 Avian Flu Detected at Wastewater Sampling Site in Hilo
State of Hawaii The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) State Laboratories Division has detected H5 avian influenza (bird flu) in a wastewater sample collected on Dec. 2 at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant on Hawaiʻi Island. This is the first detection of bird flu on a neighbor island and indicates an H5 type of bird flu virus […]
Dec 11, 2024
Officials warn of bird flu amid child possibly infected after drinking raw milk in North Bay
NBC There are new health warnings about the growing number of bird flu cases in California and the latest is in Marin County, where health officials say they are investigating a possible new case linked to a child who drank raw milk. Raw milk been under the microscope for weeks in California. On Dec. 6, […]
Dec 11, 2024
DR Congo mystery illness: What we know
DW An undiagnosed ‘Disease X’ is spreading in a remote region of DR Congo. Can it be treated? It is almost impossible to treat an illness like the Disease X that’s spreading in DR Congo — medics don’t even know whether it is a viral or bacterial infection. So far, the DRC has recorded 406 cases of the undiagnosed disease. […]
Dec 11, 2024
Congo’s mpox crisis
Science For the second time in 2 years, a long-overlooked virus poses a global threat. Can it be contained? In late September 2023, a 33-year-old man who co-owned a bar in Kamituga, a remote mining city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), developed lesions on his genitals and a fever. He first sought […]
Dec 10, 2024
Replication Restriction of Influenza A(H5N1) Clade 2.3.4.4b Viruses by Human Immune Factor
CDC ABSTRACT We show that human myxovirus resistance protein 1 (MxA) suppresses replication of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses isolated from mammals in vitro and in MxA-transgenic mice. However, H5N1 can evade MxA restriction through replacement of individual viral polymerase complex components from a human-adapted MxA-resistant strain in vitro. Since 2022, clade 2.3.4.4b highly […]
Dec 10, 2024
Bird flu in California child linked to virus in dairy cows, CDC says
Washington Post There is no evidence the youngster was exposed to livestock or any infected animals, deepening the mystery about the spread of H5N1 bird flu. Federal disease trackers reported Tuesday that the first child diagnosed with bird flu in an ongoing U.S. outbreak was infected with a virus strain moving rapidly through dairy cattle, even though there is […]
Dec 10, 2024
The state of H5N1 avian influenza riskWhy hasn’t the bird flu pandemic started?
Science Some scientists examining mutations found in H5N1 viruses fear major outbreak is imminent but others say pathogen remains unpredictable If the world finds itself amid a flu pandemic in a few months, it won’t be a big surprise. Birds have been spreading a new clade of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, 2.3.4.4b, around the […]
Dec 10, 2024
What Happened to the Canadian Teen Who Became Critically Ill With H5N1 Bird Flu?
Medpage Today Public health investigation is closed, but officials haven’t provided patient updates. Canadian public health officials closed their investigation into the teenager who became critically ill with the H5N1 bird flu virus, with no source of infection identified. It’s not clear whether the teenager recovered or was released from the hospital. Andy Watson, director […]
Dec 10, 2024
California: Marin officials report possible bird flu case in child
Marin Independent A child who visited Marin County during Thanksgiving week is being tested for a possible infection of H5N1, the bird flu. Marin’s public health officer, Dr. Lisa Santora, said the child tested positive for influenza type A, a category that includes bird flu. The child had been visiting from out of state for […]
Dec 10, 2024
How worried should we be about Disease X?
NPR They’re calling it Disease X. It’s a mysterious illness circulating in a remote part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Current figures: over 400 cases, including 31 deaths. International health authorities are monitoring. It all started on October 24 when the first patient fell ill with an unidentified sickness. Others soon followed, all in […]
Dec 10, 2024