Category: Avian Influenza
Bird flu infects Colorado mountain lion, black bear and skunk, all now dead
(Denver Post) The highly pathogenic avian influenza has killed thousands of wild birds and has now infected more Colorado wildlife. Three animals in Colorado, each of them now dead, tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza that’s sweeping across the country, state wildlife officials said in a release. The H5N1 variant of the bird […]
Feb 10, 2023
The return of bird flu and the effects of pandemic fatigue
(STAT) Podcast featuring Helen Branswell Just how alarming is bird flu? And did we learn enough from Covid-19 to be sensible about it? We cover all that and more this week on “The Readout LOUD,” STAT’s biotech podcast. Helen Branswell, STAT’s senior writer covering infectious disease, joins us to explain the sudden resurgence of a […]
Feb 9, 2023
U.S. to test shots against bird flu outbreak, as Biden administration weighs poultry vaccinations
(CBS News) Federal scientists are gearing up to test the first vaccines in poultry against bird flu in years, as Biden administration officials say they have now begun weighing an unprecedented shift in the U.S. strategy to counter the growing outbreak. The move comes amid mounting concern over the threat posed by the ongoing spread of highly […]
Feb 9, 2023
In Ontario, worries of an even deadlier pandemic start with chickens
(CBC) The talk among poultry farmers isn’t ‘if’ H5N1 arrives in Ontario this spring, but ‘when’ The Ontario government and the province’s poultry industry are putting renewed focus on biosecurity at their first meeting in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with the hope farmers’ actions today might stop an even deadlier pandemic before it begins. […]
Feb 9, 2023
Bird Flu Got to the Minks. Are Humans Next?
(Bloomberg – Opinion) Zombie Minks Seriously, what is it about minks? These animals are always causing trouble. Last October, a mink farm in northwestern Spain was infected with a deadly bird flu, H5N1. More than 50,000 minks were euthanized as a result. Then there was Denmark’s Great Mink Disaster of 2020, when more than 15 million minks were culled to prevent the spread of […]
Feb 9, 2023
Bird Flu Has Begun to Spread in Mammals—Here’s What’s Important to Know
(JAMA) As bird flu continues to circle the globe, a recent report suggests that the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus spread between farmed mink in Spain last October. The virus also may have been transmitted between seals in coastal New England last summer. The events mark the first large H5N1 outbreaks potentially driven by mammal-to-mammal transmission. The […]
Feb 9, 2023
Avian H5N1 (Bird) Flu: Why Experts Are Worried—And What You Should Know
(Forbes) The bird flu outbreak is the deadliest one in almost 10 years—which has helped cause egg prices to steeply rise—and while infection in humans is rare, some experts are gravely concerned it could eventually make the leap and spread among humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bird flu is caused by […]
Feb 8, 2023
Can humans and pets catch bird flu? What to know about the outbreak.
(Washington Post) An outbreak of a highly pathogenic avian influenza strain is decimating wild and farmed bird populations globally, fueling a debate about the most effective ways to end it and the potential risk to humans. Some experts are concerned about the possibility that the H5N1 virus could one day evolve to more easily spread […]
Feb 8, 2023
Tracking the bird flu, experts see a familiar threat — and a virus whose course is hard to predict
(STAT) Veteran influenza epidemiologist Keiji Fukuda remembers vividly when he first became fearful that a virulent bird flu virus, H5N1, might be on the verge of triggering a devastating pandemic. The virus, seemingly out of nowhere, did something bird flu viruses were thought not to be able to do. It infected 18 people, killing six […]
Feb 8, 2023
Bird Flu Outbreak Puts Mink Farms Back in the Spotlight
(New York Times) A new variant of avian influenza appears capable of spreading among mammals, highlighting the need for more proactive surveillance, experts said. Early last October, the mink on a fur farm in Spain suddenly began to fall ill. They stopped eating and began salivating excessively. They became clumsy, started to experience tremors and […]
Feb 8, 2023