Category: Avian Influenza
Bird Flu Is Quietly Getting Scarier
The Atlantic Perhaps it’s time to talk about an H5N1 pandemic. Up until last Friday afternoon, a total of 13 people in the United States had officially come down this year with avian influenza H5, also known as bird flu. A subtype of that virus, a potential pandemic pathogen called H5N1, has for months been […]
Sep 10, 2024
5 burning questions about Missouri’s mysterious H5 bird flu case
STAT Could raw milk — or a cat — help explain how a person who had no contact with animals caught the virus? News that a person in Missouri contracted H5 bird flu despite having no known contact with infected animals or birds — in other words, no evident route of infection — raises pressing questions public health […]
Sep 10, 2024
Officials confirm H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in three California dairy farms
Los Angeles Times Federal officials have confirmed that three California dairy herds have suffered outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu, due most likely to the transportation of cattle and not exposure to diseased birds. Health officials announced last week that they suspected cows at three Central Valley dairies had contracted the illness, and were awaiting testing […]
Sep 4, 2024
How avian influenza has spread to Antarctic islands
Cosmos Discovery of how the deadly avian influenza virus spread to the Antarctic has raised concerns about how vulnerable the region will be during seabird breeding season. In October 2023, British researchers confirmed for the first time the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions. The strain detected in […]
Sep 3, 2024
Avian Influenza A(H5N1) – Cambodia
WHO On 20 August 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified by the country’s International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point (NFP) of a laboratory-confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus (clade 2.3.2.1c) in a 15-year-old child in the Kingdom of Cambodia. This case is one of 10 human cases of […]
Sep 3, 2024
The Conversation The current strain of avian flu, H5N1, is responsible for the culling of millions of domestic birds and has sickened more than a dozen farmworkers in 2024, most recently in Colorado. The Conversation U.S. asked immunologist and microbiologist Jenna Guthmiller from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to explain the historical roots of H5N1, its mode of […]
Aug 28, 2024
Thousands of birds die of bird flu and botulism at wildlife refuges in southern Oregon
Oregon Live At least 5,000 birds have died so far this summer at a network of wildlife refuges on the Oregon-California border, sparking fears of another large outbreak of disease and calls for more water releases in a region roiled by drought and water uncertainty made worse by climate change. The deaths are likely caused […]
Aug 27, 2024
With Only Gloves To Protect Them, Farmworkers Say They Tend Sick Cows Amid Bird Flu
KFF In early August, farmworkers gathered under a pavilion at a park here for a picnic to celebrate Farmworker Appreciation Day. One sign that this year was different from the others was the menu: Beef fajitas, tortillas, pico de gallo, chips, beans — but no chicken. Farms in Colorado had culled millions of chickens in recent months […]
Aug 27, 2024
6 cats in Colorado are diagnosed with avian influenza
DVM 360 Amid rising human cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) in Colorado,1 infection cases in domestic cats have also been diagnosed in the state during 2024. This year, 6 feline cases of HPAI H5N1 have been reported, with 2 of the affected animals being indoor-only cats who had no direct exposure to the virus, […]
Aug 20, 2024
How Your Cat or Dog Could Warn of a Bird Flu Outbreak
NYT Like most countries, the U.S. has no comprehensive national system for monitoring disease in companion animals — which leaves pets and people at risk. Trupanion, a Seattle-based pet insurance company, is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to create a disease tracking system for pets, the company announced this week. The […]
Aug 20, 2024