Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
UK: Poultry to be culled after bird flu confirmed at Appleby
(News and Star) Highly Pathogenic Avian influenza H5N1 has been found at a site near Appleby-in-Westmorland. A 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place around the premises. . The zones restrict access to locations where birds are kept and impose restrictions on the movement of birds. They do not limit access […]
Feb 10, 2023
Four dead seals test positive for bird flu in Scotland
(Guardian) Experts warn of ‘step-change’ in avian flu spread as number of cases in mammals continues to grow globally. Four dead seals have tested positive for bird flu in Scotland, as the number of cases of highly pathogenic avian flu in mammals continues to grow globally with experts warning of “a step-change” in its spread. The […]
Feb 10, 2023
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
Cameroon restricts Eq Guinea border activity over fever deaths
(Al Jazeera) Cameroonian authorities said the border movement restrictions were imposed in view of ‘the high risk of importation’ of the unidentified illness. Cameroon has restricted movement along its border with Equatorial Guinea following “several unexplained deaths” from an unknown illness that causes hemorrhagic fever, Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda said on Friday. The […]
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