Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
It’s not just cold and flu cases that are on the rise this winter
WTOP The holiday season comes with more parties, family gatherings and, thanks to cold temperatures, more time spent indoors. While coming together for festive fun can provide Christmas cheer, it can also provide the perfect conditions for viruses to spread. “Each year around this time, especially as the holiday season starts to pick up, we […]
Dec 17, 2024
Alabama: Highly pathogenic bird flu confirmed – More than 100,000 chickens killed
AL.com More than 100,000 birds — nearly all of them chickens — have been killed at a Cullman County commercial broiler farm and a backyard flock in Pickens County after highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was confirmed at the two sites, the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries said Monday. Samples from the flocks were […]
Dec 17, 2024
DRC health ministry says mystery disease is ‘severe’ form of malaria
Guardian A previously unidentified disease circulating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a severe form of malaria, the country’s health ministry has said. Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the south-west Kwango province in November. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, cough, runny nose and body aches. […]
Dec 17, 2024
CDC Can’t Confirm Suspected Bird Flu Case Tied to Raw Milk
MedPageToday CDC could not confirm what was suspected to have been the first H5N1 bird flu case linked to raw milk consumption The patient, a child in Marin County, California, experienced fever and vomiting after drinking raw milk, as reported last week. The child initially tested positive for influenza A, with the local lab unable to […]
Dec 17, 2024
Avian flu reported in 108 countries across five continents, says UN health agency
UN In an update on the mutating virus – known as H5N1 – Dr. Madhur Dhingra from the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, said that it had “spilled over into wildlife”. More than 500 bird species have been infected along with at least 70 mammalian species, including the endangered California condor and polar bears. In regions […]
Dec 17, 2024
For Wild Animals, the Bird Flu Disaster Is Already Here
NYT Scientists are concerned that the H5N1 virus could set off another human pandemic. But it is already putting species under pressure in the wild. Every spring, more than 200,000 northern gannets — stocky seabirds with dazzling white feathers — journey to the coast of eastern Canada. There, they blanket oceanside cliffs and rocky outcroppings, […]
Dec 17, 2024
Texas: Health district confirms county’s first case of bird flu
Galveston Daily News The Galveston County Health District on Tuesday confirmed the county’s first positive case of avian influenza, which was detected in a bird found in Texas City. The virus, commonly referred to as avian flu, is a viral infection widespread in wild birds worldwide and also has been found in dairy cows, according […]
Dec 17, 2024
Johns Hopkins Scientists Uncover Hidden Trigger Behind COVID-19’s Deadly Cytokine Storm
SciTechDaily Scientists discovered that overactivation of immune genes and the RAAS system causes cytokine storms in severe COVID-19 cases. This leads to widespread inflammation and organ damage. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the University of Pittsburgh, and Weill Cornell Medicine, as part of the COVID-19 International Research Team, identified a […]
Dec 11, 2024
Sierra Leone on High Alert Following Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Case
X @slnpha of #SierraLeone has issued an update regarding a suspected case of Viral #HemorrhagicFever (VHF) in #Kono District. According to the NPHA, all 290 contacts identified in Kono—classified as high, medium, and low risk—have completed their 21-day observation period without exhibiting symptoms. Contacts from the Western Area are also under close monitoring, having completed […]
Dec 11, 2024
U.S. Milk to Be Tested for Bird Flu Virus
NYT New federal rules call for testing unpasteurized milk from dairy processors and for farm owners to provide details that would help officials identify and track cases more easily. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin testing the nation’s milk supply for the bird flu virus known as H5N1, nearly a year after the virus […]
Dec 11, 2024