Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
India’s first human metapneumovirus (HMPV) cases confirmed, but officials say “no reason to worry”
CBS News Indian officials have confirmed the vast nation’s first cases of human metapneumovirus, often called HMPV, with seven people said to have contracted the virus as of Tuesday, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research. Two of the HMPV infections were reported in the central Indian city of Nagpur on Tuesday, while two cases […]
Jan 7, 2025
First Bird Flu Death in U.S. Reported in Louisiana
NYT The deceased was over 65 and had other medical conditions, state officials said. A Louisiana patient who had been hospitalized with severe bird flu has died, the first such fatality in the United States, state health officials reported on Monday. The patient was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions, the officials said. […]
Jan 7, 2025
Mpox Is Spreading in Congo’s Capital, Threatening Global Efforts to Contain the Virus
NYT A NYT reporter went to Congo, where the mpox epidemic has reached the teeming capital, infecting children and their mothers, who sell sex to survive. Mireille Efonge got sick a few months ago, with a fever and painful blisters on her groin. She became too weak to move, so neighbors carried her to a […]
Jan 2, 2025
Bird flu has killed 20 big cats including cougars at a U.S. wildlife sanctuary
NPR An animal sanctuary in Shelton, Wash., is under quarantine after a bird flu outbreak killed 20 big cats at the facility over the past month. The Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington called the deaths “heartbreaking,” confirming the virus has claimed more than half its animals, including four cougars and a half-Bengal tiger, since late November. […]
Jan 2, 2025
Which Animals Have Caught Bird Flu In The U.S.?
Forbes Over the past year, bird flu has spread far beyond America’s avian creatures. Largely concentrated among farm animals, it’s also hit zoos, domestic pets and even people. The risk to public health remains very low. But experts are watching the disease closely as it spreads and adapts among animals, in case any changes improve […]
Jan 2, 2025
Genetic Sequences of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses Identified in a Person in Louisiana
CDC CDC has sequenced the influenza viruses in specimens collected from the patient in Louisiana who was infected with, and became severely ill from HPAI A(H5N1) virus. The genomic sequences were compared to other HPAI A(H5N1) sequences from dairy cows, wild birds and poultry, as well as previous human cases and were identified as the […]
Jan 2, 2025
Investigation of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus in Dairy Cattle
FDA The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with state partners, continue to investigate an outbreak of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) impacting poultry, dairy cows, and people in multiple states. The responsibility of the FDA is to protect the public health […]
Jan 2, 2025
Avian Influenza Suspected in Snow Goose Mortalities
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Avian influenza (AI) is suspected to have caused the deaths of about 200 snow geese found Monday in the greater Allentown area. Dead birds were recovered from two sites, one in Lower Nazareth Township in Northampton County and another in Upper Macungie Township in Lehigh County. Preliminary in-state testing indicated the presence […]
Jan 2, 2025
Scientists Are Racing to Develop a New Bird Flu Vaccine
Time A 13-year-old girl in Canada became so sick with H5N1, or bird flu, in late 2024 that she had to be put on a ventilator. Around the same time, a senior in Louisiana was diagnosed with the first “severe” case in the U.S. As bird flu continues to ramp up, many are wondering what tools—namely, vaccines—we have […]
Jan 2, 2025
FDA testing aged raw cow’s milk cheese for bird flu
The Hill The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin collecting samples of raw cow’s milk cheese from across the U.S. to test for the presence of bird flu, spurred on by the ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 in multiple states. In the announcement published Monday, the FDA said the goal of testing will be two-fold: detecting […]
Jan 2, 2025