Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Svalbard, Norway: Walrus dies from bird flu on Arctic island
Straights Times The first case of a walrus dying from bird flu has been detected on one of Norway’s Arctic islands, a researcher said April 29. The walrus was found last year on Hopen island in the Svalbard archipelago, Mr Christian Lydersen, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, told AFP. Tests carried out by a German […]
Apr 30, 2024
After steady decline, TB has increased every year since 2020 in U.S.
Washington Post After decreasing for 27 years, the number of U.S. residents with tuberculosis has increased every year since 2020, with 9,615 cases recorded last year in the 50 states and D.C., according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding was based on data from the agency’s National Tuberculosis Surveillance […]
Apr 30, 2024
Technical Report: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses
CDC A small number of sporadic human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) have been identified worldwide since 2022, amidst a panzootic of these viruses in wild birds and poultry. Nearly all human cases reported globally since 2022 were associated with poultry exposures, and no cases of human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1) virus have been identified. […]
Apr 26, 2024
The Conversation The discovery of fragments of avian flu virus in milk sold in U.S. stores, including in about 20% of samples in initial testing across the country, suggests that the H5N1 virus may be more widespread in dairy cattle than previously realized. The Food and Drug Administration, which announced the early results from its nationally representative sampling on […]
Apr 25, 2024
The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
NYT Podcast An unusual outbreak of the disease has spread to dairy herds in multiple U.S. states. TRANSCRIPT: From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.” [MUSIC PLAYING] The outbreak of bird flu that is tearing through the nation’s poultry farms is the worst in US history. But scientists say […]
Apr 24, 2024
Why the WHO’s chief scientist is concerned about bird flu
Washington Post The World Health Organization’s chief scientist called the bird flu an “enormous concern,” citing critical questions over how the virus is transmitted. Jeremy Farrar singled out the recent outbreak in dairy cows in the United States — the first time the country’s dairy cattle have been infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza. With H5N1 […]
Apr 24, 2024
Bird flu hits turkey flock in Newaygo County as virus spreads in Michigan
BridgeMI The bird flu continues to impact poultry flocks in Michigan as wild birds make their migration from the south. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported last week that highly pathogenic avian influenza had been detected in a commercial flock of turkeys being raised for meat in Newaygo County. News of the outbreak, which affected more than […]
Apr 24, 2024
W.H.O. Broadens Definition of Airborne Diseases
NYT After a drawn-out global controversy over the coronavirus, the W.H.O. has updated its classification of how pathogens spread through the air. In the early days of the Covid pandemic, a team of scientists called on the World Health Organization to acknowledge that the disease could spread through the air. Initially, the agency rebuffed them, despite growing […]
Apr 24, 2024
Lasers, Inflatable Dancers and the Fight to Fend Off Avian Flu
NYT Some poultry growers are turning to innovative tactics to protect their flocks, deploying deterrents like drones, air horns, balloons and decoy predators. Loren Brey, a poultry grower in Minnesota, walked onto the farm where his egg-laying turkeys nest in November to discover a handful of hens, dead from the highly pathogenic avian flu. Within […]
Apr 24, 2024
Man dies after 613-day COVID-19 infection that underwent 50 mutations
Scripps News Through the 613 days of infection, the virus evolved into a “novel immune-evasive variant” that had mutated over 50 times. A new report by Dutch scientists revealed a very peculiar case: On Feb. 2022, a 72-year-old man with a compromised immune system was admitted to Amsterdam University Medical Center with a COVID-19 infection. The virus in […]
Apr 24, 2024