Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Latvia: First bird flu case of the year recorded
Latvia News The Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) has received the results of laboratory examinations confirming highly pathogenic avian influenza in forest geese in the Skaņkalne parish of Valmiera municipality. This is the first bird flu case detected in Latvia in 2024, the PVD reported. The Service asks Latvian poultry keepers not to allow poultry […]
Apr 9, 2024
Only 2 U.S. states report covid increases, CDC says
Washington Post As the United States eased into spring, only two states had increases or likely increases in coronavirus infections as of March 30, according to an update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In addition, the CDC reported a decline or likely decline in coronavirus infections in 29 states and territories and called infections “stable […]
Apr 9, 2024
Chronic wasting disease spread to new West Virginia county, DNR says
WV Outdoor Chronic wasting disease (CWD), or “zombie deer disease,” has spread to a new county in West Virginia. According to a press release from the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), the new case was confirmed in a deer in Jefferson County. This is the first confirmed case in Jefferson County, upping the […]
Apr 9, 2024
Philippines reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak on poultry farm
MSN The Philippines has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, on a poultry farm in the center of the country, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday. The virus killed 4,475 birds out of a flock of 60,529 on a farm in the province of […]
Apr 5, 2024
New bird flu infections: Here’s what you need to know
MIT Tech Review New cases in cows and a dairy worker in Texas highlight the need for vigilance and better strategies to protect animals and people. A dairy worker in Texas tested positive for avian influenza this week. This new human case of bird flu—the second ever reported in the United States—isn’t cause for panic. […]
Apr 5, 2024
Bird flu may be spreading in cows via milking and herd transport
Science New data challenge assumed transmission route and some call for restricting cattle. The bird flu virus spreading through dairy cattle in the United States may be expanding its reach via milking equipment, the people doing the milking, or both, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives reported today at an international, virtual meeting held to […]
Apr 5, 2024
Why a leading bird flu expert isn’t convinced that the risk H5N1 poses to people has declined
STAT News that H5N1 avian influenza has breached another mammalian species — this time dairy cows — has taken the flu science community aback. Though cows previously had been seen to be susceptible to human flu viruses, and could be experimentally infected with H5 in a lab, the absence of cow involvement until now in H5’s nearly 30-year […]
Apr 5, 2024
Scientists investigate thousands of dead Antarctic penguins for bird flu
Reuters Has bird flu already killed hundreds, if not thousands of penguins in Antarctica? That’s what researchers are seeking to find out after a scientific expedition last month found at least 532 dead Adelie penguins, with thousands more thought to have died, according to a statement from Federation University Australia. While the researchers suspect the […]
Apr 5, 2024
England’s Measles Outbreak Nears 10 Year Peak
Precision Vaccinations Measles outbreaks are an ongoing health risk worldwide, including in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The U.K.’s health agency recently confirmed a significant increase in measles cases across England, primarily in the West Midlands, driven by cases in Birmingham. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported data from October 2023: 868 laboratory-confirmed measles cases had been reported in England […]
Apr 2, 2024
Bird flu strain raises alarm as H5N1 virus kills South American wildlife
Reuters The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists. Of more immediate concern is evidence the disease, once largely confined […]
Apr 2, 2024
