Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
The truth about raw milk and why experts are ‘absolutely horrified’ by the trend
Guardian US officials recently detected bird flu in raw milk. Public health officials in California detected bird flu in a sample of raw milk this month. The virus first spread to dairy cattle in the US in March. The discovery comes amid an increasingly heated public debate about the merits and drawbacks of raw milk. Robert F Kennedy Jr, […]
Nov 27, 2024
Experts say bird flu is more widespread than we think: ‘We are in a soup of virus’
Independent Scientists are warning about the continued transmission of dangerous H5N1 bird flu, saying that the virus is more widespread than believed. “We are in a soup of virus. I mean, there’s virus everywhere around us at this point,” Dr. Marcela Uhart, a wildlife veterinarian with the University of Cal-Davis’ One Health Institute, told a symposium earlier this […]
Nov 27, 2024
Why a teenager’s bird-flu infection is ringing alarm bells for scientists
Nature A strain of avian influenza is showing signs of adaptation to human hosts, but there is no evidence that it can transmit from person to person. In a children’s hospital in Vancouver, Canada, a teenager is in critical condition after being infected with an avian influenza virus that has researchers on high alert. Viral genome sequences […]
Nov 27, 2024
B.C. teen remains in critical condition with H5N1 avian flu
Toronto News B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the teen infected with H5N1 avian flu remains in critical condition in Children’s Hospital. Henry said the teen is “stable” and has made some progress in the past few days, but is still “very sick.” In addition, Henry said 34 health-care workers were exposed to avian flu but […]
Nov 27, 2024
Bird flu virus was found in raw milk. What to know about the risks
AP President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the nation’s top health job, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has vowed to allow wider distribution of raw milk across America. But the detection of bird flu virus in unpasteurized milk sold in California stores underscores what health experts say are the known and potential risks. “You have to assume that raw milk, unpasteurized milk, […]
Nov 27, 2024
Canada Confirms First Case of New Mpox Variant
Bloomberg Canada confirmed its first case of a dangerous new mpox variant but said the risk to the general population remains low. The first case of clade I mpox was found in an individual in the province of Manitoba, the country’s public health agency said in a statement. A public health investigation, which includes contact tracing, […]
Nov 26, 2024
It’s a virus you may not have heard of. Here’s why scientists are worried about it
NPR A little-known virus is getting a lot of attention this year. It’s called Oropouche, and it’s been making headlines because of a notable increase in diagnoses. So far in 2024 there have been over 10,000 cases, mainly in South America and the Caribbean. The vast majority are in Brazil. By contrast, the total Oropouche […]
Nov 26, 2024
How bacteria-infected mosquitoes reduced dengue cases
Chemical and Engineering News Dengue infections are on the rise in many parts of the world, thanks to climate change and the expansion of the range of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. While some public health agencies are slowly rolling outtwo licensed vaccines, a few countries are also testing a novel intervention to battle these mosquitoes and the diseases they spread. […]
Nov 26, 2024
Canadian probe into teen’s critical H5N1 infection finds no clear source
CIDRAP As a Canadian teen remains in critical care with an H5N1 avian flu infection in a British Columbia hospital, health investigators said today they haven’t identified the source, but have found other clues such as virus changes that may have led to a more severe lower respiratory infection. At a briefing today, Bonnie Henry, […]
Nov 26, 2024
Cognitive deficits after COVID-19 associated with brain injury biomarkers and volume loss
Nature A prospective, multicenter study of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 demonstrates objective global cognitive impairment after 12–18 months of follow-up, especially in those who had experienced encephalopathy. The cognitive impairment was associated with increased levels of serum brain injury biomarkers and a reduction in regional brain volume on MRI.
Nov 26, 2024