Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
The Point The general public is hereby informed that High Pathogenicity Avian influenza (HPAI) type H5N1 has just been confirmed in wild birds in The Gambia. This followed a joint investigation conducted by the Department of Parks and Wild life Management (DPWM) of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources and the Department […]
Apr 11, 2023
Fortune A new COVID variant the World Health Organization has its eye on seems to be causing a new symptom in children rarely caused by other Omicron spawn. XBB.1.16, dubbed “Arcturus” by variant trackers, is fueling a new surge of cases in India, at a time when reported cases are down in much of the rest […]
Apr 11, 2023
At Least 3 California Condors Die From Bird Flu in Arizona
NYT Exposure to the virus is expected to rise as condors, an endangered species, migrate north in the spring, the National Park Service said. At least three California condors in northern Arizona have died since last month from bird flu, which could spread and pose yet another threat to the endangered species, the National Park Service […]
Apr 11, 2023
Yes, COVID Is Still Deadlier Than the Flu
MedPageToday VA study finds 61% higher mortality rate in hospitalized cases this past winter. Hospitalizations from COVID-19 during the most recent flu season remained significantly more deadly than those resulting from influenza, but the gap appears to have narrowed substantially since earlier in the pandemic, according to findings from Veterans Affairs’ (VA) databases. Examining over […]
Apr 11, 2023
United States: COVID national emergency ends after Congress acts
AP The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping steps to respond […]
Apr 11, 2023
A new flu is spilling over from cows to people in the U.S. How worried should we be?
NPR In 2011, a farmer in Oklahoma had a bunch of sick pigs. The animals had what looked like the flu. “Just like a person with respiratory disease, the pigs had labored breathing, maybe a runny nose, cough and potentially a fever,” says virologist Benjamin Hause. At the time, Hause was working at the company […]
Apr 6, 2023
Science The victims are varied, from thousands of sea lions off the coast of Peru to mink farmed for fur in Spain to grizzly bears in Montana and harbor seals in Maine. For months, the avian influenza virus that has been decimating birds across the world has also sickened and killed a menagerie of mammals, raising fears […]
Apr 6, 2023
Marburg Virus Disease Outbreaks inEquatorial Guinea and Tanzania
CDC SummaryThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network (HAN) HealthAdvisory to inform clinicians and public health departments in the United States about two confirmedoutbreaks of Marburg virus disease (MVD)—one in Equatorial Guinea and one in Tanzania. Currently,there is no evidence to suggest that these two outbreaks are related; […]
Apr 6, 2023
Avian flu is devastating seabird colonies across North Atlantic ocean
CBC Seabird scientist Bill Montevecchi explains how avian flu made its way to Newfoundland and what can be done. Where did avian flu come from? Avian Influenza (HPAI H5Nx) variants were first detected in 1996 among domestic fowl in Asia. The influenza then radiated in poultry through Russia to Europe, Africa, and North America. Since 2005, […]
Apr 4, 2023
