Category: Featured Headlines
Assessing avian influenza in dairy milk
NIH Certain influenza viruses are found in wild and domestic birds, earning the disease they cause the name “bird flu.” Over the last two decades, about 900 people have been infected with an avian influenza virus called H5N1. Most of them have had close contact with infected birds. Past H5N1 strains have proven deadly for […]
Jun 4, 2024
Two chickens test positive for bird flu at San Francisco live bird market
CBS News Health officials said Monday that the H5N1 avian flu was detected last month in two asymptomatic chickens at a live bird market in San Francisco, but there is no sign that the public has been exposed. The bird flu virus was found as part of routine tests at live bird markets around the […]
Jun 4, 2024
The 3rd human case of bird flu in the US has 2 new and troubling symptoms
Business Insider The H5N1 bird-flu virus has once again infected a human. But this time, the unlucky patient had a cough and a sore throat, which is a new milestone for the virus’s spread in the US. The H5N1 virus has become a pandemic among animals, raging through worldwide bird populations and now through US cattle herds. This […]
Jun 4, 2024
Bird flu detected in San Francisco wastewater and chickens
Los Angeles Times As federal and state health officials expand their avian flu surveillance, the San Francisco Department of Public Health has reported that avian flu has been detected in wastewater samples collected in May. The samples were collected after two chickens at a live bird market in the city tested positive for the disease […]
Jun 4, 2024
‘Uncertainty’ Isn’t a Bad Word: U.S. Agencies Must Tighten Up H5N1 Communications
MedPageToday More effective and efficient public messaging is the need of the hour. Less than a month ago, we published a pieceopens in a new tab or window suggesting that H5N1 bird flu could pose an even thornier health communications challenge than COVID-19. We offered a three-point prescription for how the U.S. government agencies most responsible for […]
Jun 4, 2024
Alpacas test positive for H5N1 bird flu for the first time
CNN Highly pathogenic avian influenza, sometimes called bird flu, has been confirmed in alpacas for the first time, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. The animals that tested positive were on a farm in Idaho where poultry had tested positive for the virus and were culled in May. The alpacas […]
May 29, 2024
Wastewater and the Current Outbreak of Influenza A (H5N1) in birds, cattle, and other animals
CDC During the two most recent weeks, (May 5, 2024–May 18, 2024), a total of 281 of 689 sites reported data meeting criteria for analysis for influenza A virus for both weeks or for either week, and 3 (1%) sites from 2 states were at a high level (>80th percentile compared to levels recorded at that site between October 1, 2023 and March 2, 2024).
May 28, 2024
Covid will still be here this summer. Will anyone care?
Washington Post Despite “FLiRT” variants, this may be the first covid wave with little federal pressure to limit transmission or data to even declare a surge. By now, it’s as familiar as sunscreen hitting the shelves: Americans are headed into another summer with new coronavirus variants and a likely uptick in cases. This is shaping up to […]
May 28, 2024
Is It Covid, Spring Allergies or a Cold?
NY Times It’s sniffle season. Here’s how to figure out what’s causing your symptoms. As summer approaches, many people with spring allergies are still suffering. And as new Covid variants circulate, experts say we may also soon see an uptick in cases. (Though wastewater data suggests that Covid cases are currently fairly low.) It can be tricky to distinguish […]
May 28, 2024
The Disease Detectives Trying to Keep the World Safe From Bird Flu
NY Times When a child in a small Cambodian town fell sick recently, his rapid decline set off a global disease surveillance system. As Dr. Sreyleak Luch drove to work the morning of Feb. 8, through busy sunbaked streets in Cambodia’s Mekong river delta, she played the overnight voice messages from her team. The condition […]
May 28, 2024