Category: Featured Headlines
CDC looks to expand capacity to test for H5N1 bird flu in people
STAT As the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cows enters its fourth month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is taking steps to ramp up the nation’s capacity to test for the virus in people. In a call with reporters Tuesday, Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, emphasized that the risk to the general […]
Jul 3, 2024
FDA Finds Infectious H5N1 Bird Flu Virus In 14% Of Raw Milk Samples
Forbes An alarming 14% of raw milk samples taken from states with dairy herd outbreaks contained infectious H5N1 bird flu, according to new testing results released by the FDA. The researchers took 275 milk samples from bulk storage tanks on farms in four states where dairy cattle are confirmed to be infected by H5N1. The virus was […]
Jul 3, 2024
Scientists wary of bird flu pandemic ‘unfolding in slow motion’
Reuters Scientists tracking the spread of bird flu are increasingly concerned that gaps in surveillance may keep them several steps behind a new pandemic, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen leading disease experts. Many of them have been monitoring the new subtype of H5N1 avian flu in migratory birds since 2020. But […]
Jul 2, 2024
Pasteurization Kills Bird Flu Virus in Milk, New Studies Confirm
Scientific American Flash pasteurization destroyed H5N1 viral particles that were highly concentrated in raw milk, confirming that standard techniques can keep dairy products safe from bird flu. Pasteurization—the process of using high heat to eliminate harmful microbes in foods—effectively kills the H5N1 avian influenza virus that is currently circulating in U.S. cattle. In a new […]
Jul 2, 2024
How Does Bird Flu Spread in Cows? Experiment Yields Some ‘Good News.’
New York Times Scientists say that findings from a small experiment lend hope the outbreak among dairy cattle can potentially be contained. Ever since scientists discovered influenza infecting American cows earlier this year, they have been puzzling over how it spreads from one animal to another. An experiment carried out in Kansas and Germany has shed […]
Jul 2, 2024
Health officials in the Florida Keys issue a dengue fever alert
NBC News A dengue fever alert has been issued in the Florida Keys following two confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne illness. The local warning comes a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national advisory about the increased risk of dengue virus infections in the United States. Even though most of the dengue […]
Jul 2, 2024
The U.S. strategic drug stockpile is inadequate for a bird flu outbreak
Fortune China reports highly pathogenic H5N6, H7N9 bird flu outbreaks. China reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu at a duck farm in the Guangxi province, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday, citing a report from the Chinese agriculture ministry. The virus killed 23,950 ducks out of a […]
Jun 26, 2024
U.S. is ‘flying blind’ with bird flu, repeating mistakes of COVID, health experts say
NPR It’s been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization considers the virus a public health concern because of its potential to cause a pandemic, yet the U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country. “We’re flying blind,” […]
Jun 26, 2024
Bird Flu Is Infecting Cats (and the Occasional Dog). Here’s What to Know.
NYT A few “reasonable precautions” can help people keep their pets safe from the H5N1 virus, experts say. Over the past few months, a bird flu outbreak has spread swiftly through dairy cows in the United States, infecting more than 90 herds in 12 states. Along the way, the virus has caused collateral damage in several other […]
Jun 26, 2024
Forbes An ongoing bird flu outbreak among U.S. dairy cows has led to three confirmed human cases in dairy workers, and although there aren’t any confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, experts warn safety measures like masks, vaccines and safety goggles will be needed if a pandemic is declared due to the virus’s deadly nature. The Centers for […]
Jun 26, 2024