Category: Featured Headlines
Summary Analysis of Genetic Sequences of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses in Texas
CDC CDC has sequenced the influenza virus genome identified in a specimen collected from the patient in Texas who was confirmed to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) [“HPAI A(H5N1)”] virus and compared these with HPAI A(H5N1) sequences from cattle, wild birds and poultry. The virus sequences are HA clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI A(H5N1) […]
Apr 2, 2024
APHIS Now Thinks Wild Birds Are to Blame for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza’s Arrival on Four U.S. Dairies
Dairy Herd Management (video at the link) The livestock industry continues to grapple with the first confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu, in cattle. On Monday, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed a strain of HPAI was detected on four dairy farms, stating it believes wild migratory […]
Apr 2, 2024
U.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five states
Science Unexpected H5N1 outbreaks in cattle raise difficult questions about how to protect herds and people. Texas officials today issued a “health alert” about the first confirmed case of a human infection with a bird influenza virus that has found its ways into dairy cows. The worker developed conjunctivitis, a mild eye infection that frequently occurs when […]
Apr 2, 2024
Bird flu in humans, explained
Washington Post How it spreads, the symptoms and more. After a dairy worker in Texas was infected with a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, disease trackers worry the recent outbreak among cattle could develop into a larger threat. The risk to the general public remains low, but experts are concerned about the possibility of the H5N1 virus evolving […]
Apr 2, 2024
Texas Reports First Human Case of Avian Influenza
Texas Health Department The Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting a human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in Texas. The case was identified in a person who had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza. The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested […]
Apr 2, 2024
USDA Confirms Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Dairy Herd in New Mexico
USDA The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd in New Mexico, as well as 5 additional dairy herds in Texas. APHIS shared on Fri., March 29 that its National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, was […]
Apr 2, 2024
New Groundbreaking Leibniz Lab for Pandemic Preparedness
Global Biodefense The wide-spanning intradisciplinary collaboration aims to provide evidence-based recommendations to decision-makers in Germany for pandemic preparedness and response. The new Leibniz Lab for Pandemic Preparedness: One Health, One Future in Hamburg, Germany focuses on preparing for future pandemics by combining the transdisciplinary expertise of 41 Leibniz institutions. It works in four priority areas: the interaction […]
Mar 27, 2024
The Invisible Shield: Public health saved your life today, and you didn’t even know it
PBS/Bloomberg Four-Part Docu Series The Invisible Shield examines how public health makes modern life possible, but it is underfunded, undervalued and misunderstood putting our health at risk. Arlington, Virginia – THE INVISIBLE SHIELD, a new four-part documentary series from RadicalMedia made possible by Bloomberg Philanthropies, reveals how the field of public health has saved countless lives […]
Mar 27, 2024
Dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas test positive for bird flu
MPR News Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu, U.S. officials said Monday. Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus is affecting older dairy […]
Mar 26, 2024
How do we halt the next pandemic? Be kind to critters like bats, says a new paper
NPR Almost every pandemic we’ve seen over the last century has come from a virus that’s spilled over into humans from an animal. “Generally, pandemics are seen as a biomedical problem,” says Raina Plowright, an infectious disease ecologist at Cornell University. “Certainly, once the pandemic is underway, it is a biomedical problem because you need to […]
Mar 26, 2024