Category: Featured Headlines
Cambodia detects another H5N1 bird flu case in human
Vietnam News The Cambodian Ministry of Health on July 8 announced that another human case of H5N1 bird flu has been confirmed on a 5-year-old girl in Takeo province, bringing the number of the infections to seven since the start of 2024. According to the ministry, the patient has a fever and is the cousin […]
Jul 10, 2024
Colorado Sun Nearly 1.8 million chickens will be killed after bird flu was detected at an egg-laying operation in Weld County, a major resurgence on a commercial farm of the disease that has already seen more than 6 million birds culled. Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster declaration for the facility over the long holiday […]
Jul 10, 2024
More understanding needed on HPAI spread in wild birds
Watt Poultry The spread of avian influenza by wild birds is affected by migration pattern and species, however, more research is needed to understand the impact of the virus on wild bird populations. The nature of wild bird species and their behaviors should drive the poultry industry’s understanding of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses, a subtype of influenza […]
Jul 10, 2024
Bird flu strains: Where are they spreading around the globe?
Reuters Avian influenza, or bird flu, has public health officials on alert after an unprecedented spread in dairy cows in the United States this year. Four dairy workers have also tested positive in the country. A particularly severe variant of the H5N1 strain has been spreading around the world in animals since 2020, causing lethal […]
Jul 10, 2024
‘Playing COVID roulette’: Some infected by FLiRT variants report their most unpleasant symptoms yet
LA Times As the summer travel season picks up, COVID cases and hospitalizations are rising in Los Angeles County — and some of those recently reinfected are finding their latest bout to be the worst yet. There are no signs at this point that the latest coronavirus variants are producing more severe illness, either nationally […]
Jul 9, 2024
STAT When, in April, the federal government began requiring some cows to be tested for a strain of avian flu before their herds could be moved across state lines, it seemed like an obvious step to try to track and slow the virus that had started spreading among U.S. dairy cattle. But Joe Armstrong, a veterinarian at […]
Jul 3, 2024
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