Category: Featured Headlines
CDC We describe an unusual mortality event caused by a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus clade 2.3.4.4b involving harbor (Phoca vitulina) and gray (Halichoerus grypus) seals in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada, in 2022. Fifteen (56%) of the seals submitted for necropsy were considered to be fatally infected by HPAI H5N1 containing […]
May 7, 2024
US CDC asks states to make worker protective gear available to combat bird flu
Reuters The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday it had met with state health officials and asked them to facilitate distribution of protective gear for farm workers to avoid infection against H5N1 bird flu. The CDC said it asked state health departments to work with their agriculture department counterparts and […]
May 7, 2024
US to test ground beef in states with bird-flu outbreaks in dairy cows
Reuters The U.S. government said on Monday it is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows for testing, but remains confident the meat supply is safe. Federal officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in […]
May 1, 2024
The Bird Flu Outbreak Has More Questions Than Answers
Bloomberg Opinion As the magnitude of the bird flu outbreak in cattle becomes clearer, so does the need to quickly get a firmer grip on some basic facts. Namely, how far this H5N1 virus has spread, how it is spreading, and where this situation is likely to go next. The Covid-weary public also wants to […]
May 1, 2024
If Bird Flu Spreads, These Workers Will See It First
NYT H5N1 is in a better position than ever to move between species and spill over aggressively into humans: This bird flu virus is now thought to have been spreading among dairy cows for many months, and federal regulators have found viral fragments circulating widely in the commercial milk supply chain across the United States (though live virus […]
May 1, 2024
Bird Flu Virus Has Been Spreading in U.S. Cows for Months
Scientific American A strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza has been silently spreading in US cattle for months, according to preliminary analysis of genomic data. The outbreak is likely to have begun when the virus jumped from an infected bird into a cow, probably around late December or early January. This implies a protracted, undetected spread of the virus — suggesting […]
Apr 30, 2024
Is Chicken Feces Behind The Bird Flu Outbreaks In Cows? Here’s What To Know.
Forbes Bird flu outbreaks have affected 34 dairy cow herds across nine states, causing some to question whether the use of contaminated poultry litter as cow feed may be the source of transmission, though experts say not enough is known to draw this conclusion. Poultry litter (also known as chicken or broiler litter) is a mixture […]
Apr 30, 2024
The avian flu has been detected in Colorado cows. Here’s what that means for you
CPR.ORG The highly pathogenic avian flu has been spreading across the United States since spring 2022, but the disease, which has primarily infected waterfowl and domestic poultry, has now begun to impact another major agricultural species: cows. Since late March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has detected 34 cases of avian flu in cows across […]
Apr 30, 2024
America’s Infectious-Disease Barometer Is Off
Somehow, the U.S. is both over- and under-reacting to bird flu and other pressing infectious threats. The Atlantic he ongoing outbreak of H5N1 avian flu virus looks a lot like a public-health problem that the United States should be well prepared for. Although this version of flu is relatively new to the world, scientists have been tracking […]
Apr 30, 2024
There’s never a good time to drink raw milk. But now’s a really bad time as bird flu infects cows
Stat Scientists who know about the types of pathogens — E. coli and Salmonella among them — that can be transmitted in raw milk generally think drinking unpasteurized milk is a bad idea. But right now, they believe, the danger associated with raw milk may have gone to a whole new level. “If I were in […]
Apr 30, 2024