Timely and relevant global health security news curated by GCHS
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Featured Headlines
- Bird flu that infected 6 Colorado poultry workers is closely related to the virus in cows
Public health experts are closely watching Colorado after five workers at an H5N1-infected egg farm tested positive. The virus infecting these workers is related to a strain found in cattle.
- What to Know About Bird Flu and Fears of a New PandemicBloomberg For influenza viruses, imperfection is a strength. They constantly mutate, producing new strains that challenge immune systems primed to fight earlier varieties. That’s what makes flu a life-long threat… Read more: What to Know About Bird Flu and Fears of a New Pandemic
- Scientists Show How Bird Flu Spreads Between Mammals — As H5N1 Pandemic Fears GrowForbes Scientists have proven how cows have spread H5N1 bird flu across the country and infected other cows, wild birds and even mammals like cats and raccoons, according to research published in… Read more: Scientists Show How Bird Flu Spreads Between Mammals — As H5N1 Pandemic Fears Grow
- Bird flu that infected 6 Colorado poultry workers is closely related to the virus in cowsPublic health experts are closely watching Colorado after five workers at an H5N1-infected egg farm tested positive. The virus infecting these workers is related to a strain found in cattle.
- CDC reveals new data on bird flu in Michigan farmworkers as US case count ticks upThe H5N1 avian flu virus that infected poultry workers in Colorado and Michigan shows similarities, but CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen reassures that human-to-human transmission hasn’t occurred and current population risk is low.
- Cows, dairy workers, and America’s struggle to track bird fluBBC For the past 12 years, Freddy Morales has spent most of his time in close proximity to America’s dairy cows, working on several of the country’s thousands of dairy… Read more: Cows, dairy workers, and America’s struggle to track bird flu
- There Are No Good Options Left With Bird FluThe Atlantic reports a significant bird flu outbreak in the U.S. Six people on a Colorado chicken farm have tested positive for H5N1, highlighting the virus’s widespread impact on animals and potential pandemic risk.
Updates on ongoing disease outbreaks
- Dengue fever is — unfortunately — having a banner year. Can it be quelled?NPR In the Americas alone, almost 10.4 million suspected cases of dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, were reported to the World Health Organization in 2024 as of the first week of July, an… Read more: Dengue fever is — unfortunately — having a banner year. Can it be quelled?
- Dozens of NJ residents sickened with dengue fever as CDC warns of deadly virusCBS News Video
- Travelers beware: It’s a big year for dengueNPR It’s already a record-breaking year for dengue infections in Central and South America, with almost 10 million cases diagnosed so far. Now, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is… Read more: Travelers beware: It’s a big year for dengue
- CDC issues dengue fever alert in the U.S.NBC News This year, the incidence of dengue fever globally has been the highest on record, as nations report increasingly hot temperatures — ideal for mosquitoes that spread dengue to hatch.… Read more: CDC issues dengue fever alert in the U.S.
- The Highly Infectious FLiRT Variants Behind the Summer Covid WaveWired The latest dominant Covid variants have stronger infectiousness than their predecessors and the ability to evade vaccine-induced antibodies. The northern hemisphere is entering yet another Covid wave—while much of the world acts… Read more: The Highly Infectious FLiRT Variants Behind the Summer Covid Wave
- Do you still need to isolate with COVID? Here are the latest CDC recommendationsCovid Is Still With Us, but the Guidance Has Changed. Here’s What to Know if You’re Exposed.NBC Chicago As the nation experiences a summer surge in COVID-19 cases, questions might arise if you, a family member or friend becomes ill. While you might have gotten COVID in the past, public… Read more: Do you still need to isolate with COVID? Here are the latest CDC recommendationsCovid Is Still With Us, but the Guidance Has Changed. Here’s What to Know if You’re Exposed.
- Map Shows 17 States With ‘Very High’ Covid RatesNewsweek Some 17 US states have detected “very high” levels of Covid in their wastewater, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A rise in levels of Covid found in wastewater… Read more: Map Shows 17 States With ‘Very High’ Covid Rates
- Measles breaks out at massive NYC migrant shelterFox At least two people staying at a sprawling migrant shelter in New York City have contracted measles and health officials in the Big Apple are working to stop the spread of the disease, according to reports. The outbreak took place at… Read more: Measles breaks out at massive NYC migrant shelter
- Measles Is Preventable. How Did the World End Up Back Here?MedPageToday I remember being very sick when I had measles as a child. I was confined to a darkened room for more than a week, and there was concern that it would affect my vision. Decades later, I work with… Read more: Measles Is Preventable. How Did the World End Up Back Here?
- Spain: Health alert after Madrid detects a new case of deadly tick-borne diseaseOlive Press A 74-year-old man in Madrid has been confirmed to have been infected with the deadly Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) viral disease. The virus first arrived in Spain back in 2013,… Read more: Spain: Health alert after Madrid detects a new case of deadly tick-borne disease
Read more on Tick Diseases
More Emerging Infectious Disease Headlines
- Health warning issued as Hauntavirus kills four people in two US statesDaily Mail Officials have issued a health warning over an incurable rat disease after four people died from the infection this year. Hantavirus — which is fatal in 36 percent… Read more: Health warning issued as Hauntavirus kills four people in two US states
- The virus that causes polio has been found in Gaza. Here’s why that is grim newsScience On top of relentless bombings and artillery strikes, mass displacement, the collapse of the health system, and starvation, the children of Gaza now face an additional health disaster: a high… Read more: The virus that causes polio has been found in Gaza. Here’s why that is grim news
- Experts fear polio is spreading undetected in GazaNBC The World Health Organization warned there is a “high risk” that the virus will spread “within Gaza and internationally if this outbreak is not responded to promptly and optimally.”… Read more: Experts fear polio is spreading undetected in Gaza
- India: At least 32 dead in worst outbreak of Chandipura in over 20 yearsTelegraph The virus, which is mainly transmitted to humans by sandflies, is part of the same family of diseases that cause Rabies. At least 32 people, most of them children… Read more: India: At least 32 dead in worst outbreak of Chandipura in over 20 years
- Measles breaks out at massive NYC migrant shelterFox At least two people staying at a sprawling migrant shelter in New York City have contracted measles and health officials in the Big Apple are working to stop the spread of… Read more: Measles breaks out at massive NYC migrant shelter
- Bi Weekly Update by Dr. James LawlerLink to Video
- Mini lungs make major COVID-19 discoveries possibleNewswise Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys, University of California San Diego and their international collaborators have reported that more types of lung cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, including those without known… Read more: Mini lungs make major COVID-19 discoveries possible
- Iowa State University research identifies possible point of entry for avian flu in cattleDes Moines Register As avian influenza is being detected in more and more dairy herds across the U.S., Iowa State University researchers have found a possible explanation for why the virus shows up in raw… Read more: Iowa State University research identifies possible point of entry for avian flu in cattle
- Can H5N1 spread through cow sneezes? Experiment offers cluesNature Study suggests the virus can spread through the respiratory system but infected milk is probably driving the outbreak in the US. Cows can get infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by breathing… Read more: Can H5N1 spread through cow sneezes? Experiment offers clues
Read more Science & Tech
- COVID May Affect Type 1 Diabetes in Kids, and Not in a Good WayMedPageToday COVID-19 may accelerate progression of presymptomatic type 1 diabetes in youth, a German study suggested. Incidence of clinical type 1 diabetes nearly doubled after the pandemic started among 591 youth ages 1 to 16… Read more: COVID May Affect Type 1 Diabetes in Kids, and Not in a Good Way
- COVID-19 leads to long-term changes in the immune system, study showsMSN In a study recently published in the renowned journal “Allergy”, a MedUni Vienna research team shows that COVID-19 leads to considerable long-term changes in the immune system, even in mild cases. The findings could… Read more: COVID-19 leads to long-term changes in the immune system, study shows
- Study reveals new mechanisms behind severe COVID-19 in obese individuals without diabetesMed News.Net Already at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of Brazilian researchers pioneered in showing why SARS-CoV-2 infection tends to be more severe in diabetic patients. Now, the same team based at… Read more: Study reveals new mechanisms behind severe COVID-19 in obese individuals without diabetes
Read more Clinical Considerations
- Second malaria vaccine launched in Ivory Coast marks new milestoneVOA The world’s second vaccine against malaria was launched on Monday as Ivory Coast began a routine vaccine program using shots developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India. The… Read more: Second malaria vaccine launched in Ivory Coast marks new milestone
- GSK Secures mRNA Vaccines For Bird Flu, COVID And Seasonal Flu From Struggling Biotech CureVacForbes British Pharma giant GSK said on Wednesday it will pay as much as $1.5 billion to take control of several mRNA vaccines from vaccine developer CureVac, sending shares of the struggling German biotech soaring during… Read more: GSK Secures mRNA Vaccines For Bird Flu, COVID And Seasonal Flu From Struggling Biotech CureVac
- NIH-sponsored trial of nasal COVID-19 vaccine opensNIH Candidate vaccine could provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants. A Phase 1 trial testing the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine that may provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging… Read more: NIH-sponsored trial of nasal COVID-19 vaccine opens
Read more Vaccine Headlines
- The next big threat to animal health emergencies: misinformation and disinformationWOAH In a fast-changing and polarised world, the need to fight falsehoods is greater than ever. This is what relevant stakeholders can do to tackle the underlying challenges facing the animal health sector. Today’s global risk landscape is complex and… Read more: The next big threat to animal health emergencies: misinformation and disinformation
- As Conspiracy Theories Abound, Can We Restore Trust in Public Health?MedPageToday With the House still investigating the pandemic, its origins, and our government’s responses — and with perhaps the most well-known public health figure in the hot seat (Anthony Fauci, MDopens in a new tab or window) — now seems… Read more: As Conspiracy Theories Abound, Can We Restore Trust in Public Health?
Read more on Disinformation
- Our Desire for Inexpensive Food Is Putting Us in DangerNYT/Opinion A dairy worker in Texas contracts H5N1 bird flu after contact with infected cows, and suffers eye inflammation. Weeks later, a dairy worker in Michigan begins to cough and then tests positive for the virus. A ferret in a cage (ferrets… Read more: Our Desire for Inexpensive Food Is Putting Us in Danger
- ‘Uncertainty’ Is Indeed a Bad Word: A Second Opinion on Pandemic CommunicationMedPageToday In a MedPage Today op-ed earlier this week, the authors made a plea for the government to “communicate about [H5N1] more efficiently and effectively.” Who could disagree? But their title opens with a dogmatic statement, “Uncertainty Isn’t a Bad Word,” and the… Read more: ‘Uncertainty’ Is Indeed a Bad Word: A Second Opinion on Pandemic Communication
Read more on Implications
Interesting and Sometimes Funny
- Yellowstone geyser explosion sends visitors running
ABC News The geothermal explosion damaged the boardwalk, but did not cause any injuries, officials said. The Biscuit Basin has been temporarily closed while geologists investigate the event. Hydrothermal explosions are somewhat common in the area, occurring when underground water suddenly turns to steam. Similar eruptions occurred at Biscuit Basin in 1959, 1991 and 2009.
Hi Wanda, COVID “rebound” is not uncommon, and it can occur with and without antiviral treatment. “Rebound” does not have…
If I have OVID Rebound, do I need to isolate. If so, for how long?
Hi Bill, Please see our latest post on Ivermectin as a treatment for covid here https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity/transmission/2023/12/11/about-ivermectin/
Now it comes out after trials that ivermectin is indeed a good treatment plan against Covid ,even better than the…
Hi Dabora, please email your article to clamiller@unmc.edu
Hi Theresa, please see our post on ivermectin here https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity/transmission/2023/12/11/about-ivermectin/
How do I order ivermectin Hydrochlorichin
Mary, please see our reply on this article here: https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity/transmission/2023/03/14/an-ivermectin-influencer-died-now-his-followers-are-worried-about-their-own-severe-symptoms/#comment-3265
I am shocked at this ignorance about IVM and the calculation of dosage. It’s based on weight for horses and…