Year: 2024
Scientists Test mRNA Vaccines to Protect Against Bird Flu
VOA From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. Scientists are testing next-generation vaccines to deal with the spread of bird flu in the United States. The vaccines use the same mRNA technology that led to the development of COVID-19 shots in record time. The U.S. Agriculture Department is planning to test a vaccine, […]
Jun 11, 2024
Can a new malaria vaccine for children eradicate the disease? Here’s what to know
PBS Newshour (Audio File) Malaria is one of the world’s deadliest diseases. Across Africa, it kills nearly half a million children younger than 5 each year. A new vaccine, only the second of its kind, holds the promise of saving thousands of lives and moving the world closer to eradicating malaria. Ali Rogin speaks with […]
Jun 11, 2024
Finland to offer bird flu vaccine to select groups of people, a possible global first
STAT Finland is preparing to offer vaccines to people at risk of exposure to an avian influenza strain spreading among farmed and wild animals, health officials there said, potentially becoming the first country to take such a step as concerns about the threat the virus poses to people intensify. The vaccine campaign will be limited, […]
Jun 11, 2024
As FDA urges crackdown on bird flu in raw milk, some states say their hands are tied
CBS News Officials in two of the three states probing their first cases of bird flu in dairy cattle this month said their hands are tied after the Food and Drug Administration pleaded with states to ramp up testing and restrictions on potentially infectious raw milk being sold to consumers within their borders. Wyoming, Iowa and Minnesota announced their […]
Jun 11, 2024
Man in Mexico dies in first known human case of H5N2 bird flu variant
Washington Post The 59-year-old had no known exposure to poultry or other animals, the World Health Organization said. His symptoms included nausea, fever and shortness of breath. A 59-year-old male resident of Mexico died after being infected with a bird flu subtype never before confirmed to have spread to humans, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The […]
Jun 6, 2024
Raw Milk Containing Bird-Flu Virus Can Sicken Mice, Study Finds
NYT The results bolster evidence that virus-laden raw milk may be unsafe for humans. Unpasteurized milk contaminated with H5N1, the bird-flu virus that has turned up in dairy herds in nine states, has been found to rapidly make mice sick, affecting multiple organs, according to a study published on Friday. The findings are not entirely surprising: […]
Jun 5, 2024
Relative efficacy of masks and respirators as source control for viral aerosol shedding from people infected with SARS-CoV-2: a controlled human exhaled breath aerosol experimental study
The Lancet Background Tight-fitting masks and respirators, in manikin studies, improved aerosol source control compared to loose-fitting masks. Whether this translates to humans is not known. Methods We compared efficacy of masks (cloth and surgical) and respirators (KN95 and N95) as source control for SARS-CoV-2 viral load in exhaled breath of volunteers with COVID-19 using […]
Jun 5, 2024
Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Mammals
USDA There are many species that are potentially susceptible to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). In addition to birds and poultry, H5N1 viruses have been detected in some mammals (see list below). Infection may cause illness, including severe disease and death in some cases.
Jun 5, 2024
MIT researchers ordered and combined parts of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus. Did they expose a security flaw?
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Without proper guardrails in place, experts and governments worry, artificial intelligence (AI) could make it easier for more people to do harm with biology. Perhaps advanced chatbots could help devise a biological attack plan, or they could de-skill the process of making a pathogen to the point at which many could do it. […]
Jun 5, 2024
These are the bird flu questions that influenza and animal scientists desperately want answered
STAT en weeks after government scientists discovered that H5N1 bird flu was sickening dairy cattle in the United States, many of the mysteries surrounding what is happening on affected farms remain just that. Widespread reluctance on the part of farmers to allow scientists — government or otherwise — onto their premises to study spread of the […]
Jun 5, 2024