Author: Claudinne Miller
The end of smallpox was … the beginning for mpox
NPR It all started with an unremarkable trip to grandma’s house in 1970. But two days into the visit, something went terribly wrong. The 9-month-old grandson fell ill. First, a fever. Then, a nasty rash. Alarmed doctors suspected smallpox but, instead, they soon discovered something even more bewildering: The first-known human case of monkeypox, now called […]
Oct 8, 2024
Q&A: How California, now an epicenter for bird flu in dairy cattle, is monitoring the virus
STAT The state has quickly vaulted ahead of others in confirmed infections among herds. From the earliest days of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle, experts watching the evolving situation have worried about California. The Golden State has the country’s largest concentration of dairy farms, roughly 1,100 herds. The concern has been if […]
Oct 8, 2024
As bird flu outbreak expands in California, dairy farms report it’s worse than they expected
CNN A third farmworker has tested positive for bird flu in California, according to the state’s health department. If confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this would be the 17th human case of H5N1 flu in the US since March, when the virus was first detected in cows. It comes as farmers […]
Oct 8, 2024
Anthony Fauci: A Mosquito in My Backyard Made Me the Sickest I’ve Ever Been
NYT/Opinion After I spent more than 50 years chasing and fighting viruses, one fought back and nearly took me down. I speak of the West Nile virus, delivered by the deadliest animal on the planet: the mosquito. I got infected not during any of my international trips over the years but most likely while I […]
Oct 8, 2024
What to Know About the Marburg Virus Disease Outbreak
NYT In Rwanda, 11 deaths have been reported from this rare but deadly disease. Two people tested negative in Germany this week. Rwanda is in the midst of an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a hemorrhagic fever with a high fatality rate that has killed 11 people there this year. The disease has been found […]
Oct 8, 2024
CDC to begin screening travelers from Rwanda for Ebola-like illness
NBC News Because of an outbreak of Marburg virus, travelers who have visited the African country recently will be screened for symptoms at three airports. U.S. health officials are preparing to screen passengers flying in from Rwanda for symptoms of Marburg virus, a severe infection similar to Ebola. “Starting mid-October, airline passengers who have been in […]
Oct 8, 2024
Brainstem Inflammation Linked to Long-Covid Symptoms
Neuroscience News New research shows that severe Covid-19 infection can cause inflammation in the brainstem, potentially leading to prolonged symptoms like fatigue, breathlessness, and anxiety. Using ultra-high-resolution 7-Tesla MRI scanners, scientists observed specific brainstem areas associated with these symptoms, highlighting how immune response post-infection might affect brain health. This inflammation may impact both physical and […]
Oct 8, 2024
What Happens When Humans Become Guinea Pigs to Advance Science
Bloomberg In early 2020, it was assumed that most people who contracted Covid would fully recover in two to three weeks. Months later, we learned that a significant proportion of survivors are plagued by lingering symptoms that we now recognize as long Covid. In 2021, analyses of electronic health record data showed how Covid patients, […]
Oct 8, 2024
2024 Fat Bear Week
CNN In what’s become a bona fide fall ritual, public voting in the annual Fat Bear contest was delayed after a deadly bear-on-bear attack at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Preserve on Monday. continue reading
Oct 2, 2024
Race to combat mpox misinformation as vaccine rollout in DRC begins
Guardian For doctors and nurses fighting mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the virus itself is not the only enemy. They are also facing swirling rumours and misinformation. The first of millions of promised doses of mpox vaccine have finally started to arrive. Now the focus is on ensuring that people who need them will take them […]
Oct 2, 2024