Author: Claudinne Miller
The U.S. strategic drug stockpile is inadequate for a bird flu outbreak
Fortune China reports highly pathogenic H5N6, H7N9 bird flu outbreaks. China reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu at a duck farm in the Guangxi province, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Wednesday, citing a report from the Chinese agriculture ministry. The virus killed 23,950 ducks out of a […]
Jun 26, 2024
FDA shares research plans as it continues to monitor bird flu outbreak
Scripps News Over 100 dairy cattle herds in around a dozen states have reported cases of the highly infectious disease since March. U.S. health agencies maintain that the risk to the public is low. On Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shared its agenda for research into avian influenza in dairy cows as it works to […]
Jun 26, 2024
US health agencies launch new studies of H5N1 bird flu in dairy workers and dairy products
CNN US health agencies are starting new rounds of tests on dairy workers and milk products to better understand the possible impact of H5N1 bird flu. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with the state of Michigan to begin a highly anticipated study to assess whether workers exposed to infected cattle […]
Jun 26, 2024
U.S. is ‘flying blind’ with bird flu, repeating mistakes of COVID, health experts say
NPR It’s been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization considers the virus a public health concern because of its potential to cause a pandemic, yet the U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country. “We’re flying blind,” […]
Jun 26, 2024
Cannabis Use Tied to Increased Risk of Severe COVID
Med Page Today Hospitalization risk 80% higher versus nonusers. Cannabis use was significantly associated with a greater risk of severe outcomes following a COVID-19 infection, according to a retrospective study that spanned the first 2 years of the pandemic. Among more than 70,000 patients with a documented case of COVID at a large medical center […]
Jun 26, 2024
Bird Flu Is Infecting Cats (and the Occasional Dog). Here’s What to Know.
NYT A few “reasonable precautions” can help people keep their pets safe from the H5N1 virus, experts say. Over the past few months, a bird flu outbreak has spread swiftly through dairy cows in the United States, infecting more than 90 herds in 12 states. Along the way, the virus has caused collateral damage in several other […]
Jun 26, 2024
Here’s Why COVID Measures Like Masking And New Ones Like Safety Goggles Could Return If A Bird Flu Pandemic Is Declared
Forbes An ongoing bird flu outbreak among U.S. dairy cows has led to three confirmed human cases in dairy workers, and although there aren’t any confirmed cases of human-to-human transmission, experts warn safety measures like masks, vaccines and safety goggles will be needed if a pandemic is declared due to the virus’s deadly nature. The Centers for […]
Jun 26, 2024
Is New York Prepared for a Bird Flu Pandemic?
NYT The health care system has stockpiles of medicine and has worked out “a lot of the kinks” since the Covid pandemic. But experts still have some concerns about a bird flu outbreak. Four years after a new coronavirus swept through New York in what was called a once-in-a-century event, public health officials are beginning […]
Jun 26, 2024
New mpox strain in DR Congo ‘most dangerous yet’
BBC A new strain of the mpox virus spreading quickly along the eastern border of Democratic Republic of Congo is “incredibly worrying”, say health officials monitoring its spread. The virus, which can cause lesions across the whole body, is making some people very ill and can be deadly. The current outbreak has been driven by […]
Jun 26, 2024
To combat cow flu outbreak, scientists plan to infect cattle with influenza in high-security labs
Science The avian influenza virus that has been infecting dairy cows and spreading alarm in the United States was expected to reach Germany this week. But that’s actually good news. A shipment of samples of the H5N1 virus from Cornell University virologist Diego Diel is destined for the Federal Research Institute for Animal Health in […]
Jun 26, 2024