Author: Claudinne Miller
Nigeria Issues Alert After ‘Highly Contagious’ Cholera Kills 15
Bloomberg Authorities in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos have issued a public health warning after confirming a “highly aggressive and contagious” cholera strain that has killed 15 people in the city. The densely populated southwest city of about 25 million people said it has recorded 350 cases, a week after authorities began investigating a possible […]
Jun 19, 2024
Can we prevent a bird flu pandemic in humans?
Popular Science Here’s how experts say we should be mitigating the risk of H5N1 human outbreaks. highly pathogenic subtype of avian influenza (or bird flu), known as H5N1 is spreading among animals worldwide. For the past couple of decades, global health agencies have kept tabs on the virus, which is most well known for decimating […]
Jun 19, 2024
What’s Really Going on With Bird Flu Wastewater Data
Bloomberg With Covid, sewers provided a leading indicator of a surge in infections. But H5N1 is proving much tougher to track that way. During Covid, public health experts and armchair epidemiologists became obsessed with poop — or, more accurately, the secrets it held about the state of the pandemic. Wastewater, which can measure how much […]
Jun 19, 2024
HPAI detected in WYO dairy herd
Oil City The Wyoming Department of Agriculture announced June 7 that highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected in one of Wyoming’s dairy herds. According to the FDA, CDC and USDA, the threat of the disease in humans remains low, and consuming pasteurized milk and properly cooked meat is safe. However, the economic impact of […]
Jun 19, 2024
Scientists try to solve bird flu mystery: Why there’s so much virus in Michigan wastewater
Detroit Free Press Newly released wastewater surveillance data suggests Michigan is a national hot spot for the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that’s infecting poultry, dairy cows and other mammals across the U.S., and has also been identified in three farmworkers — two in Michigan. Researchers told the Free Press they’re still trying to understand exactly why […]
Jun 19, 2024
A rare, deadly bacterial infection is on the rise in Japan. What is STSS?
Washington Post Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome kills up to 30 percent of patients and is “highly associated” with flesh-eating infections. Symptoms include fever and a red rash. A record number of cases of streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) in Japan this year has focused attention on the rare and potentiallydeadly bacterial infection. There have been 1,019 […]
Jun 19, 2024
More Minnesota turkeys struck by avian influenza
Watt Poultry Highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in a commercial meat turkey flock in Stearns County on June 13. The case was reported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). With this latest detection, Minnesota has now had 11 commercial poultry flocks affected by HPAI in 2024. Prior […]
Jun 19, 2024
What causes long COVID? Case builds for rogue antibodies
Nature Study finds that antibodies from people with the debilitating condition trigger similar symptoms in mice. Antibodies isolated from people with long COVID increase pain sensitivity and reduce movement in mice when transferred to the animals, research shows1. The findings suggest that antibodies might drive some symptoms of long COVID — although how that process […]
Jun 18, 2024
New Merck pneumococcal vaccine wins FDA approval
STAT The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck’s new pneumococcal vaccine for adults 18 and older. The vaccine, which will be sold under the name Capvaxive, is designed to protect against pneumococcal pneumonia, which hospitalizes about 150,000 adults in the United States every year and kills about 1 in 20 who develop it, […]
Jun 18, 2024
Bird flu? Swine flu? A guide to H5N1 viruses and beyond
DW Ever been confused by the names for bird flu or Spanish flu H1N1? Type A influenza has 130 known subtypes, but which ones cause the flu in people? Here’s what the numbers mean. Avid virus-watchers will know that influenza viruses that make the news often feature the letters “H” and “N” in their names, such as H5N1 or H9N2. Those […]
Jun 18, 2024