Author: Claudinne Miller
‘Uncertainty’ Isn’t a Bad Word: U.S. Agencies Must Tighten Up H5N1 Communications
MedPageToday More effective and efficient public messaging is the need of the hour. Less than a month ago, we published a pieceopens in a new tab or window suggesting that H5N1 bird flu could pose an even thornier health communications challenge than COVID-19. We offered a three-point prescription for how the U.S. government agencies most responsible for […]
Jun 4, 2024
Lady Gaga performed on stage with Covid. Did we learn nothing from the pandemic?
The Guardian Should you go into work when you’re sick with a contagious virus? Lady Gaga has spoken and the answer, it seems, is “sure, why not?” During a recent Q&A for an HBO concert special based on her 2022 Chromatica Ball tour, the pop star was asked to reveal something she had never shared […]
May 29, 2024
Technical Update: Summary Analysis of the Genetic Sequence of a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Identified in a Human in Michigan
CDC CDC has sequenced the influenza virus genome identified in a conjunctival specimen collected from the person in Michigan who was identified to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) virus and compared each gene segment with HPAI A(H5N1) sequences from cows, wild birds and poultry and the first human case in Texas. The virus HA was […]
May 29, 2024
Alpacas test positive for H5N1 bird flu for the first time
CNN Highly pathogenic avian influenza, sometimes called bird flu, has been confirmed in alpacas for the first time, according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories. The animals that tested positive were on a farm in Idaho where poultry had tested positive for the virus and were culled in May. The alpacas […]
May 29, 2024
Weekly Update by Dr. Lawler
COVID-19 (FLiRT variant, CDC data, long COVID) | H5N1 (2nd dairy worked infected, domestic livestock cases, beef studies)
May 29, 2024
New study launches following the discovery of a second case of avian influenza spreading from cows to humans
Medical Express Vaccination remains the most effective strategy for avian influenza prevention and control in humans, despite varying vaccine efficacy across strains. That’s according to the authors of a new review which delves into existing research into bird flu vaccines for humans. Published in the journal Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics, the results of the paper are […]
May 29, 2024
CHP closely monitors human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) on Mainland
gov.HK The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health is today (May 27) closely monitoring a human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) on the Mainland, and again urged the public to maintain strict personal, food and environmental hygiene both locally and during travel. The case involves a 52-year-old female living in Quanzhou […]
May 28, 2024
Wastewater and the Current Outbreak of Influenza A (H5N1) in birds, cattle, and other animals
CDC During the two most recent weeks, (May 5, 2024–May 18, 2024), a total of 281 of 689 sites reported data meeting criteria for analysis for influenza A virus for both weeks or for either week, and 3 (1%) sites from 2 states were at a high level (>80th percentile compared to levels recorded at that site between October 1, 2023 and March 2, 2024).
May 28, 2024
Bird flu in U.S. cows caught scientists by surprise. Canadian research has seen it coming since 1953
CBC Older lab studies showed flu viruses like H5N1 can spread through unusual routes, but may have been overlooked. When U.S. dairy cows began falling ill with a dangerous form of bird flu, many scientists were struck by an unusual pattern: The virus kept showing up in cows’ udders, of all places. Influenza is usually […]
May 28, 2024
Covid will still be here this summer. Will anyone care?
Washington Post Despite “FLiRT” variants, this may be the first covid wave with little federal pressure to limit transmission or data to even declare a surge. By now, it’s as familiar as sunscreen hitting the shelves: Americans are headed into another summer with new coronavirus variants and a likely uptick in cases. This is shaping up to […]
May 28, 2024