Author: Claudinne Miller
Tracking the Threat: How a New H5N1 Virus Variant Took Hold Across Europe
Global Biodefense New genomic analyses trace the origins and spread of the EA-2023-DG H5N1 reassortant, highlighting evolving zoonotic risks and urgent surveillance needs. A new scientific study published in Emerging Infectious Diseases has mapped the emergence and spread of a novel highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus genotype—EA-2023-DG—across Europe. Conducted by an international team of researchers led by the […]
Jun 4, 2025
Study: Live bird flu virus can survive in raw milk for a week
Ag Daily A new lab study has found that the H5N1 avian influenza virus can remain infectious in raw milk for more than a day at room temperature and over a week when refrigerated, raising significant concerns about the potential for zoonotic transmission through unpasteurized dairy products. Published May 28 on the preprint server medRxiv, the non-peer-reviewed […]
Jun 4, 2025
CDC official overseeing COVID-19 vaccine recommendations resigns
MedPage Today A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention official said Tuesday she was resigning from her role overseeing updates to the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, following an order by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to force an update to the agency’s guidance. “My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most […]
Jun 4, 2025
Black Death Plague That Killed Millions Became Less Fatal because of This Genetic Tweak
Scientific American Reducing the copies of one gene in the bubonic plague bacterium, Yersinia pestis, made it less deadly but potentially more transmissible. A small genetic change makes the bacterium that caused the plague less fatal but possibly more transmissible, allowing for greater disease spread in smaller populations, a study in Science reports. The bacterium Yersinia pestis caused the Black Death […]
Jun 3, 2025
Are you a mosquito magnet? It’s because of how you smell.
Washington Post Your body is a big protein shake that smells like stinky feet for hungry mosquitoes. Some people are magnets for mosquitoes, emitting a tantalizing combination of chemicals that invites the pesky insects to dine on them. Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York found people who have higher levels of certain acids on […]
Jun 3, 2025
We finally may be able to rid the world of mosquitoes. But should we?
Washington Post Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical questions. They buzz, they bite, and they cause some of the deadliest diseases known to humanity. Mosquitoes are perhaps the planet’s most universally reviled animals. If we could zap them off the face of the Earth, […]
Jun 3, 2025
mRNA, once lauded as a scientific marvel, is now a government target
STAT After the success of Covid vaccine, HHS is now sowing doubt in mRNA technology. mRNA, a Nobel-winning technology harnessed by Trump officials to create Covid shots in record time, is becoming a political reject as the nation’s leaders openly embrace vaccine skepticism. Republican lawmakers and federal health officials alike are shunning messenger RNA, a […]
Jun 3, 2025
Measles can be a risk during air travel. Here’s how to stay safe.
Washington Post At least 62 people with measles have traveled on planes this year, and one person became infected. But being fully vaccinated can help protect you. People with measles, a highly contagious disease, are traveling on airplanes, raising concerns about the spread of the respiratory virus as global cases rise and summer travel season gets underway […]
Jun 3, 2025
Two more Colorado measles infections connected to out-of-state traveler
CBS News The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said two more cases of measles have been confirmed in connection with an out-of-state traveler who went through Denver International Airport in May. Officials said the latest cases are two unvaccinated adults who reside in El Paso County. Officials said the adults are not related to each […]
Jun 3, 2025
Measles vaccination rates in children have declined in most U.S. counties, study finds
CBS News Amid a widespread decline in childhood measles vaccination rates since before the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, a study published Monday found that coverage can vary substantially within a state. Looking at county-level data in 33 states, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccination rate decreased from 93.92% in […]
Jun 3, 2025