Category: Avian Influenza
Philippines reports H5N1 bird flu outbreak on poultry farm
MSN The Philippines has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, on a poultry farm in the center of the country, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Thursday. The virus killed 4,475 birds out of a flock of 60,529 on a farm in the province of […]
Apr 5, 2024
New bird flu infections: Here’s what you need to know
MIT Tech Review New cases in cows and a dairy worker in Texas highlight the need for vigilance and better strategies to protect animals and people. A dairy worker in Texas tested positive for avian influenza this week. This new human case of bird flu—the second ever reported in the United States—isn’t cause for panic. […]
Apr 5, 2024
Bird flu may be spreading in cows via milking and herd transport
Science New data challenge assumed transmission route and some call for restricting cattle. The bird flu virus spreading through dairy cattle in the United States may be expanding its reach via milking equipment, the people doing the milking, or both, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives reported today at an international, virtual meeting held to […]
Apr 5, 2024
Why a leading bird flu expert isn’t convinced that the risk H5N1 poses to people has declined
STAT News that H5N1 avian influenza has breached another mammalian species — this time dairy cows — has taken the flu science community aback. Though cows previously had been seen to be susceptible to human flu viruses, and could be experimentally infected with H5 in a lab, the absence of cow involvement until now in H5’s nearly 30-year […]
Apr 5, 2024
Scientists investigate thousands of dead Antarctic penguins for bird flu
Reuters Has bird flu already killed hundreds, if not thousands of penguins in Antarctica? That’s what researchers are seeking to find out after a scientific expedition last month found at least 532 dead Adelie penguins, with thousands more thought to have died, according to a statement from Federation University Australia. While the researchers suspect the […]
Apr 5, 2024
Bird flu strain raises alarm as H5N1 virus kills South American wildlife
Reuters The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists. Of more immediate concern is evidence the disease, once largely confined […]
Apr 2, 2024
Large dairy in Michigan tests positive for HPAI
Farm Progress Dairies in Michigan and Idaho confirm HPAI-positive cows with a virus strain similar to one in Texas and Kansas. For more than two years, backyard flocks and the commercial poultry industry have been combating highly pathogenic avian influenza. Now, the virus has infected dairy cows in five states, including Michigan. The Michigan Department […]
Apr 2, 2024
South Georgia Island: Bird flu infects penguins at famous wildlife haven
BBC Bird flu has been confirmed in 10 penguins on South Georgia, one of the world’s great wildlife havens. Avian influenza had already infected other seabirds and mammals on the British Overseas Territory, but scientists report gentoo and king penguins have now fallen victim, too. The breeding season is closing on the sub-Antarctic island so […]
Mar 12, 2024
The next pandemic? It’s already here for Earth’s wildlife
The Conversation I am a conservation biologist who studies emerging infectious diseases. When people ask me what I think the next pandemic will be I often say that we are in the midst of one – it’s just afflicting a great many species more than ours. I am referring to the highly pathogenic strain of […]
Mar 12, 2024