Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Tracking the bird flu, experts see a familiar threat — and a virus whose course is hard to predict
(STAT) Veteran influenza epidemiologist Keiji Fukuda remembers vividly when he first became fearful that a virulent bird flu virus, H5N1, might be on the verge of triggering a devastating pandemic. The virus, seemingly out of nowhere, did something bird flu viruses were thought not to be able to do. It infected 18 people, killing six […]
Feb 8, 2023
Bird Flu Outbreak Puts Mink Farms Back in the Spotlight
(New York Times) A new variant of avian influenza appears capable of spreading among mammals, highlighting the need for more proactive surveillance, experts said. Early last October, the mink on a fur farm in Spain suddenly began to fall ill. They stopped eating and began salivating excessively. They became clumsy, started to experience tremors and […]
Feb 8, 2023
Bird Flu Outbreak Is a Wake-Up Call for Agriculture
(Bloomberg) The H1N5 virus has been rampaging through poultry farms and a Spanish mink facility. Perhaps we can blame Covid fatigue for numbing us to the risks of other viruses. But it should be bigger news that a bird flu has mutated to spread through mammals and is ominously appearing among wild and domesticated animals around the […]
Feb 8, 2023
The WHO fungal priority pathogens list as a game-changer
(Nature) Invasive fungal diseases are on the increase globally. The World Health Organization fungal priority pathogens list highlights fungi of critical or high importance to human health and provides pathways for action. The report calls for improved surveillance (diagnostics and antifungal resistance monitoring), research and innovation (implementation research) and public-health interventions. In late 2022, the […]
Feb 7, 2023
First molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in cockroaches
Biologia Coronavirus is one of the main pathogens that primarily targets the human respiratory system. There are several ways to transmit this virus, such as direct contact or droplets spread by coughing or sneezing, and direct contact with fomites and surfaces is another way. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Shiraz, southern Iran, in 2021. […]
Feb 7, 2023
Bird flu is spreading among mammals. How worried should we be?
(Sydney Morning Herald) In Spain, bird flu appears to have spread from mink to mink for the first time. This is a troubling situation that warrants close attention. “These are exactly the kind of situations we’re really worried about,” Associate Professor Paul Horwood tells me. Dr Michelle Wille says she and “many of my colleagues […]
Feb 7, 2023
Here’s Why Experts Are Concerned About Bird Flu
(MedPageToday) What appears to be mammal-to-mammal transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) on a mink farm in Spain has caught the attention of infectious disease epidemiologists around the world. A paper published in Eurosurveillance last monthopens in a new tab or window detailed an H5N1 outbreak among farmed minks in the Galicia region of Spain in October […]
Feb 7, 2023
Peru confirms H5N1 avian influenza detected in 3 sea lions, 1 dolphin
(Outbreak News Today) The National Agrarian Health Service of Peru, or SENASA in Lima reported yesterday that H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in three sea lions and one dolphin in a official communication published on Twitter (Computer translated):
Feb 7, 2023
Why scientists are worried about bird flu
(Yahoo News) Revelations about the spread of avian flu at a Spanish mink farm in October are raising alarm. The mink were infected with an H5N1 variant known as 2.3.4.4b, which was discovered in 2020 and has since made its way around the world. While it is not uncommon for mammals to catch avian flu after […]
Feb 7, 2023
What Fresh Hell Is the New Bird-Flu Outbreak?
(The Intelligencer) Almost three years after COVID-19 rolled across America, the virus has never felt like less of a daily menace. But don’t worry: The possibility of another global pandemic is never very far off. Avian flu, specifically the H5N1 strain, has spread widely among bird populations and other animals in the last couple years. More concerning for humans, […]
Feb 7, 2023
