Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
As egg prices soar, the deadliest bird flu outbreak in US history drags on
(ARS Technica) The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the US is now the longest and deadliest on record. More than 57 million birds have been killed by the virus or culled since a year ago, and the deadly disruption has helped propel skyrocketing egg prices and a spike in egg smuggling. Since highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) […]
Jan 31, 2023
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection in farmed minks, Spain, October 2022
(Eurosurveillance) This report describes an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) detected in intensively farmed minks in Europe, which occurred in the Galicia region in northwest Spain in October 2022. We present an in-depth description of the epidemiological, clinical and genetic investigations of this outbreak affecting a single farm and discuss public health […]
Jan 31, 2023
‘Incredibly concerning’: Bird flu outbreak at Spanish mink farm triggers pandemic fears
(Science) Spread among captive mink could give the H5N1 strain opportunities to evolve and adapt to mammals. When mink at a big farm in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain, started to die in October 2022, veterinarians initially thought the culprit might be SARS-CoV-2, which has struck mink farms in several other countries. But lab […]
Jan 31, 2023
Bangladesh: Nipah virus kills at least five this winter, infects more
(BG News) Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the Nipah virus afflicted eight people around the country this winter, claiming five lives. Most of the cases were from Rajshahi Division and all were currently in treatment, Maleque said on Sunday. “The infected are under care at the Mohakhali Infectious Disease Hospital. Authorities have set up […]
Jan 31, 2023
Plasma from patients with pulmonary embolism show aggregates that reduce after anticoagulation
(Nature) Background Microclots, a term also used for amyloid fibrin(ogen) particles and henceforth named aggregates, have recently been reported in the plasma of patients with COVID-19 and long COVID. These aggregates have been implicated in the thrombotic complications of these diseases. Methods Plasma samples from 35 patients with acute pulmonary embolism were collected and analysed […]
Jan 31, 2023
When is it OK to make germs worse in a lab? It’s a more relevant question than ever
(NPR) Over 150 virologists have signed on to a commentary that says all the evidence to date indicates that the coronavirus pandemic started naturally, and it wasn’t the result of some kind of lab accident or malicious attack. They worry that continued speculation about a lab in China is fueling calls for more regulation of experiments with […]
Jan 31, 2023
COVID flashback: On Jan. 30, 2020, WHO declared a global health emergency
(NPR) On Jan. 30, 2020, the World Health Organization sounded the alarm about an unfamiliar and deadly new virus, declaring it a global health emergency. “Over the past few weeks, we have witnessed the emergence of a previously unknown pathogen, which has escalated into an unprecedented outbreak,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. Tedros was […]
Jan 31, 2023
Trying to crack the Nipah code: How does this deadly virus spill from bats to humans?
(NPR) It’s dusk in central Bangladesh, in a community within the district of Faridpur. A 50-year-old man sits outside his home beside a rice paddy. His name is Khokon. A fiery beard, dyed a bright orange, rings his chin. He says the procession of disease and death all started in the spring of 2004. “So […]
Jan 31, 2023
Health officials monitoring case of tuberculosis in Tacoma woman who has refused treatment
(Tacoma News) Health officials are monitoring a case of active tuberculosis in a Tacoma woman who has declined treatment, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. Washington averages about 200 cases of active TB per year, with about 20 of those cases occurring in Pierce County. TB infections usually affect a person’s lungs but can also […]
Jan 31, 2023
U.S. Plans to End Public Health Emergency for Covid in May
(New York Times) The end of the emergency, planned for May 11, will bring about a complex set of policy changes and signals a new chapter in the government’s pandemic response. The move carries both symbolic weight and real-world consequences. Millions of Americans have received free Covid tests, treatments and vaccines during the pandemic, and […]
Jan 31, 2023