Category: Featured Headlines
Investigation of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus in Dairy Cattle
FDA The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), along with state partners, continue to investigate an outbreak of Avian Influenza A (H5N1) impacting poultry, dairy cows, and people in multiple states. The responsibility of the FDA is to protect the public health […]
Jan 2, 2025
FDA testing aged raw cow’s milk cheese for bird flu
The Hill The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will begin collecting samples of raw cow’s milk cheese from across the U.S. to test for the presence of bird flu, spurred on by the ongoing outbreaks of H5N1 in multiple states. In the announcement published Monday, the FDA said the goal of testing will be two-fold: detecting […]
Jan 2, 2025
Bird Flu Samples From Very Ill Patient Had ‘Concerning’ Mutations
NYT Tiny genetic alterations could help the bird flu virus enter cells in the upper respiratory tract, the C.D.C. said. But there is no sign that mutations are widespread in nature. After someone in southwest Louisiana was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu, the first such illness reported in the United States, health […]
Jan 2, 2025
A fungus sickened more than 150 Michigan workers. The CDC still isn’t sure why it happened
Lansing Journal A common soil fungus sickened more than 150 Michigan paper mill workers, and killed one, in what health officials called the largest such outbreak in U.S. history, but the exact cause remains elusive, they said this week. The Centers for Disease Control said a 2022-23 outbreak of blastomycosis at Escanaba’s Billerud Paper infected […]
Jan 2, 2025
Norovirus, Covid And RSV Are Surging This Winter. Here’s What To Know.
Forbes Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control shows spikes in norovirus, Covid-19 and RSV across the U.S.—a resurgence that’s potentially unlike the usual annual winter spread of these illnesses, which have been less active in recent months. Norovirus is a contagious virus that typically presents as projectile vomiting and diarrhea after ingesting contaminated food or […]
Jan 2, 2025
Canadian Teen Recovers From Severe H5N1 Bird Flu Infection
MedPageToday A 13-year-old Canadian girl recovered after being hospitalized in critical condition with H5N1 avian influenza, researchers reported. The girl was hospitalized on Nov. 7 and transferred to BC Children’s Hospital the next day, where she was intubated and put on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and treated with three different antivirals, David Goldfarb, MD, of […]
Jan 1, 2025
NIH officials assess threat of H5N1
NIH Balancing enhanced vigilance and “business as usual.” Highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus (HPAI H5N1) remains a low risk to the general public, and public health experts in the United States believe that available treatments and vaccines, as well as those in development, are sufficient to prevent severe disease. However, the National Institutes […]
Jan 1, 2025
Congo’s health ministry identifies flu-like disease as severe malaria
CBC Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry said on Tuesday that a previously unidentified disease circulating in the southwestern Kwango province is a severe form of malaria. Earlier this month, local authorities said the disease had killed 143 people in the country’s Panzi health zone in November. The symptoms of the disease are fever, headache, […]
Dec 17, 2024
Delaware reports probable human case of H5 bird flu
BNO News A probable case of H5 bird flu was found during routine flu surveillance in Delaware, according to state and federal officials. The source of the infection – which would be the first in Delaware – is unknown. The CDC said the case in Delaware meets the definition of a “probable case,” which means […]
Dec 17, 2024
Alarming Mutation in H5N1 Virus Raises Pandemic Red Flags
Sci Tech Daily A recent study published in Science and funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that a single alteration in a protein on the surface of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus—currently present in U.S. dairy cows—could significantly increase its potential for human-to-human transmission. These findings highlight the critical importance of ongoing […]
Dec 17, 2024