Category: Featured Headlines
WHO Confirms Human Case of Bird Flu in India
NTD The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that a case of human infection with avian influenza A (H9N2) virus, also known as the bird flu, was detected in a child in the West Bengal state of India. The patient was a 4-year-old child who recovered and was discharged from the hospital, according to […]
Jun 11, 2024
We Are Not Safe from Bird Flu Until We Protect Farm Workers
Time H5N1 avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to rip across the U.S. In just the last few months, it’s infected at least three people—all dairy workers—while spreading among chickens and cows in dozens of farms across several states. Government officials and farmers have been responding to H5N1 since Feb. 2022 when the virus was […]
Jun 11, 2024
Are We Prepared for Bird Flu?
CNN Video An update on the current bird flu outbreak: it’s still infecting wild birds, mammals and now several farmworkers in the United States. The virus does not appear to be transmitted between humans, but can we prevent further spread? And what are public health officials doing to contain it? Immunologist and virologist Rick Bright has been […]
Jun 11, 2024
Bird Flu Tests Are Hard To Get. So How Will We Know When To Sound the Pandemic Alarm?
KFF Stanford University infectious disease doctor Abraar Karan has seen a lot of patients with runny noses, fevers, and irritated eyes lately. Such symptoms could signal allergies, covid, or a cold. This year, there’s another suspect, bird flu — but there’s no way for most doctors to know. If the government doesn’t prepare to ramp […]
Jun 11, 2024
Study shows ‘not surprising’ fatal spread of avian flu in ferrets
CIDRAP Late last week the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study showing that the current strain of H5N1 (A/Texas/37/2024) avian flu was fatal in six ferrets used as part of an experimental infection study. The findings caused waves across the country, as ferrets are frequently used as an animal model stand-in for […]
Jun 11, 2024
As FDA urges crackdown on bird flu in raw milk, some states say their hands are tied
CBS News Officials in two of the three states probing their first cases of bird flu in dairy cattle this month said their hands are tied after the Food and Drug Administration pleaded with states to ramp up testing and restrictions on potentially infectious raw milk being sold to consumers within their borders. Wyoming, Iowa and Minnesota announced their […]
Jun 11, 2024
Raw Milk Containing Bird-Flu Virus Can Sicken Mice, Study Finds
NYT The results bolster evidence that virus-laden raw milk may be unsafe for humans. Unpasteurized milk contaminated with H5N1, the bird-flu virus that has turned up in dairy herds in nine states, has been found to rapidly make mice sick, affecting multiple organs, according to a study published on Friday. The findings are not entirely surprising: […]
Jun 5, 2024
Why the New Human Case of Bird Flu Is So Alarming
NYT/Opinion The third human case of H5N1, reported on Thursday in a farmworker in Michigan who was experiencing respiratory symptoms, tells us that the current bird flu situation is at a dangerous inflection point. The virus is adapting in predictable ways that increase its risk to humans, reflecting our failure to contain it early on. The solutions […]
Jun 5, 2024
Assessing avian influenza in dairy milk
NIH Certain influenza viruses are found in wild and domestic birds, earning the disease they cause the name “bird flu.” Over the last two decades, about 900 people have been infected with an avian influenza virus called H5N1. Most of them have had close contact with infected birds. Past H5N1 strains have proven deadly for […]
Jun 4, 2024
Two chickens test positive for bird flu at San Francisco live bird market
CBS News Health officials said Monday that the H5N1 avian flu was detected last month in two asymptomatic chickens at a live bird market in San Francisco, but there is no sign that the public has been exposed. The bird flu virus was found as part of routine tests at live bird markets around the […]
Jun 4, 2024