Bird flu discovered in U.S. dairy cows is ‘disturbing’
The bird flu virus that has wreaked havoc around the world appears to have surfaced in U.S. dairy cows, the first time this viral subtype has been documented in any cattle. Three U.S. states—Texas, Kansas, and New Mexico—on 25 March reported cows sickened with what scientists are presuming is the same H5N1 strain of influenza that has killed hundreds of millions of poultry and wild birds. The cattle infections are spoiling milk and causing limited disease in mostly older animals. Dead birds have also been found on some of the farms, which may explain the source of the virus. Public health officials have stressed ...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 26, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas test positive for bird flu
By MIKE STOBBE and JONEL ALECCIA (Associated Press) Milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu, U.S. officials said Monday. Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in…#mikestobbe #jonel #kansas #newmexico #minnesota #avian #usda #sidmiller #erinrobinson #michaelpayne (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - March 26, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Goat in Minnesota tests positive for H5N1 bird flu strain that's on the WHO's pandemic watchlist in first ever US case - as experts call it a 'worrisome development'
The baby goat, who tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza strain H5N1, the strain of bird flu that has been spreading since 2022, was from a farm in Stevens County. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - March 21, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Scientists confirm first cases of bird flu on mainland Antarctica
Fears for penguin colonies after the discovery of the highly contagious H5N1 virus in two dead skuasBird flu has reached mainland of Antarctica for the first time, officials have confirmed.The H5N1 virus was found on Friday in two dead scavenging birds called skuas near Primavera Base, the Argentinian scientific research station on the Antarctic peninsula.Continue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 26, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Phoebe Weston Tags: Bird flu Birds Wildlife World news Animals Environment Antarctica Conservation Source Type: news

Europe Greenlights Two Avian Flu Vaccines Europe Greenlights Two Avian Flu Vaccines
The vaccines, Celldemic and Incellipan, protect against the H5N1 subtype of the influenza A virus.Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines)
Source: Medscape Allergy Headlines - February 23, 2024 Category: Allergy & Immunology Tags: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

What happens now bird flu has reached the Antarctic? – podcast
The moment scientists had been dreading arrived late last year, when H5N1, or bird flu, was found for the first time in the Antarctic. Last week a king penguin on the island of South Georgia became the first in the region to be suspected to have died from the disease. The Guardian ’s biodiversity reporter, Phoebe Weston, tells Ian Sample why researchers have said the spread of bird flu through the Antarctic’s penguin colonies could signal ‘one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times’You can follow all the Guardian ’s reporting on bird flu hereContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - February 6, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Ian Sample with Phoebe Weston, produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound design by Joel Cox, the executive producer is Ellie Bury Tags: Science Antarctica Penguin Bird flu Biodiversity Conservation Environment Wildlife World news Polar regions Society Health Infectious diseases Source Type: news

Virulent strain of avian flu detected in seals in Antarctic region
H5N1 cases in South Georgia increase concerns about virus’s ability to adapt and infect mammals and humans more easily (Source: FT.com - Drugs and Healthcare)
Source: FT.com - Drugs and Healthcare - January 11, 2024 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

Poland reports bird flu outbreaks on farms near German border
Poland has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, on two poultry farms near the German border in the northwestern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Friday. The two outbreaks were found on farms near the…#poland #avian #szczecin (Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - December 8, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Scaling up infection prevention and control capacities in fragile, conflict-affected and ...
25 Oct 2023, Field visit to the very well-equipped central sterile services department (CSSD) at Zarqa Hospital, Jordan. The WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region is at a critical juncture to capitalize on the momentum from the COVID-19 response. Turning temporarily scaled-up capacity in countries and territories into permanent capacities, agendas and networks will strengthen health security and systems for the future. Infection prevention and control (IPC) is an area in which the Region made substantial gains during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Region has also historically been vulnerable to the emergence and rapid transmissio...
Source: WHO EMRO News - November 13, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news

Deadly avian flu reaches Gal ápagos Islands
In a development that has alarmed conservation biologists, the avian flu strain that has devastated birds and marine mammals on five continents has reached Ecuador’s Galápagos National Park, home to species that are found nowhere else. “It is extremely concerning from a conservation perspective,” says Marcela Uhart, a wildlife veterinarian at the University of California (UC), Davis. “Outbreaks could pose an acute threat to the future of these endemic species.” So far only a few animals have tested positive for the H5N1 virus, which migratory birds can carry over long distances. But the highly contag...
Source: ScienceNOW - September 25, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news

White House seeks input on tightening rules for risky pathogen research
A panel’s recommendations earlier this year to tighten U.S. rules for funding research on dangerous pathogens sparked concerns that some of the changes would hamper routine studies important to public health. Now, the White House is looking at ways to narrow the swath of federally funded research that would undergo the heightened reviews proposed in a final report released in March by the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB). A notice posted today in the Federal Register by the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks comments by 16 October on a...
Source: ScienceNOW - September 1, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news

Risk for Human H5N1 Virus After Exposure to Infected Birds Risk for Human H5N1 Virus After Exposure to Infected Birds
This report provides some insight.Emerging Infectious Diseases (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - August 22, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Infectious Diseases Journal Article Source Type: news

Scientists at Porton Down super-lab are preparing for bird flu to jump to humans: Secretive site is 'getting the tools ready' for outbreak of deadly H5N1
There is no sign that the virus, which is thought to have killed millions of birds in Britain and infected poultry workers, is currently able to spread between people. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - August 7, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Could chatbots help devise the next pandemic virus?
Tech experts have been sounding the alarm that artificial intelligence (AI) could turn against humanity by taking over everything from business to warfare. Now, Kevin Esvelt is adding another worry: AI could help somebody with no science background and evil intentions design and order a virus capable of unleashing a pandemic. Esvelt, a biosecurity expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, recently asked students to create a dangerous virus with the help of ChatGPT or other so-called large language models, systems that can generate humanlike responses to broad questions based on vast training sets of intern...
Source: ScienceNOW - June 14, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news

Explainer: H5N1 Bird Flu in Mammals Sparks Fears of Virus Spreading Among Humans
(Source: Reuters: Health)
Source: Reuters: Health - June 13, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news