Category: Flu Virus

CANBERRA (Reuters) - A highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza has spread to an eighth poultry farm near Melbourne, the government of Australia's Victoria state said on Tuesday, taking the total number of infected facilities in the country to 10.

Australia is dealing with three parallel outbreaks of bird flu, two near Melbourne and one near Sydney. Each involves a different strain of the virus, none of which is the H5N1 type that has spread through bird and mammal populations and even to humans around the world.

Victorian authorities said the new infection was within a quarantine zone already set up around affected farms and was therefore not unexpected.

The flu has mostly hit egg farms. Around 1.5 million birds have been or will be killed to control the spread of the virus. There is so far no shortage of eggs in stores.

Bird flu spreads to farmed animals from wild birds. The 2024 infections are the tenth outbreak in Australia since 1976. Each was contained and eradicated, according to the government.

(Reporting by Peter Hobson; Editing by Sonali Paul)

Here is the original post:

Bird flu spreads to tenth Australian poultry farm - AOL

About Ian Lyall

Ian Lyall, a seasoned journalist and editor, brings over three decades of experience to his role as Managing Editor at Proactive. Overseeing Proactive's editorial and broadcast operations across six offices on three continents, Ian is responsible for quality control, editorial policy, and content production. He directs the creation of 50,000 pieces of real-time news, feature articles, and filmed interviews annually. Prior to Proactive, Ian helped lead the business output at the Daily... Read more

Proactive financial news and online broadcast teams provide fast, accessible, informative and actionable business and finance news content to a global investment audience. All our content is produced independently by our experienced and qualified teams of news journalists.

Proactive news team spans the worlds key finance and investing hubs with bureaus and studios in London, New York, Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney and Perth.

We are experts in medium and small-cap markets, we also keep our community up to date with blue-chip companies, commodities and broader investment stories. This is content that excites and engages motivated private investors.

The team delivers news and unique insights across the market including but not confined to: biotech and pharma, mining and natural resources, battery metals, oil and gas, crypto and emerging digital and EV technologies.

Proactive has always been a forward looking and enthusiastic technology adopter.

Our human content creators are equipped with many decades of valuable expertise and experience. The team also has access to and use technologies to assist and enhance workflows.

Proactive will on occasion use automation and software tools, including generative AI. Nevertheless, all content published by Proactive is edited and authored by humans, in line with best practice in regard to content production and search engine optimisation.

Go here to see the original:

NanoViricides hails the potential of NV-387 in combatting bird flu virus H5N1 - Proactive Investors USA

Bird flu, a highly contagious form of avian influenza, has demonstrated worrying zoonotic spread in recent weeks. The virus is spreading quickly throughout the United States, affecting a few human lives and infecting four people thus far.

The virus, which was previously restricted to farmed poultry and wild birds, has been found in cats in 31 states, with a few cases also being found in dogs. Concerns are raised about possible human exposure as well as animal health, especially for pet owners.

As reported by USA Today, the virus has already infected mice, foxes, mountain lions, alpacas, and cows in 12 states. In the last several months, the virus has swiftly spread throughout the country among dairy cows, infecting over 90 herds, despite early expert assurances that it would not damage dairy products.

In addition to these animals, the H5N1 virus has also inflicted damage to dairy, poultry, and three farm labourers who were infected. Still, the true concern seems to be growing because dogs and cats have also been reported to have occasional cases of the virus.

According to reports, since 1 March, over 21 domestic cats in nine US states have developed the illness. The research claims that although infections were spreading throughout dairy farms, a small number of sick and deceased cats showed symptoms of illness that were missed.

It has long been known by researchers that cats may catch avian influenza. According to Kristen Coleman, a University of Maryland researcher, "Domestic cats are actually highly susceptible to avian influenza, especially H5N1,"reported the New York Times.

Among the cats that have tested positive for avian flu are feral, barn, and domestic cats. Although the number of dog reports is smaller, the issue is still present. H5N1, a new strain of bird flu that first surfaced in 2020, has spread quickly over the world. Although instances in cats and dogs are still uncommon, scientists feel that it should be treated seriously since "it results in very severe illness and oftentimes death."

The CDC states that while the possibility is extremely low, there is a small chance that people might become ill if their pets are infected. Experts think that a cat's saliva, excrement, or other bodily fluids might carry the H5N1 virus.

(With inputs from agencies)

Read more from the original source:

Bird flu crisis escalates: Virus spreads to pets and wildlife in 31 US states - WION

Even as we grapple with how COVID-19 has changed everything, experts are concerned that a variant of influenza spreading in the U.S. could spark another global outbreak of illness shuttering restaurants, offices and schools once more.

H5N1, a bird flu virus, is infecting dairy cows, alarming researchers as it inches closer to humans.

While cases are rising, with over 100 herds affected nationwide, scientists worry that not enough testing is being done to understand the outbreaks full scope. Florida has yet to record a case in cows. Michigan has reported the most of any state, with infections logged in 25 herds.

Nobody wants a pandemic, said Seema Lakdawala, a professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at Emory University. And the more chances we give this virus, the more shots on goal it takes, the more likely we are to be in a scenario where we have H5 circulating in the human population.

Heres what Floridians should know.

H5N1 is a type of influenza A. Some influenza A viruses cause the seasonal flu in humans, while others cause bird flu. First detected in farmed geese in China in 1996, H5N1 has occasionally infected humans. From 2003 to 2019, about 860 people contracted the virus, which is more contagious in birds than people, according to global data from the World Health Organization. Egypt, Indonesia and Vietnam accounted for 8 out of 10 cases during this period.

A highly virulent form of H5N1 was identified in Europe four years ago, spreading to Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It resulted from wild bird and poultry flu viruses exchanging genetic material. It reached North America in late 2021.

H5N1 has devastated the animal kingdom. In 2022 alone, more than 131 million poultry died from the illness or were slaughtered in attempts to contain the virus, according to case data from 67 countries. The virus has infected mammals, too, including bobcats, raccoons, red foxes and a dolphin in Florida, which died. Seals and sea lions have been hit hard, with tens of thousands killed.

Beginning in late March, U.S. agriculture officials began to report infections in dairy cattle a startling development that is raising concerns among scientists. Cases as of Tuesday have been detected in 101 herds from Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

Researchers believe the virus jumped from wild birds to cows in the Texas Panhandle sometime in December, then spread silently for months.

Not in cows, according to data as of Tuesday from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

But more than 500 wild birds across the state have been diagnosed with the illness since 2022, according to the federal agency. Thats likely an undercount because many birds die and arent found. H5N1 has reached Tampa Bay counties, infecting vultures, great horned owls and bald eagles, according to data from the department. A spokesperson for the St. Petersburg-based Fish and Wildlife Research Institute previously said the state had likely lost tens of thousands of native birds.

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

Well deliver the latest news and information you need to know every morning.

Want more of our free, weekly newslettersinyourinbox? Letsgetstarted.

Yes. As of early last week, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services had tested 65 dairy cows for bird flu. Five of the animals from three separate sites in Alachua, Gilchrist and Suwannee counties were tested because they exhibited symptoms that could be associated with H5N1. All were negative, according to the department.

The remaining 60 cows were tested prior to movement across state lines. Federal agriculture officials in late April required that lactating dairy cattle receive a negative influenza A test before interstate transport, though healthy animals headed directly to slaughterhouses are exempt.

The state agriculture agency, for now, is not conducting random testing of dairy cows, spokesperson Aaron Keller said in an email.

Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson issued emergency restrictions in mid-April that prohibit dairy cattle exposed to H5N1 from being imported into Florida.

There are about 125,000 dairy cows in Florida, which collectively produce about 300 million gallons of milk per year, according to Florida Dairy Farmers, a milk promotion group.

The leading hypothesis is that contaminated milk equipment is spreading H5N1 from cow to cow, said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

The virus is often not in cow respiratory tracts, he said. Its mostly concentrated in their milk.

The main sign of infection is a decrease in milk production, he added. Its unclear if dairy cows without symptoms can still spread infectious virus.

Unlike with COVID-19 or other viruses such as the seasonal flu, H5N1 is not rapidly spreading person to person. The risk remains low for the public, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has not seen an unusual uptick in emergency room visits for influenza.

But three humans in the U.S. have been diagnosed with the ailment during the dairy cow outbreak. All were farmworkers from Michigan and Texas exposed to infected cattle.

The first two human cases tied to dairy cows contracted mild infections in the eye, possibly via contaminated milk splashing them. They reported conjunctivitis, or pink eye.

But the third person, a worker in Michigan, had respiratory symptoms, including a cough without a fever, that are more typical with influenza. The patient was given an antiviral drug and the infection eased while they isolated at home.

Internationally, there have been more severe outcomes with H5N1. In 2022, an adult in China died in a case linked to poultry. A 53-year-old man in Chile with a cough and sore throat was admitted to an intensive care unit last year after his condition worsened. Cambodia reported two infections in February 2023, including an 11-year-old girl who developed pneumonia and died, but testing found that the virus was different from the version sickening birds in the U.S.

The chief concern is that H5N1 will acquire mutations as it spreads in cows that allow it to transmit quickly among humans, spawning a pandemic. That could be catastrophic.

From 2003 to 2019, when an older form of H5N1 circulated, about half of infected people died, according to World Health Organization data. Mild cases may have been missed, inflating the death rate.

But public health experts have long feared that avian influenza might upend life as we know it again. The 1918 flu pandemic, which killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide, is believed to have started in a bird host.

Any time a virus that normally circulates in avian species is infecting mammals, its getting a chance to get more adapted to mammals, said Adalja of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

He added that the U.S. is still partly blind with H5N1. There has been very constrained testing of cows and humans, he said. Some farmers have reportedly been hesitant to pursue testing because of the potential financial fallout of identifying H5N1 in a herd.

We dont understand how big of a problem this is, Adalja said of the outbreak.

And despite the testing requirement for some dairy cows moving across state borders, theres no equivalent federal mandate for those being transported within a state. Lakdawala, of Emory University, said whether to require testing of cattle that dont leave is up to state officials to decide.

When asked if Florida will order testing of herds moved within the state, Keller, the Florida agriculture department spokesperson, didnt immediately provide a comment.

In a survey of almost 300 dairy product samples, a fifth contained fragments of the virus, according to an early analysis by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The samples were collected at stores in 17 states and included milk, cottage cheese, sour cream and yogurt. The findings suggested that many more cows were carrying H5N1 than were officially reported in federal case counts.

The agency conducted further testing to see if the virus was still infectious in the products. It wasnt.

Pasteurization, a heating process that kills harmful pathogens, neutralizes the virus, the federal agency says.

The Food and Drug Administration in a statement to the Tampa Bay Times said the totality of evidence continues to indicate that the commercial milk supply is safe.

Yes, health experts say. It remains unclear whether drinking raw milk with H5N1 will result in an infection. But federal food regulators have long warned that consuming such products is risky because they can harbor dangerous microorganisms.

There are troubling signs that H5N1 in raw milk could cause illness. A study of mice found that they quickly exhibited lethargy after being given raw milk contaminated with the virus.

When the mice were euthanized, scientists discovered high levels of the pathogen in their respiratory organs.

Florida bars the sale of raw milk for human consumption. But raw milk labeled as pet food is found throughout the state, according to a website that tracks availability.

Absolutely do not consume raw milk products, Lakdawala said.

Federal agriculture officials say theyre confident the meat supply is safe and that they didnt find the virus in 30 samples of ground beef collected from states where dairy cows tested positive.

In an experiment, federal Department of Agriculture researchers found that cooking hamburgers to 145 degrees (medium) and 160 degrees (well done) would kill the virus.

Its a bit complicated. The bottom line: you cant walk into Walgreens or CVS this week and get a shot to ward off H5N1.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has bird flu viruses that can be used by manufacturers to develop a vaccine, with good protection against H5N1 expected.

The problem is one of logistics. If a pandemic were to begin, providing enough vaccines would be challenging.

Avoid sick or dead animals, including wild birds and poultry, if you dont have eye or respiratory protection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Stay clear of feces from critters.

Those who come into contact with sickened animals should monitor themselves for symptoms, including pink eye, for 10 days.

Keep your pets, such as cats and dogs, away from sick or dead wild birds, feathers and droppings and feed and water bowls that wild birds may have touched.

Scientists have started to monitor sewage to see where H5N1 is spreading just like with COVID-19. WastewaterSCAN, a national surveillance network from Stanford and Emory universities, recently began to test for the H5 influenza A subtype at 194 locations across the country, including 13 in Florida.

There are many H5 bird flu viruses. But if H5 is detected this summer in a treatment plants wastewater, its likely H5N1, said Alessandro Zulli, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford who works with WastewaterSCAN.

The research team has yet to find H5 in Florida wastewater, including at three St. Petersburg facilities, according to recent data. But the virus has been identified in sewage from states like Michigan and Texas.

Detecting H5 doesnt confirm that humans are infected, Zulli said. The virus could be entering wastewater systems through milk discharges at dairies, he said. Federal health authorities have urged farmers to throw out milk from sick cows.

Monitoring sewage is a very early warning system, Zulli said.

Its much easier to do than testing every cow in a 50-mile radius, he said. Or testing every person in a 50-mile radius.

Read more from the original source:

Pandemic potential? What to know in Florida about bird flu outbreak. - Tampa Bay Times

By Amy Maxmen June 20, 2024

Its been nearly three months since the U.S. government announced an outbreak of the bird flu virus on dairy farms. The World Health Organization considers the virus a public health concern because of its potential to cause a pandemic, yet the U.S. has tested only about 45 people across the country.

Were flying blind, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. With so few tests run, she said, its impossible to know how many farmworkers have been infected, or how serious the disease is. A lack of testing means the country might not notice if the virus begins to spread between people the gateway to another pandemic.

Wed like to be doing more testing. Theres no doubt about that, said Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDCs bird flu test is the only one the Food and Drug Administration has authorized for use right now. Shah said the agency has distributed these tests to about 100 public health labs in states. Weve got roughly a million available now, he said, and expect 1.2 million more in the next two months.

But Nuzzo and other researchers are concerned because the CDC and public health labs arent generally where doctors order tests from. That job tends to be done by major clinical laboratories run by companies and universities, which lack authorization for bird flu testing.

As the outbreak grows with at least 114 herds infected in 12 states as of June 18 researchers said the CDC and FDA are not moving fast enough to remove barriers that block clinical labs from testing. In one case, the diagnostics company Neelyx Labs was on hold with a query for more than a month.

Clinical labs are part of the nations public health system, said Alex Greninger, assistant director of the University of Washington Medicine Clinical Virology Laboratory. Pull us into the game. Were stuck on the bench.

The CDC recognized the need for clinical labs in a June 10 memo. It calls on industry to develop tests for the H5 strain of bird flu virus, the one circulating among dairy cattle. The limited availability and accessibility of diagnostic tests for Influenza A(H5) poses several pain points, the CDC wrote. The points include a shortage of tests if demand spikes.

Researchers, including former CDC director Tom Frieden and Anthony Fauci, who led the nations response to covid, cite testing failures as a key reason the U.S. fared so poorly with covid. Had covid tests been widely available in early 2020, they say, the U.S. could have detected many cases before they turned into outbreaks that prompted business shutdowns and cost lives.

In an article published this month, Nuzzo and a group of colleagues noted that the problem wasnt testing capability but a failure to deploy that capability swiftly. The U.S. reported excess mortality eight times as high as other countries with advanced labs and other technological advantages.

A covid test vetted by the WHO was available by mid-January 2020. Rather than use it, the United States stuck to its own multistage process, which took several months. Namely, the CDC develops its own test then sends it to local public health labs. Eventually, the FDA authorizes tests from clinical diagnostic labs that serve hospital systems, which must then scale up their operations. That took time, and people died amid outbreaks at nursing homes and prisons, waiting on test results.

In contrast, South Korea immediately rolled out testing through private sector laboratories, allowing it to keep schools and businesses open. They said, Gear up, guys; were going to need a ton of tests, said Frieden, now president of the public health organization Resolve to Save Lives. You need to get commercials in the game.

Nuzzo and her colleagues describe a step-by-step strategy for rolling out testing in health emergencies, in response to mistakes made obvious by covid. But in this bird flu outbreak, the U.S. is weeks behind that playbook.

Ample testing is critical for two reasons. First, people need to know if theyre infected so that they can be quickly treated, Nuzzo said. Over the past two decades, roughly half of about 900 people around the globe known to have gotten the bird flu died from it.

Although the three farmworkers diagnosed with the disease this year in the United States had only mild symptoms, like a runny nose and inflamed eyes, others may not be so lucky. The flu treatment Tamiflu works only when given soon after symptoms start.

The CDC and local health departments have tried to boost bird flu testing among farmworkers, asking them to be tested if they feel sick. Farmworker advocates list several reasons why their outreach efforts are failing. The outreach might not be in the languages the farmworkers speak, for example, or address such concerns as a loss of employment.

If people who live and work around farms simply see a doctor when they or their children fall ill, those cases could be missed if the doctors send samples to their usual clinical laboratories. The CDC has asked doctors to send samples from people with flu symptoms who have exposure to livestock or poultry to public health labs. If you work on a farm with an outbreak and youre worried about your welfare, you can get tested, Shah said. But sending samples to public health departments requires knowledge, time, and effort.

I really worry about a testing scheme in which busy clinicians need to figure this out, Nuzzo said.

The other reason to involve clinical laboratories is so the nation can ramp up testing if the bird flu is suddenly detected among people who didnt catch it from cattle. Theres no evidence the virus has started to spread among people, but that could change in coming months as it evolves.

The fastest way to get clinical labs involved, Greninger said, is to allow them to use a test the FDA has already authorized: the CDCs bird flu test. On April 16 the CDC opened up that possibility by offering royalty-free licenses for components of its bird flu tests to accredited labs.

Several commercial labs asked for licenses. We want to get prepared before things get crazy, said Shyam Saladi, chief executive officer of the diagnostics company Neelyx Labs, which offered covid and mpox tests during shortages in those outbreaks. His experience over the past two months reveals the types of barriers that prevent labs from moving swiftly.

In email exchanges with the CDC, shared with KFF Health News, Saladi specifies the labs desire for licenses relevant to the CDCs test, as well as a right to reference the CDCs data in its application for FDA authorization.

That right to reference makes it easier for one company to use a test developed by another. It allows the new group to skip certain analyses conducted by the original maker, by telling the FDA to look at data in the original FDA application. This was commonplace with covid tests at the peak of the pandemic.

At first, the CDC appeared eager to cooperate. A right of reference to the data should be available, Jonathan Motley, a patent specialist at the CDC, wrote in an email to Saladi on April 24. Over the next few weeks, the CDC sent him information about transferring its licenses to the company, and about the test, which prompted Neelyxs researchers to buy testing components and try out the CDCs process on their equipment.

But Saladi grew increasingly anxious about the ability to reference the CDCs data in the companys FDA application. Do you have an update with respect to the right of reference? he asked the CDC on May 13. If there are any potential sticking points with respect to this, would you mind letting us know please?

He asked several more times in the following weeks, as the number of herds infected with the bird flu ticked upward and more cases among farmworkers were announced. Given that it is May 24 and the outbreak has only expanded, can CDC provide a date by which it plans to respond? Saladi wrote.

The CDC eventually signed a licensing agreement with Neelyx but informed Saladi that it would not, in fact, provide the reference. Without that, Saladi said, he could not move forward with the CDCs test at least not without more material from the agency. Its really frustrating, he said. We thought they really intended to support the development of these tests in case they are needed.

Shah, from the CDC, said test manufacturers should generate their own data to prove that theyre using the CDCs test correctly. We dont have a shortage such that we need to cut corners, he said. Quality reigns supreme.

The CDC has given seven companies, including Neelyx, licenses for its tests although none have been cleared to use them by the FDA. Only one of those companies asked for the right of reference, Shah said. The labs may be assisted by additional material that the agency is developing now, to allow them to complete the analyses even without the reference.

This should have happened sooner, Saladi told KFF Health News when he was told about the CDCs pending additional material. Theres been no communication about this.

Greninger said the delays and confusion are reminiscent of the early months of covid, when federal agencies prioritized caution over speed. Test accuracy is important, he said, but excessive vetting can cause harm in a fast-moving outbreak like this one. The CDC should be trying to open this up to labs with national reach and a good reputation, he said. I fall on the side of allowing labs to get ready thats a no-brainer.

Clinical laboratories have also begun to develop their own tests from scratch. But researchers said theyre moving cautiously because of a recent FDA rule that gives the agency more oversight of lab-developed tests, lengthening the pathway to approval. In an email to KFF Health News, FDA press officer Janell Goodwin said the rules enforcement will occur gradually.

However, Susan Van Meter, president of the American Clinical Laboratory Association, a trade group whose members include the nations largest commercial diagnostic labs, said companies need more clarity: Its slowing things down because its adding to the confusion about what is allowable.

Creating tests for the bird flu is already a risky bet, because demand is uncertain. Its not clear whether this outbreak in cattle will trigger an epidemic or fizzle out. In addition to issues with the CDC and FDA, clinical laboratories are trying to figure out whether health insurers or the government will pay for bird flu tests.

These wrinkles will be smoothed eventually. Until then, the vanishingly slim numbers of people tested, along with the lack of testing in cattle, may draw criticism from other parts of the world.

Think about our judgment of Chinas transparency at the start of covid, Nuzzo said. The current situation undermines Americas standing in the world.

We encourage organizations to republish our content, free of charge. Heres what we ask:

You must credit us as the original publisher, with a hyperlink to our kffhealthnews.org site. If possible, please include the original author(s) and KFF Health News in the byline. Please preserve the hyperlinks in the story.

Its important to note, not everything on kffhealthnews.org is available for republishing. If a story is labeled All Rights Reserved, we cannot grant permission to republish that item.

Have questions? Let us know at KHNHelp@kff.org

See the original post:

'We're Flying Blind': CDC Has 1M Bird Flu Tests Ready, but Experts See Repeat of Covid Missteps - Kaiser Health News

The H5N1 virus, or bird flu, was found in cows for the first time ever this year. Thats caused concern that infected cows mean the virus could have more opportunities to cross over into humans, which could mean a potentially deadly virus.

A couple of months ago, the FDA said that commercial milk is safe because the pasteurization process kills any living virus. Now, some scientists are saying there is evidence that pasteurization may not be as foolproof as we hope.

Lizzy McGrevy, Side Effects Public Medias community engagement specialist, sat down with Health Reporter Ben Thorp to talk about the latest research.

This transcript has been edited for length, style and clarity.

Lizzy McGrevy: So Ben, whats it like to be a full-time milk reporter?

Ben Thorp: Honestly? A lot more exciting than I would have anticipated.

McGrevy: So, Ben, maybe start by talking about a recent letter to the New England Journal of Medicine which found that some virus could be surviving the pasteurization process. Whats happening there?

Thorp: So, I think its important to underline here that this is an experiment conducted in a laboratory setting. Scientists I spoke to about this letter said, Hey we dont know how replicable something like this is outside the lab.

But the gist is this: Researchers spiked raw milk with high levels of the bird flu virus also known as H5N1 and then put it through two pasteurization processes. One method involved heating up milk to 63 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. The other method was just 15 seconds at 72 degrees Celsius.

I think its worth noting that according to the International Dairy Foods Association, 15-second pasteurization at 72 degrees Celsius is the most common process in the U.S.

McGrevy: Ok, Ben, why do we need to know the different methods of pasteurization?

Thorp: Well, what researchers found is that for the 15-second method, there were still detectable levels of virus in milk.

In fact, researchers say there was still detectable virus up to even 20 seconds at 72 degrees Celsius. That means that theres a chance that even after the pasteurization process some live virus could be surviving.

Researchers did find that the 30-minute method for pasteurization was effective at killing the virus and that standard bulk pasteurization of 30 minutes at 63 C has a large safety buffer.

But, again, we dont know how these lab tests might translate into the real world.

Its also worth saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has continued to affirm the safety of retail milk. The FDA sampled milk earlier this year, and while they did find evidence of fragments of H5N1 in retail milk, there was no live virus.

McGrevy: Ok, so thats concerning whats next?

Thorp: So, experts behind the letter say they want more research into H5N1 in dairy production. They want to see whether their experiments are really replicable.

Theres so much we dont know about this virus right now, including what dose could infect humans through drinking it.

Some experts say they arent worried about retail milk, however.

I think it's good information to have to understand the characteristics of pasteurization, with this particular virus, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. But the bigger threat to me comes from unpasteurized milk, not just for avian influenza, but for a whole host of pathogens that are in unpasteurized milk.

More broadly though, Adalja said there isnt enough being done to track the virus and understand how widespread infections of cows and people really are.

I don't believe that this strain of H5N1 is going to be the strain of avian influenza that causes a pandemic. However, it is a very good trial run that we're failing, he said.

The FDA is trying to reduce the sale of raw milk. The department put out a letter earlier this month underlining that while the FDA does not approve the sale of raw milk for human consumption, some states do.

Their message was basically: Hey, help us communicate to people that in the midst of this outbreak it is maybe not the time to be drinking raw milk. They also called on states that permit the sale of raw milk to use regulatory authorities to try and stop those sales, especially in areas where infected herds have been identified.

McGrevy: Well Ben, looking forward to talking with you about milk again in a couple of weeks.

Thorp: Hopefully not too soon.

The Checkup by Side Effects Public Media is a regular audio segment on WFYI's daily podcast, WFYI News Now.

Side Effects Public Media is a health reporting collaboration based at WFYI in Indianapolis. We partner with NPR stations across the Midwest and surrounding areas including KBIA and KCUR in Missouri, Iowa Public Radio, Ideastream in Ohio and WFPL in Kentucky.

Original post:

Bird flu could survive pasteurization, study finds The Checkup - WFYI

Colorado is seeing a rising number of highly pathogenic avian flu cases in cows. State officials told CPR Friday theyre working with the dairy industry to curb the spread.

The first case in dairy cows in the state was in April. Since then, the state has reported another 18 cases. Colorado recorded 15 just this month, adding six cases Friday to a state website tracking positive cases in dairy cows.

All confirmed cases have been in northeast Colorado.

Currently, there have been a total of 10 Colorado livestock herds, mostly dairy milking cows, affected during the last 30 days as of the middle of this week, according to a website from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, said the risk continues to be low for humans and is dependent on exposure.

She said the state is working closely with the agricultural industry and affected farms to ensure that they are monitoring workers and that those workers have access to testing and treatment as needed.

While we're seeing additional cases rising here in Colorado, Herlihy said, we're working closely with our dairy industry and a lot of other partners to try to curb the further spread of this virus here in the state.

Implementing really good biosecurity is going to be one of our most important ways to stop and prevent further spread of this virus to additional dairy farms, said Dr. Maggie Baldwin, the Colorado State veterinarian.

Biosecurity measures include isolating infected cattle, verifying the cleanliness of cow feed and regularly cleaning out water supplies, among other steps.

Earlier this week, Colorado released guidance for livestock owners and event organizers ahead of this summers coming county fair show season.

The state is providing personal protective gear (PPE) to dairy workers. Any location with a confirmed case is placed under quarantine to limit the movement of lactating dairy cattle and has to implement measures to limit the possibility of spreading the virus.

The virus has been spreading across the U.S. since spring of 2022. It first appeared primarily in infected waterfowl and domestic poultry. But this year, it began to impact another key agricultural animal: cows.

Colorados first case in a cattle herd came on April 25, when the National Veterinary Services Laboratory announced it had found the disease circulating among dairy cows in northeast Colorado.

In the last 30 days, the USDA has detected 59 confirmed cases of avian flu in cows across eight states. Colorado and Michigan both reported 10 livestock herds affected; only Idaho had more, with 17.

The cows in herds showing clinical signs of the virus are separated from the rest of the herd until they recover, according to a spokesperson for the state health department.

The quarantine is for all lactating dairy cattle on the premises and stays in place until the dairy receives two negative tests, one week apart. Also, all lactating dairy cattle in Colorado fall under an Emergency Rule adopted on April 30 that requires mandatory testing of lactating dairy cattle moving interstate.

Baldwin said the state is tracking the situation closely.

One of the good things is we always take a risk- and science-based approach to all of our responses here in the state of Colorado, she said. And so if something changes on the risk or risk of disease transmission, whether it's within the same species or other species, we are always able to adjust our response and be nimble and flexible and bring in the right partners.

Herlihy said the state is offering dairy workers education and training, including about the proper use of PPE.

Risk of infection is going to be low, but we know it is going to be higher in people who have routine exposure on affected dairy farms, she said.

The state is monitoring individuals on affected farms, working closely with the producers and foremen on those farms to do that monitoring.

If individuals were to go on to develop symptoms, those symptoms are reported to us. We coordinate testing for those individuals and coordinate treatment as well, Herlihy said.

One worker in Texas and two in Michigan tested positive for the virus earlier this year, but none have been recorded in Colorado. The CDC said last month, after the second case in Michigan, the risk to the public remained low because all three sporadic cases had direct contact with infected cows.

The rising number of cases has sparked questions about the risk avian flu could pose to humans, as well as worries about the safety of many common food items.

Colorados website provides information for both consumers and veterinarians.

It notes, that both USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), have said that since commercial milk products are pasteurized before coming on the market, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply, at this time.

Pasteurized milk doesnt pose a risk to consumer health, according to the site. Pasteurization has continuously been proven to inactivate bacteria and viruses in milk.

Despite the detection of the virus in dairy cattle, the risk to the general public remains low, according to the CDC. More information is available on the CDCs website regarding the H5N1 Bird Flu Current Situation.

Colorado veterinarians must report cattle illness that presents clinical signs of highly pathogenic avian influenza to the State Veterinarians office at (303) 869-9130, via the Reportable Disease Case Report Form, or to their local Veterinary Medical Officer. Veterinarians can request HPAI testing for samples that meet the criteria.

See original here:

More cows are getting avian flu in Colorado, officials are trying to stop it from spreading to humans - Colorado Public Radio

Bird flu

USDA report finds transmission likely happening when workers, cows, vehicles and equipment go to multiple farms

Wed 19 Jun 2024 07.00 EDT

Bird flu cases among animals continue to rise as US officials warn about the role of humans in spreading the virus.

There are now 102 herds in the US with H5N1 cases, though given the prevalence of inactivated virus in commercially available pasteurized milk, experts believe the true number may be even higher.

Poultry operations have reported cases likely linked to dairy farms, indicating the virus may be spilling back from cows into birds. Nearly 97m domesticated birds in the US have been affected by the highly pathogenic influenza since 2022.

Although officials believe this outbreak was originally sparked by a single introduction from migratory birds into cows for instance, via feed contaminated by bird feces late last year, genomic analyses now suggest it is being spread between animals and farms by human activity, according a report released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Thursday.

The report, which focused on cases in Michigan, found that transmission is likely happening when workers, cows, vehicles and equipment go to multiple farms.

Among employees at dairies with outbreaks, one in five employees work at other dairies and 7% work on poultry operations as well. Thats in addition to the veterinarians, nutritionists and haulers who regularly visit multiple farms.

Three in five Michigan dairies with outbreaks use shared vehicles to transport cows, but only 12% clean the vehicles first. All but one of the affected dairies belong to the same milk co-ops.

The results are in line with a second report also released by the USDA on Thursday, showing that about one-third of employees at US dairies with outbreaks also work on other farms with livestock usually dairy farms, but sometimes swine and poultry.

More than half of affected dairy farms across the US share trucks and trailers to transport cows, and more than half of those who share vehicles dont clean them first, the report said.

Biosecurity is the key to prevention, Kammy Johnson, a veterinary epidemiologist with the USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, told reporters on Thursday. That means decontaminating everything that goes from farm to farm transportation, clothing, equipment and reducing the chances of infected animals, or people, passing the virus onward.

Its not clear if the outbreak is continuing to gain force, officials said, but they expect to find more cases in cows.

And, as the virus evolves, it could become more of a threat to people, according to a recent report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Officials expect to see more bird flu cases among humans as the outbreak continues, the report said.

The more infections there are among cows, the more risk there is for infections to occur among humans, Dr Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, told reporters on Thursday.

The fact that its in 20% of our milk supply should be disturbing to everyone because that means its gone around already, Xavier Becerra, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said last week. If it starts to jump, thats when we really have to worry.

Yet testing has lagged, in a situation reminiscent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The only authorized test for H5N1 among humans comes from the CDC, and it is only available to people who have symptoms and a history of close contact with infected animals or other people. So far, there have only been 45 tests performed this year.

Yet there have been reports of workers with positive flu A tests that are not sequenced for H5N1, as well as potential missed cases, like the farm workers and a local maternity worker who reported flu-like symptoms near the first confirmed human case this year in Texas.

Providers may now be reluctant to test for influenza even if a patient has respiratory symptoms, since the flu season has ended and thus insurance companies may not pay for the tests.

The USDA requires lactating dairy cows to be tested before moving across state borders. The federal government does not have the authority to require testing of animals or people on a wide scale, which means these efforts largely fall to state and local entities.

In Wisconsin, for instance, which has not yet announced any infections in cows, farmers are now required to test cows before taking them to fairs and exhibits.

Cows have died in at least five states South Dakota, Michigan, Colorado, Ohio and Texas because they didnt recover or developed secondary infections after testing positive for H5N1. The majority of infected cows recover, but these deaths indicate the potential financial burden of an uncontrolled outbreak.

Barn cats and mice have also tested positive for H5N1, raising concerns the animals could spread the virus in communities beyond the farms.

This article was amended on 20 June 2024. Barn cats and mice tested positive for H5N1, not H1N1 as an earlier version said.

{{topLeft}}

{{bottomLeft}}

{{topRight}}

{{bottomRight}}

{{.}}

One-timeMonthlyAnnual

Other

Go here to see the original:

Bird flu pandemic risk high as cow cases appear and officials warn of humans role - The Guardian

Northwest Iowa Bird flu has hit eight dairy cattle herds in northwest Iowa this year, and now a third poultry flock. Ag officials said Thursday the virus is confirmed in a commercial turkey flock with over 46-thousand birds in Sac County. Yuko Sato, a poultry veterinarian at Iowa State University, says vigilance is key for Iowa producers.

State ag officials say producers who see signs of the virus in their flock, like a sudden increase in bird deaths or birds that are lethargic, should contact their veterinarian immediately. Lee Maassen is a fifth-generation dairy farmer in northwest Iowas Sioux County, one of the hot spots for the virus. As President of the Iowa State Dairy Association, Maassen says hes keeping a close watch on the issue, and producers are taking bio-security precautions, including limiting visitors. Health officials have also warned against drinking raw milk.

Some dairy cows have died after getting infected, but researchers and veterinarians say most appear to recover after a few weeks with supportive care, like electrolytes and probiotics. So far, Maassen says his dairy is virus-free. Kylie Nettinga, executive director of the Western Iowa Dairy Coalition, says there are 100 dairy farms in northwest Iowa, and biosecurity and surveillance are being done to prevent and track viral spread.

She adds, Yes, it impacts the cows, but theyre bouncing back, and thats amazing.

The USDA is working to try and figure out how the virus spreads from poultry to cattle.

See original here:

Vigilance Is Vital In Stopping Spread Of Bird Flu - KIWARadio.com

On the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic, a different virus threatens to cause widespread illness and death, bring the global economy to its knees and throw us back into the chaos that we seemingly just emerged from with the virus SARS-CoV-2. That pathogen is, of course, bird flu or avian influenza, especially the H5N1 strain.

While were not there yet, nearly all the conditions are ripe for a new pandemic. H5N1 is seemingly everywhere we look. It's in wild birds, factory farm birds, cats, mice and traces of it have shown up in milk thanks to hundreds, if not thousands, of dairy cows that have become the new focal point in this unwinding crisis. But a lot of open questions remain, including if we have the capacity to stop it in time.

Bird flu is far from being a new pathogen. Whispers of a fowl plague date back to the late 19th Century, while H5N1 specifically was first detected in 1996 in Chinese geese. A year later, H5N1 virus outbreaks were detected in poultry in Hong Kong, infecting 18 people and killing six. Thats around when virologists and public health experts noticed H5N1 is a particularly nasty bug with broad pandemic potential and have been closely monitoring it ever since.

Over the years, it has sprung up and disappeared again and again, infecting about 900 people, killing 463 to date. That gives it a severe death rate of 52%, according to the World Health Organization.

But our current situation the one that is becoming increasingly harder to ignore really began about three years ago, when bird flu began spreading rapidly in wild birds, massacring millions of them. It alarmed experts who reported it even threatened to wipe out entire colonies of penguins in Antarctica. But it became even more alarming when the virus began spreading more easily in mammals. It killed hundreds of sea lions and walruses, but also began to kill house cats and other wild animals.

Birds peck at food intended for dairy cattle (Getty Images/Dusty Pixel photography)

This is concerning because spreading in mammals means its more likely to infect humans. The 1918 swine flu virus H1N1, which killed an estimated 20 million people, had both mammalian and avian genetics. For context, SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind COVID, has infected approximately 775 million people globally and has so far killed about 7 million people, giving it around a 1% death rate. (COVID is no longer surveilled as much as before, however, so these numbers are most likely an undercount.)

Recent reports of avian flu in domestic cats and house mice are certainly worrisome."

And now things in the U.S. have seemingly reached a crescendo, in which dairy cows are harboring the virus, spreading it amongst each other and even killing cows in some instances. So far, outbreaks in more than 100 dairy farms in 12 states have been reported, but experts have said that cases are likely flying under the radar. So far this year, three Americans have been infected by H5N1 viruses that started in cows, and all of them recovered, but some experts say that patients may be avoiding doctors or refusing tests.

Naturally, another pandemic emerging is a huge risk. But how severe is this situation really? And what can be done to make sure it doesnt reach a devastating worst case scenario?

The definition of a pandemic varies. An epidemiology dictionary defines a pandemic as one step above an epidemic, which is sudden, widespread occurrence of infectious disease. According to this definition, an influenza pandemic would occur when almost simultaneous transmission takes place worldwide.

When H1N1 began to spread in 2009, experts characterized it as a pandemic due to its proliferation across both hemispheres. The WHO has three criteria that must be met in order for a pandemic to be declared: First, it must be a new strain that has not circulated among humans before. So while HIV was a pandemic in the 80s, today it is not considered such. Second, it must infect humans and cause serious illness. Lastly, it must spread efficiently among humans.

Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes.

B3.13, [the bird flu strain] that's circulating among dairy cattle certainly checks one box, Dr. Rajendram Rajnarayanan of the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Ark., told Salon. If we let this strain circulate uncontrolled, then boxes 2 and 3 are not that far [behind.]

Rajnarayanan added that recent reports of avian flu in domestic cats and house mice are certainly worrisome.

Virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen told Salon she does not believe we are close to a bird flu pandemic yet because there is no evidence of epidemic spread between humans anywhere in the world.

This has, however, caused a panzootic (pandemic in animals in this case, birds) ongoing since 2021, she said.

Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and author of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist, told Salon she agreed. Despite there not being an official definition of what constitutes a pandemic, it is generally when there is sustained transmission of humans worldwide.

A pelican suspected to have died from H5N1 avian influenza is seen on a beach in Lima, on December 1, 2022. (ERNESTO BENAVIDES/AFP via Getty Images)

We are not close to this, given its not spreading human-to-human yet, Jetelina said.

To date, there have only been three human cases of bird flu associated with the outbreak of U.S. dairy cows. Nonetheless, its still worrying because in the latest confirmed case, respiratory symptoms were reported (unlike the other two cases), which means the virus could be evolving ways to spread more easily.

The bovine situation is a step up from this, just due to how widespread the virus is, and how many people have exposure to cattle (compared to small mink farms or remote sea lion colonies), Dr. Tom Peacock, a virologist at Imperial College London and the Pirbright Institute, told Salon. This clearly represents a much larger human-animal interface than the other examples. Pandemics occur when the unlikely event of one of these influenza viruses gets the right combination of mutations. Its a little like buying a lottery ticket this outbreak is allowing the virus to bulk buy lottery tickets.

According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in December 2023, there had been 902 cases of bird flu in humans in 23 countries since 1997. These cases had a cumulative case fatality proportion of greater than 50 percent.

"Its like buying a lottery ticket this outbreak is allowing the virus to bulk buy lottery tickets."

Notably, the three recent cases that have been associated with the outbreak among dairy cattle in the U.S. have been categorized as mild. Only one had respiratory symptoms. Still, experts say that bird flu in humans is deadly. To put it in context of the 1918 flu pandemic, experts estimate that it had a 2.5 percent mortality rate.

Rasmussen said this is a difficult question to address, in regards to how deadly the bird flu is.

Deadly might depend on the host species. The viruses circulating in cattle appear to not cause severe disease in them and haven't yet caused severe disease in the known human cases, she said. The highly pathogenic term for avian influenza viruses refers to severity in birds.

However, she said, we do know that HPAI H5N1 viruses like the one circulating in cattle can be lethal in humans.

We dont fully understand what determines how severe disease will be in one species or one individual over another and this is an important and critical area of research, she said.

I dont think we know enough [data] yet to make conclusions about this, Peacock said. Similar viruses are circulating in wild birds as well in the U.S., for example. There is a lot of variability in reports about how deadly H5N1 is, a lot of this is due to ascertainment issues (i.e. lots of mild or asymptomatic cases never being detected) and it may also be partly due to virus dose and exposure route (inhaling high titre virus contaminating liquids versus getting milk splashed in someones eye.)

Bird flu has been the cause of death for millions of wild and domestic birds worldwide. Its also been extremely deadly in seals, sea lions and minks. It has wiped out cats, foxes and even a polar bear. As it stands, it doesnt seem to be as deadly in cows which is the host humans are likely getting an infection from, but some cows did get so sick they had to be euthanized.

It seems that the death rate is far lower in cows than other animals weve seen, like birds and cats, Jetelina said. Unfortunately, we dont know why. There is so much we dont understand about the pathophysiology of what makes it more lethal for one animal than another.

While it seems that many of the infected cattle have recovered, Rajnarayanan said there are anecdotal reports of very sick cattle and a few dead and culled dairy cattle.

"Testing still seems somewhat random and voluntary. We should be doing more both in cattle and humans."

Earlier this month, WHO shared that a 59-year-old patient died of H2N2 in Mexico. It was the first laboratory-confirmed case of H2N2 globally, and the first reported case in Mexico. But notable, it is a different strain than the bird flu strain that is circulating in livestock in the United States. (The H and the N in these names refer to specific proteins on the virus, which can significantly differ in how they infect and cause illness.)

More recently, WHO clarified that the man died from separate health conditions, though the patient did test positive for bird flu. Experts who Salon spoke with said they werent concerned about this case.

The H5N2 is concerning because someone died and that is always sad, however, Mexico vaccinates for H5 flu and it is endemic in the bird population, Dr. Keith Poulsen, an associate professor of large internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told Salon. Same in Asia; every once in a while we see an outbreak or a single person die the outbreaks are rare, but are important.

One of the most prevalent criticisms of the federal agencies tasked with surveilling and curtailing this virus is that testing is scarce, delayed and lacking transparency.

Testing still seems somewhat random and voluntary. We should be doing more both in cattle and humans, William Hartmann, an assistant professor of anesthesiology and principal investigator for the UWMadison COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Program, told Salon.

I would prefer to see more testing of farm workers and milk, Dr. Daniel Goldhill, a lecturer in virology at the Royal Veterinary College at University of London, told Salon. I would like to see serology to see if workers were infected asymptomatically. In terms of virus sequencing data, releasing the sequences is a positive step though more metadata such as sample date and state or farm would be helpful.

With at least 25 confirmed infected herds, Michigan seems to have the most outbreaks (though recently surpassed by Idaho with 26) but thats because they are doing more testing than most other places.

I don't think people were surprised when additional cases were found in Michigan, Goldhill said. Other states do not seem to be tracking human symptoms as well as Michigan, so it is possible that human cases have been missed. Without doing serology testing, we will not be able to know if we have missed cases.

States that are testing more are likely to report more cases. Test positivity is the key to gauge the spread, Rajnarayanan said. In the meantime, we definitely are not testing enough, he said.

"It's playing with wildfire when you consume raw milk loaded with a viable virus."

Poulsen said commercially available tests are already available.

Anyone can buy PCR and ELISA tests, he said. They are not idiot proof, like at home COVID tests, nor should they be, because we want them to be accurate. That means trained people with sophisticated equipment with a low error rate.

He added there is no CLIA requirement for animal testing, referring to federal lab standards and private labs can do all the testing they want. There is also no legal requirement to report test results, but there is no way to enforce that effectively. Moreover, he said, the infrastructure is there for testing.

We are ready and equipped to test, he said. We just need industry, the states, or the USDA to allow us to do so.

Jetelina said that even at-home flu tests will likely pick up H5N1 because its closely related to influenza A.

The big challenge will be fall, as we will not be able to differentiate between [seasonal] flu and H5 unless we have a more specific test, she said.

I think that COVID demonstrated both the best and the worst about vaccines, Goldhill said. We produced an amazing vaccine but people still died due to vaccine hesitancy and inequitable distribution of vaccines. Current flu vaccines are not as effective as mRNA vaccines were against COVID. It will be interesting to see how well mRNA vaccines work against flu. In any case, it takes a significant amount of time to make a vaccine, during which the virus would be able to spread.

A rooster is held in a cage on a farm on January 23, 2023 in Austin, Texas. The poultry industry as well as private flocks are suffering a health crisis as the bird flu continues to spread across the United States. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Despite conservative news outlets pushing the sales of raw milk, scientists unanimously agree that its not a good idea to drink it. Pasteurization is a process most commercial milk goes through that kills not only viruses but bacteria and other pathogens that may be present in dairy.

Raw milk from sick cows has a good load of viable virus, while the exact risk to humans is not known, Rajnarayanan said. It's playing with wildfire when you consume raw milk loaded with a viable virus.

Notably, cats that consumed raw milk from infected cows died.

Even without a H5N1 outbreak in cows, raw milk is not safe because of bacteria that can severely sicken people, Jetelina said. Theres a reason why we have had pasteurization for over 100 years nit works.

With H5N1, she said, there is added unknown risk.

We know that it is in raw milk, however how sick it will make people is still under investigation, she said. The risks, though, are presumed to greatly outweigh benefits.

I am starting to worry more now, Hartmann said. The virus wants to make a successful jump from birds to cows and to humans. It continues to spread in herds [and] has changed in humans to some extent as well. The first two confirmed cases had only conjunctivitis, this last individual developed respiratory illness. Once it gets to the lungs, it becomes much easier to spread. These are reasons to really be alert.

Poulsen said he is worried that the virus will become endemic in the countrys dairy cattle population, which could create significant long-term health and productivity problems.

The longer that this virus is allowed to propagate unchecked, the risk of human health problems goes up, Poulsen said. I worry now that we are not doing effective surveillance and we are not providing industry with the tools they need to control the disease.

He added that if the H5N1 variant that is circulating, it becomes endemic.

We do not want H5N1 that is circulating to become endemic and be in the same position as Asia and Mexico, but we are handling the disease in a similar way, Poulsen said.

Indeed, most experts expressed a concern that the lack of data and surveillance is a major issue. Jetelina said the government isnt doing even close to enough testing on animals and humans.

I dont think its because they dont want to, but rather there are very real challenges on the ground, including lack of trust, she said. Building partnerships with the front line is the most urgent thing we need to do to get a better handle on this.

Rasmussen said part of the issue with testing is that it requires a collaboration between multiple state and local agencies, as well as the USDA and CDC, which dont always cooperate. It also requires participation and consent from the affected farms.

As a result its hard to know how much testing has been done and how much will be done going forward, Rasmussen said. It can differ a lot by jurisdiction.

Poulsen elaborated and said there are too many legal and political barriers to testing, and that the laws differ for poultry and cattle.

I will start worrying once wastewater H5 levels increase in a location and it starts to correlate with an increase in human cases, Rajnarayanan said. If we wait till it starts translating into ER department visits and hospital ICUs, then it will be too late.

Read more

about public health

Here is the original post:

Experts say bird flu is a Pandora's box. Are we about to open it? - Salon