Category: Flu Virus

PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: His chickens tested positive for avian flu.

Following government rules, Webers company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens 550,000 birds to prevent the disease from infecting other farms in Sonoma County north of San Francisco.

Its a trauma. Were all going through grief as a result of it, said Weber, standing in an empty hen house. Petaluma is known as the Egg Basket of the World. Its devastating to see that egg basket go up in flames.

A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, the disease known as highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that devastated poultry farms in the Midwest.

The highly contagious virus has ravaged Sonoma County, where officials have declared a state of emergency. During the past two months, nearly a dozen commercial farms have had to destroy more than 1 million birds to control the outbreak, dealing an economic blow to farmers, workers and their customers.

Merced County in Central California also has been hit hard, with outbreaks at several large commercial egg-producing farms in recent weeks.

Experts say bird flu is spread by ducks, geese and other migratory birds. The waterfowl can carry the virus without getting sick and easily spread it through their droppings to chicken and turkey farms and backyard flocks through droppings and nasal discharges.

California poultry farms are implementing strict biosecurity measures to curb the spread of the disease. State Veterinarian Annette Jones urged farmers to keep their flocks indoors until June, including organic chickens that are required to have outdoor access.

Ettamarie Peterson holds a chicken at her farm in Petaluma, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. Shes concerned her flock of 50 hens could be infected with avian flu. Jan. 11, 2024. A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, the disease known as highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that that devastated poultry farms in the Midwest. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

We still have migration going for another couple of months. So weve got to be as vigilant as possible to protect our birds, said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.

The loss of local hens led to a spike in egg prices in the San Francisco Bay Area over the holidays before supermarkets and restaurants found suppliers from outside the region.

While bird flu has been around for decades, the current outbreak of the virus that began in early 2022 has prompted officials to slaughter nearly 82 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens, in 47 U.S. states, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whenever the disease is found the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread of the virus.

The price of a dozen eggs more than doubled to $4.82 at its peak in January 2023. Egg prices returned to their normal range as egg producers built up their flocks and outbreaks were controlled. Turkey and chicken prices also spiked, partly due to the virus.

I think this is an existential issue for the commercial poultry industry. The virus is on every continent, except for Australia at this point, said Maurice Pitesky, a poultry expert at the University of California, Davis.

Climate change is increasing the risk of outbreaks as changing weather patterns disrupt the migratory patterns of wild birds, Pitesky said. For example, exceptional rainfall last year created new waterfowl habitat throughout California, including areas close to poultry farms.

In California, the outbreak has impacted more than 7 million chickens in about 40 commercial flocks and 24 backyard flocks, with most of the outbreaks occurring over the past two months on the North Coast and Central Valley, according to the USDA.

Industry officials are worried about the growing number of backyard chickens that could become infected and spread avian flu to commercial farms.

Chickens stand in a holding pen at Ettamarie Petersons farmin Petaluma, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. There are concerns that the flock of 50 hens could be infected with avian flu. A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, the disease known as highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that that devastated poultry farms in the Midwest. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

We have wild birds that are are full of virus. And if you expose your birds to these wild birds, they might get infected and ill, said Rodrigo Gallardo, a UC Davis researcher who studies avian influenza.

Gallardo advises the owners of backyard chickens to wear clean clothes and shoes to protect their flocks from getting infected. If an unusual number of chickens die, they should be tested for avian flu.

Ettamarie Peterson, a retired teacher in Petaluma, has a flock of about 50 chickens that produce eggs she sells from her backyard barn for 50 cents each.

Im very concerned because this avian flu is transmitted by wild birds, and theres no way I can stop the wild birds from coming through and leaving the disease behind, Peterson said. If your flock has any cases of it, you have to destroy the whole flock.

A grocery store employee stocks cartons of eggs for display at a Petaluma Market in Sonoma County, on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, where avian flu infections shut down a cluster of egg farms in recent months. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Sunrise Farms, which was started by Webers great-grandparents more than a century ago, was infected despite putting in place strict biosecurity measures to protect the flock.

The virus got to the birds so bad and so quickly you walked in and the birds were just dead, Weber said. Heartbreaking doesnt describe how you feel when you walk in and perfectly healthy young birds have been just laid out.

After euthanizing more than half a million chickens at Sunrise Farms, Weber and his employees spent the Christmas holiday discarding the carcasses. Since then, theyve been cleaning out and disinfecting the hen houses.

Weber hopes the farm will get approval from federal regulators to bring chicks back to the farm this spring. Then it would take another five months before the hens are mature enough to lay eggs.

He feels lucky that two farms his company co-owns have not been infected and are still producing eggs for his customers. But recovering from the outbreak wont be easy.

We have a long road ahead, Weber said. Were going to make another run of it and try to keep this family of employees together because theyve worked so hard to build this into the company that it is.

View original post here:

Avian flu is devastating poultry farms, egg production in California - The Associated Press

Scientists have confirmed the first known deaths from a contagious and highly pathogenic avian influenza strain called H5N1 in some Antarctic penguin species. H5N1 first arrived in the Antarctic in late 2023 and the virus has now been confirmed in some Gentoo penguins that were found dead in the Falkland Islands. Over 20 Gentoo chicks have been reported dead from the virus or are showing symptoms of bird flu. Other Gentoo penguins have been reported sick or dead at this same location, according to the Falkland Islands Department of Agriculture.

[Related: Seal pup die-off from avian flu in Argentina looks apocalyptic.]

Additionally, at least one King penguin is suspected to have died from bird flu. According to the Antarctic Wildlife Health Network which is part of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, this would be the first death from bird flu in this species. The suspected case was reported on South Georgia island, about 900 miles east of the Falklands. However, the extent of the virus spread is still being reviewed and this death has yet to be officially confirmed.

We have no conclusive evidence that king penguin populations in South Georgia have been impacted by the virus, Laura Willis, the chief executive of the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, told The New York Times in an email. We are monitoring the situation across the islands and apply a precautionary approach, which includes closing some sites to allow further investigations to take place.

The penguins in the Antarctic likely do not have any existing immunity to this pathogenic virus. They also breed in large colonies with cramped conditions, so it can spread rapidly if one bird is infected. More than 500,000 seabirds have died since the virus arrived in South America last year, with pelicans, boobies, and penguins among the hardest hit animals. Chile reported the deaths of thousands of Humboldt penguins. Mass deaths of elephant seals have since been reported, as well as increased deaths of kelp gulls and brown skua.

The arrival of this H5N1 virus in the Antarctic towards the end of last year rang alarm bells because of the risk it posed to wildlife in this fragile ecosystem, molecular virologist at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research Ed Hutchinson told The Guardian. And while it is very sad to hear reports of penguins dying it is unfortunately not at all surprising.

No infections have been reported on the Antarctic mainland, but the virus could be currently spreading there undetected.

In 1996, H5N1 was first detected in China. The virus had been largely confined to domesticated birds for several years, but has been spreading quickly in wild populations since 2021. Bird flu spreads through air droplets and bird feces. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society, it has been exacerbated by alterations to bird migration schedules due to human-caused climate change and repeated re-circulation in domestic poultry.

[Related: Thriving baby California condor is a ray of hope for the unique species.]

Scientists confirmed that the virus jumped to wild mammals in May 2022 and it has since been detected in dozens of mammals including pumas, foxes, skunks, and brown bears. Almost 96 percent of elephant seal pups living at three breeding sites in Patagonia, Argentina died from bird flu in 2023.

It also continues to spread through wildlife populations on the other side of the world. In December 2023, officials in Alaska confirmed that a polar bear had died of H5N1 in the Arctic for the first time.

The World Health Organization has urged public health officials to prepare for a potential spillover to humans in the future. Initially, scientists thought that mammals could only catch the virus through contact with infected birds. While cases of humans getting infected and seriously ill from bird flu are rare, the more it spreads among mammals, the easier it will be for the virus to evolve to spread.

See the article here:

Antarctic penguins are now dying from the H5N1 strain of bird flu - Popular Science

Delawares Division of Public Health confirms six suspected flu-related deaths in the state this influenza season.

According to DPH all six suspected flu-related deaths occurred in December 2023. All victims were over 55 with one reportedly up to date on their flu vaccination.

Three were New Castle County residents, two were from Sussex County, and one resident was from Kent County.

In total, nearly 3600 (3,594) flu cases have been reported through January 20 for the 2023-2024 influenza season that started last October 1st.

DPH says so far only 30.3% of the population has gotten a flu shot, but notes getting the vaccine is important for all ages 6 months and older to prevent serious illness, hospitalizations, and death resulting from the flu virus.

So far there have been 110 hospitalizations from the flu.

If you are sick with the flu, antiviral drugs may be a treatment option, and they work best when started early -- one-to-two days after flu symptoms begin.

To reduce the spread of flu and other viruses, DPH encourages people to get vaccinated, stay home if sick, cover coughs and sneezes, and to wash hands frequently.

Follow this link:

DPH confirms six flu-related deaths, calls for more flu vaccinations - Delaware First Media

Scientists have so far confirmed 14 avian flu cases among Antarcticas gentoo penguins. The deadly virus, first detected on the continent in October 2023, has decimated bird and mammal populations in recent months.

A deadly type of avian flu has begun spreading among Antarctic penguins for the first time, just four months after the virus was first detected on the continent.

According to Scientific Committee on Antarctic Researchs (SCAR) data, 14 out of 35 cases of H5N1 avian influenza virus among gentoo penguins have so far been confirmed via PCR test, though Reuters on Wednesday reported that the government of the Falkland Islands, a subantarctic region off the southern tip of Argentina, has identified over 200 dead chicks alongside a handful of adults and was awaiting test results from rockhopper penguins as it prepared for a large-scale outbreak.

Ralph Vanstreels, a veterinarian working with SCAR, told Reuters that is is unlikely that gentoo penguins which are native to sub-Antarctic islands will spread the deadly virus to the southern continent, as these animals very rarely travel between the Falklands and the Antarctic Peninsula, located at about 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) to the south.

Vanstreels theory was challenged by two animal health groups, which in an update issued on December 22, 2023, warned of further avian flu spread in the Antarctica region and said there is a moderate likelihood that the virus will reach Oceania the only region in the world yet to detect any cases of the H5N1 clade.

Migratory birds are believed to be the main vector of the deadly strain of avian influenza or bird flu that has spread out rapidly across the northern hemisphere in the past two years.

Since January 2022, over 11,400 bird outbreaks defined as an occurrence of one or more cases in a group of animals with a defined epidemiologic relationship were identifiedacross 84 member countries of the World Organisation for Animal Health, with France reporting the highest number. In the US alone between January 2022 and December 27, 2023, the virus was detected in more than 8,500 wild birds in 50 states or territories and more than 1,000 commercial and backyard flocks, affecting nearly 80 million birds.

Unfortunately, it is not just birds that have been subjected to this virus.

This strain, dubbed a spillover event, has affected many mammals including otters, farmed foxes and minks, domesticated cats and dogs, and sea lions with 300 outbreaks globally recorded between May 2022 and December 27, 2023, and even humans with 19 sporadic cases reported from eight countries in the same timeframe, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

While the high mortality rate of avian influenza is hugely alarming, the new strain of H5N1 has been classified as low risk as the genetic modification it would require to move between humans is quite substantial. Reassuringly, H5N1 has been around since 1996 and this specific genetic mutation has not yet happened.

Featured image: South Georgia, South Atlantic Ocean. Photo by Edwin Lee (November 2023)

You might also like: Unprecedented Avian Flu Outbreak Continues to Decimate Bird Populations

See the rest here:

Avian Flu Spreads to Antarctic Penguins - EARTH.ORG

Dr. Al Dababneh: Respiratory viruses are fairly common, especially in the fall and winter months. So the fact that we see a rise in those cases during that time really is not surprising. Really, the newcomer on the scene is really just the COVID-19 virus, but we've been seeing RSV and influenza for a very long time, and we've been talking about influenza and RSV for a very long time, even before COVID kind of hit the scene. So it shouldn't be a surprise to your viewers that we see a rise in the cases of RSV and influenza in the winter or fall months. Really, I would take this opportunity to kinda reinforce some of the things that we usually discuss around this time of the year. So, you know, personal hygiene etiquette, so, you know, coughing in your elbow, washing your hands, and really, a very thing to kind of discuss with your provider would be the vaccinations that are available. And I know there's a lot of vaccine hesitancy out there, especially coming out of the pandemic, but really, if patients have questions, concerns, they're doing their own research online, that's great, but they should really discuss what they're reading with their provider so that they can get the benefit of their experience and their clinical expertise.

Marisa Wojcik: Do you, have you seen patients with the JN.1 COVID virus?

Dr. Al Dababneh: Yeah, it's the most dominant strain of COVID-19 right now. And we are seeing it on the inpatient side. Really, the story of viral strains is not new. By nature of the virus, the virus is gonna change over time. Really, what you're seeing is evolution in action with these viruses. Mutations happen, viruses adapt, and they change over time. So the fact that we're seeing a new viral strain shouldn't be surprising. And I would kinda enforce that discussion with your provider because there's a lot of misinformation out there above vaccines, what they do and what they don't do.

Marisa Wojcik: Are any of these particularly serious this season?

Dr. Al Dababneh: So, you know, by nature of my work, I'm always seeing patients with RSV, influenza and COVID and I tend to see kind of the more severe cases. So it's not surprising during this time of year to see a death related to influenza, COVID-19, or RSV. And those are things that are happening all across the US and then in different states. And then each year, you know, the CDC estimates anywhere from 100 to 300 deaths related to RSV in kids under five. And, you know, the same thing, we're seeing, the same thing with influenza, we're seeing the same thing with COVID. So there's a lot of morbidity and mortality that's attached to all three of these viruses, RSV, influenza and COVID.

Marisa Wojcik: Is there still a gap between Paxlovid being available and getting it into the hands of patients that need it?

Dr. Al Dababneh: You know, it's available. I think the gap that's there is patients kind of reaching out to their providers with that, "Hey, I'm not feeling well. maybe I should get tested." Or if they've already had a test, that they can contact their provider with that positive result. And really, the thing that's lagging behind is the vaccination still. I think the emphasis should be placed on kind of reassuring patients and then educating patients and then kind of reinforcing what's already been known about the vaccines that we've had available for quite some time now.

Marisa Wojcik: With so many different viruses swirling around now and COVID becoming a little bit more endemic, is it difficult for people to know, should I get tested and is it worth it?

Dr. Al Dababneh: Absolutely. There's a lot of overlap in terms of symptoms between RSV, COVID and influenza and it's really hard, even for clinicians, to make a differentiation between the flu, RSV and COVID. You know, a lot of hospitals have all three tests packaged into one, just because of that overlap. So I think it's gonna be really difficult for patients to figure out which one of the three they have. I would encourage them if they're not feeling well, to reach out to their provider and get tested. I think a lot of patients have the test at home kits for COVID, and that's an easy one to test for. But if they're not feeling well, then by all means, they should get tested.

Visit link:

Dr. Al Dababneh on a winter wave of respiratory viruses - PBS Wisconsin

Ms Heathman said that scientists are now awaiting test results from more of the islands penguins and are preparing for a large-scale outbreak of bird flu.

The newly recorded deaths confirm for the first time that gentoo penguins are susceptible to the disease. While gentoos do not have a yearly migration cycle like other penguins, experts say they could serve as a local reservoir of infection.

Scientists have been nervously watching H5N1, which largely spreads between birds but can also be transmitted by certain mammal species, travel down South America for months.

Last year, an outbreak of bird flu killed 220 flamingoes in north-western Argentina, along with 100,000 boobies and 85,000 cormorants in Peru. Some 17,000 elephant seal pups have also died from the disease in Patagonia in recent months.

In October, The Telegraph reported that bird flu had been detected for the first time in Antarctica, a critical breeding ground for more than 100 million birds, as well as seals and sea lions. The cases were found among brown skua on Bird Island.

Hundreds of thousands of penguins gather in tightly packed colonies on the Antarctic continent and nearby islands, which could enable the deadly virus to easily jump between animals.

Some of these colonies are very dense, and when it takes hold it can spread quickly, said Dr Norman Ratcliffe, a seabird ecologist with the British Antarctic Survey, at the time.

More here:

Hundreds of penguin chicks die of bird flu in Falklands, millions more at risk - The Telegraph

NEW DELHI: A 63-year-old woman in China has reportedly died from an infection caused by a combination of H3N2 and H10N5 strains of bird flu. However, Beijing authorities have stated that the risk of human-to-human transmission is low. The woman, who already had existing health conditions, developed symptoms including cough, sore throat, fever, and others on November 30. Unfortunately, she passed away on December 16. The National Disease Control and Prevention Administration has reported that screenings of close contacts have shown no suspected cases or positive results. Analysis of the virus's whole genome sequence revealed that the H10N5 strain originated from birds and does not have the ability to effectively infect humans, according to the agency. "The outbreak is an episodic cross-species transmission from birds to humans," the administration stated. They also emphasized that the risk of the virus infecting people remains low, and there have been no instances of human-to-human transmission. China has huge populations of both farmed and wild birds of many species, creating an ideal environment for avian viruses to mix and mutate. Avian influenza or bird flu refers to the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses. These viruses naturally spread among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species. Bird flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with bird flu viruses have occurred, according to centres foe disease control and prevention.

Read this article:

Chinese woman dies from combined H3N2, H10N5 bird flu; Beijing says risk of human transmission low - IndiaTimes

The Falkland Islands government has confirmed that there have been two confirmed cases of bird flu among gentoo penguins on Sea Lion Island, which is part of the British overseas territory.

"Further results [are] pending, there are however many more dying in similar circumstances," a spokeswoman said. So far, more than 200 chicks and some adults have been found dead.

Sea Lion Island - a popular excursion destination - has been closed to visitors since January 19, as has Steeple Jason Island in the north-west.

Test results from rockhopper penguins are currently awaited from there, the spokeswoman added.

The government of the Falkland Islands has been working with the population for some time to prepare for a large-scale outbreak of the H5N1 virus.

"Everyone understands the importance of the wildlife in the Islands and that it is our duty to do as much as we can to protect it," the spokeswoman said.

As the British newspaper The Guardian reported, there is also at least one suspected case in a king penguin on the island of South Georgia, around 1,500 kilometres from the Falkland Islands, also a British overseas territory.

Only recently, British scientists announced that they had discovered bird flu in mammals near Antarctica for the first time. The pathogen had been detected in elephant seals and fur seals.

The virus was first detected in the region in October in brown skua on Bird Island near South Georgia.

Experts warn that the spread of the virus is jeopardizing Antarctica's unique ecosystem. There have also recently been several cases of bird flu in the Arctic.

View post:

Avian flu detected in penguins on Falkland Islands - Yahoo News

Estimated read time: 7-8 minutes

If you know or are someone who has been fighting off a case of the flu, COVID-19, or RSV in the early weeks of 2024, you are not alone. "The situation in Utah is quite ugly right now," says Andrew Pavia, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at University of Utah Health. "We are seeing a lot of influenza, a lot of RSV, and increasing amounts of COVID-19. It's hitting children particularly hard."

At Primary Children's Hospital, where Pavia serves as director of hospital epidemiology, the numbers and conditions of the young patients being admitted has had him especially concerned. "Primary Children's is running at about 100% occupancy, and some days we are going over that. It's the fact that the viruses are all hitting at once that makes it particularly difficult. And, moreover, we're seeing very serious complications."

Since December 2023, Pavia said he has seen about every known complication from influenza. "It can impact the heart and lead to heart failure in children and adults. The most common way it can cause more complicated illness is to open the door for serious bacterial infections like pneumonia and even infections in the sinuses that track into the brain."

Pavia acknowledged most patients with the flu won't face these complications, but it is still important to take the viruses seriously. "Of course, taking these viruses seriously means getting your vaccines," he said. "We have a totally safe and moderately effective vaccine for influenza, and this year's vaccine is a pretty good match for the virus."

Children and adults might still get sick, but Pavia emphasized that if you do get the vaccine, it should reduce the severity and length of the illness.

In December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sounded the alarm about low vaccination rates. The agency released figures that show about 7 million fewer adults have gotten their flu shots this season compared with the last virus season. The trends are just as worrisome here in Utah.

"We are concerned because in Utah, the rates of flu vaccinations have gone down in the last two years," Pavia said. "Young adults are the most likely group not to get vaccinated compared to previous years, but it is impacting children as well."

Explaining why vaccination rates for flu, COVID-19, and RSV continue to fall is difficult and discouraging for Pavia and his colleagues. Pavia suggested one possibility: "There's probably an element of general overall fatigue. We just survived a traumatic pandemic. People may just not want to think about it anymore. That's totally understandable as a society that we have a little PTSD."

There are also some more insidious and dangerous things going on, according to Pavia. "There's a lot of misinformation out there, including actual disinformation and lies," Pavia warned. He likens the reluctance to get vaccinated to choosing not to wear a seatbelt when you and your children head to work or school. "Most days, you are going to get to your destination safely, but one day you are going to be t-boned by a truck. On that day, having worn your seatbelt and having a car with airbags is going to be what saves your life."

Utah, along with the rest of the nation, is also seeing a "pretty significant" surge in COVID-19 cases, Pavia said. It's a little harder to pinpoint actual numbers, but there are indicators of what is currently happening.

"We aren't getting test results the way we used to, so we are getting a partial picture of what is going on," Pavia saids. "But our wastewater levels are very high, and we are seeing a marked increase in hospitalizations, particularly in those 70 and older and among very young children under 2 years old."

COVID-19 cases have not reached the level they did when the original omicron variant was spreading, and Pavia does not think they will. However, he is again frustrated by vaccination numbers. "Only 15% of people have gotten the updated COVID-19 vaccine, and that is really distressing." For some, mainly young adults who have been vaccinated in the past and had a case or two of COVID-19, they have probably built up their immunity and will be fine, according to Pavia.

Of course, there are a lot of other people who have heart disease, lung disease, are obese, have diabetes, are taking medications that suppress the immune system, or are over 70 or under 5 years old. Pavia said these are the people who need extra protection. He understands the confusion, especially for parents, about what vaccination advice to accept and what to ignore.

"Every time we see a child come into Primary Children's with a severe complication of influenza who didn't get vaccinated, to us it's just a failure," Pavia said. "It is a failure of us to communicate and teach. It's a failure of our medical system to make it easy for people, and it's a failure of our information ecosystem to make sure the information that is out there is reliable."

If medical professionals step up their game when it comes to distribution of reliable information on vaccines, Pavia said he hopes all adults, including parents, will take advantage of the protective measures that are available. "It's time to use the vaccines. There's still time. It would have been better to get vaccinated in October, but now is the time to get caught up."

It can be hard to earn the average patient's trust when it comes to disease prevention and treatment. But Pavia thinks a good place to start tackling the problem is with the family physician. "One of the best places to educate is in the clinician's office because year after year, it is clear that the most trusted source is your own health care provider."

Pediatricians, family practitioners, and nurse practitioners would need more time and incentives to offer better guidance on vaccines and medications. Pavia believes it would be more productive and cost-effective than asking the medical community to police the information on the internet. "But giving time for the most trusted voice for your family to talk to you about vaccines is not controversial," Pavia said.

In fact, those talks could be lifesaving ones since researchers continue to develop new forms of prevention and treatment. For the first time this flu and RSV season, doctors have a maternal immunization available to women who are between 32 and 36 weeks into their pregnancies.

"If they are going to have a baby who will be under 6 months during the RSV season, this vaccine will dramatically protect their child," Pavia said. "It's about 85% effective for infants during the first three months of life against medically attended RSV or being sick enough to go to the emergency room or hospital.".

A second exciting development introduced in 2023 is a medication designed to offer passive immunization to RSV for infants shortly after they are born. Pavia described it as a preparation of antibodies but noted it has recently been in short supply. He still encourages new parents to check on availability with their pediatricians.

With or without a vaccine, many Utahns will come down with the flu or COVID-19, and that is when it is worth patients asking their providers about antiviral medications. "These medications block the replication of the virus and can greatly decrease how sick you get," Pavia said. "In the case of COVID-19, it can greatly decrease the chance of hospitalization or even death."

For COVID-19, one medication is called Paxlovid and another is an injectable called Remdesivir. These are highly recommended for people with other high-risk medical conditions and for those over the age of 60. "If you fall into one of those groups, and you think you have COVID-19, you should test early and quickly because these medications can prevent serious complications," Pavia said.

This year and into the future, Pavia suggested it is important to remember that COVID-19 is not gone. "It's still killing almost twice as many people as the flu. It is something that we need to take seriously, even if we are no longer scared to death of it and it's not altering our lives and our society. That doesn't mean it's just a cold."

The new normal means people might need to behave a little differently, especially if we are at high risk of COVID-19 complications.

Pavia said there is no reason not to wear a high-quality mask on crowded planes or in theaters. "We think that the people most at risk are someone else. But if you add up all the risk factors, a lot of us really fall into one of those risk categories." Together, we are all in the fight to protect ourselves from getting seriously ill.

University of Utah Health

Continued here:

Fighting the trifecta of flu, COVID-19 and RSV viruses as Utah cases rise - KSL.com

Respiratory viruses sometimes hit you in pairs, meaning you can catch a cold or the flu along with COVID-19. Its called coinfection, but as far as scientists can tell right now, it doesnt happen very often. One review found that less than 1% of people with COVID-19 have also caught the flu at the same time.

In 2020, Israeli scientists dubbed a flu-COVID coinfection as flurona. Its important to note that while the names are combined, the viruses are not. Theyre still two distinct viruses that you can catch at the same time.

Theres evidence that when youre infected with a virus, it can sometimes be harder to get a second viral infection on top of that, says Luci Leykum, MD, chief clinical officer at Harbor Health in Austin, Texas.

There are several reasons why this seems to be the case. Your cells may be a poorer environment for a second virus to take hold. Or proteins on the surface of the cell are expressed a little differently right after an infection. But we dont know yet whether this effect, called viral interference, works in the same way with the viruses that cause COVID-19 and the flu. Scientists are still doing research to find out.

There was a major drop in cold and flu illnesses at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. But by spring 2021, flu and other virus activity began to rebound. This means a higher chance of coinfection. If you do get sick, here are some expert tips on how to get well.

Head over to WebMD to read the full story.

Excerpt from:

Treating a Cold or Flu When You Have COVID-19 - Vision Monday