.U.S. FDA has more evidence pasteurization kills #H5N1 #birdflu virus in milk, saying it was unable to grow virus from some PCR-positive samples. Doesn't say how many samples it's tried yet, though.
Testing infant formula did not show evidence of H5. fda.gov/food/alerts-ad…

WHO says the risk of H5N1 bird flu is 'evolving with the virus and needs real-time monitoring.'

'WHO and partners are asking countries to rapidly share information to enable this.'

1 in 5 US retail milk samples test positive for H5N1 avian flu fragments

The highest concentrations were from regions where the virus has been found in dairy herds.

ow.ly/57Km50RouKb

Contaminated meat likely source of #avian flu that killed bush dogs in UK zoo, preprint suggests

The researchers urge caution in feeding shot wild birds to captive carnivores during outbreaks in wild birds.

cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenz…

Photo: Tambako the Jaguar / Flickr cc

#H5N1 viral fragments found in grocery store milk. Testing is being done to ensure there is no culturable/live virus present, but I suspect this is just due diligence rather than any real concern that there would be given pasteurization of milk. Couple of tweets below on my…

3/ I haven’t seen anything to suggest that transmission would be likely or even possible from this route so this is all likely just due diligence. The only case so far has been in a dairy farm worker with very close contact to infected cows. Not sure if there is any further…

2/ I suppose it isn’t surprising that we are finding viral fragments in milk supply once we test more samples & actually look for them. But, also important to report out once these samples are definitively negative in culture.

On #H5N1 in STAT by Drs Borio & Krause--> we are behind on diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and cleaner air if/when this virus heads further in the wrong direction.

statnews.com/2024/04/12/h5n…

👇

New mpox clade 1 lineage identified in DR Congo outbreak

Researchers said the new lineage may have been present in a local animal reservoir and that sustained spread is a concern for the DRC and other world regions.

ow.ly/MMQE50RizYQ

Photo: NIAID/Flickr cc

Crossing Species: The Rising Threat of H5N1 Bird Flu in the U.S.

A recent case in Texas shows possible mammal-to-human transmission, a first in the U.S.

Despite the low overall risk, those in close contact with infected animals remain at increased risk.

In this NYAS…

US measles cases top 120 as LA County tracks case with multiple exposures

The visitor to Los Angeles County had visited Universal Studios and several other public places.

ow.ly/HoR050RgEir

One of the challenges has been that the financial disincentives against testing/finding positives may outweigh the benefit to individual businesses.

Presenting the study design on our upcoming work investigating #Marburg virus seroprevalence in Mount Elgon, Kenya at the UTMB SPECTRE Program symposium on emerging infectious diseases. Great to have an awesome collaborating team from Stanford, University of Nairobi, UC Davis & CDC VSP.

Lancet preprint NIAID News #DuffyLab & USTTB Mali small study to optimize dose of #MalariaVax for future #Maternal studies.

tldr: PfSPZ vax SAFELY REDUCED parasitemia and clinical malaria for 2 seasons (without boosting) and FERTILITY INCREASED!

dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4… .../

The testing approach to H5N1 in cattle (in the link) needs to change substantially. USDA APHIS may be doing what it can now with minimal resources, but testing needs to expand, get simpler, more available and transparent.
aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/… 1/x

Important

Very interesting talk from The Menachery Lab on barriers to emergence of coronaviruses & how these are overcome to cause epidemics. UTMB SPECTRE Program UTMB Health

Currently at the UTMB Health UTMB SPECTRE Program 1st annual symposium — awesome opening keynote from Dr. Gregory Gray on zoonotic spillover including the #H5N1 situation here in Texas

Interested in reading this in more detail soon