New twist in the #H5N1 #birdflu in cows reporting saga. Dept. of Agriculture has upped the number of reported outbreaks to 36 in 9 states. The 2 newly reported outbreaks occurred in NM & were apparently confirmed on or before April 17, but only posted publicly today.
What's up with that?

As an advisor to @Cure345 Xchange challenge, I know first hand that @everycure AI-powered platform could change the way we approach repurposing of already approved drugs to find potential new treatments & cures for millions of patients who suffer from the most debilitating

Interesting #H5N1 preprint on wastewater just dropped.

medrxiv.org/content/10.110…
Three take-homes:

1. Can H5 be detected in wastewater? Yes, one company (Verily) now has an assay. It's 100% specific. Huge first step.

It’s not only they’re 2 shot vaccines, they’re made in eggs & cells w/ many limitations due to yield & immunogenicity. They will require additional of adjuvant and will take many months for supply ramp up.

Vietnam waited 2 years for flu vaccine in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.

We

Excellent 🧵 by Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA 🇺🇦 w/ critical data & outstanding questions.

Great to follow her for updates.

Very concerning again. I don’t think stockpile of oseltamivir/tamiflu is going to get us far in an H5N1 influenza outbreak in people. It’s highly susceptible to virus resistance w/ a single mutation & it’s modestly effective if given within first 1-2 days of infection. Without

4/ What's concerning is that the PB2 E627K mutation appeared quickly:
🔸the virus mutated in this individual
or
🔸there was evolutionary pressure selecting for this mutation from among sub-dominant species.

This is exactly what I’d expect from high path avian influenza H5N1 in many mammals. It’s a deadly virus. Any attempts to minimize the threat of this virus are irresponsible.

This virus can change easily, can spread swiftly, and cause great harm. There has never been such

“Expect the Unexpected”

For #H5N1 virus, critical not to make assumptions based on seasonal flu. Insist on data & transparency.

Great piece ⁦Helen Branswell 🇨🇦⁩ ⁦Thijs Kuiken⁩ ⁦Jürgen Richt⁩ Dr. Webby ⁦Florian Krammer⁩ STAT⁩ statnews.com/2024/04/29/bir…

Alex Witt Reports – 4/28/24 | 3PM topnewsshow.com/alex-witt-repo…

We’ll never get in front of this outbreak, and learn for the next, if we neglect to test all exposed workers and all cattle. If we don’t find a way to do so soon, this has a great potential to worsen.

Are there innovative low cost, rapid ways to test cattle?

Out of 33 dairy farms in 8 U.S. states (+1 dairy farm in Colorado), 23 people have been tested for highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by states. Less than 1 person per farm. This seems a clear answer to the question: “Are we testing enough for H5N1?”
medpagetoday.com/special-report…

Johan nature Michael Worobey If it goes human-human transmission, you don't want to know. Hopefully we won't see that. But we're not ready for that worst case scenario.

Detecting mutation in #H5N1 sequence from cow, associated w/ resistance neuraminidase inhibitor is significant concern; needs to be monitored very closely. Also imp to know if cows are being treated w/ drugs (was mutated sample collected before or after treatment)?

The US SNS