Contagion

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is at odds with state officials and the dairy industry over its on-the-ground response to the avian flu outbreak spreading among dairy cows, complicating President Joe Biden’s efforts to track and contain a virus that has the potential to sicken millions of people.

Many farmers don’t want federal health officials on their property. State agriculture officials worry the federal response is sidelining animal health experts at the Agriculture Department, and also that some potential federal interventions threaten to hinder state and local health officials rushing to respond to the outbreaks.

ALSO SEE: A pandemic response that amounts to hoping and praying isn’t nearly enough.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about U.S. Farm states push back on Administration's bird flu response
Log in or register to post comments

US respiratory virus activity falls to low levels --CDC

Mon, 2024-05-06 10:43 — mike kraft

US respiratory virus activity tails off to low levels Though the flu season is winding down, the CDC received 10 more reports of pediatric flu deaths, including one from a flu A/flu B coinfection. CIDRAP

US indicators for flu, COVID, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) declined further last week, with no states reporting moderate, high, or very high activity, down from one the week before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday in its weekly updates. ...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about US respiratory virus activity falls to low levels --CDC
Log in or register to post comments

Information on 2 new COVID variants called 'FLiRT' that are spreading in the U.S.

Mon, 2024-05-06 10:28 — mike kraft

2 new COVID variants called 'FLiRT' are spreading in the U.S. What are the symptoms? The new "FLiRT" COVID-19 variants, including KP.2, are spreading in the United States. Will there be a summer surge? Experts discuss KP.2 transmission, symptoms, and vaccines. Yahoo News

Respiratory virus season may be ending in the United States, but a new group of COVID-19 variants are circulating, sparking concerns about a potential summer wave.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Situation Report

Read more about Information on 2 new COVID variants called 'FLiRT' that are spreading in the U.S.
Log in or register to post comments

Analysis: Why Bird flu is not a threat to most humans--yet. Q&A

Fri, 2024-05-03 11:31 — mike kraft

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Analysis

Situation Report

Read more about Analysis: Why Bird flu is not a threat to most humans--yet. Q&A
Log in or register to post comments

Mpox new strain that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak

Fri, 2024-05-03 10:46 — mike kraft

Congo struggles to contain its biggest mpox outbreak | AP News

A new form of mpox that may spread more easily found in Congo's biggest outbreak Scientists say a new form of mpox detected in a mining town in Congo might more easily spread among people. AP News

...

Country / Region Tags:

Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Problem

Situation Report

Read more about Mpox new strain that may spread more easily found in Congo’s biggest outbreak
Log in or register to post comments

COVID tests: High-risk patients with COVID symptoms should use PCR rather than rapid tests, study suggests

Fri, 2024-05-03 10:18 — mike kraft

High-risk patients with COVID symptoms should use PCR rather than rapid tests, study suggests Study findings that reveal a sensitivity of 47% for COVID-19 rapid antigen tests (RATs) compared with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests during Omicron variant predominance should prompt clinicians to consider using the latter test in high-risk patients eligible for antiviral drugs, the authors say. CIDRAP

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Analysis

U.S. dairy products, ground beef tested negative for bird flu--US Agriculture Department

Thu, 2024-05-02 10:29 — mike kraft

Pasteurization inactivates H5N1 bird flu in milk, new FDA and academic studies confirm Extensive testing of pasteurized commercially purchased milk and other dairy products from 38 states found no evidence of live H5N1 bird flu virus. Megan Molteni STAT

...

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags:

Problem, Solution, SitRep, or ?:

Analysis

Read more about U.S. dairy products, ground beef tested negative for bird flu--US Agriculture Department
Log in or register to post comments

U.S. data dashboard helps gauge effectiveness of state and local policies to mitigate COVID-19 impact.

Wed, 2024-05-01 17:12 — mike kraft

Study gauges effectiveness of COVID-19 burden mitigation policies

In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, researchers have created a dataset and data visualization dashboard to evaluate the effectiveness of state and territory-level policies enacted to reduce the severity of COVID-19's impact on older people served by home health care agencies and nursing homes.

The authors found many policies within states and territories did not correspond with reductions in community or nursing home-level COVID-19 burden (i.e. number of cases and mortality counts). This suggests that policy effectiveness may depend on implementation and compliance. The study also found that policies focused less on home health care agencies compared with nursing homes, despite both settings serving vulnerable older populations.

Country / Region Tags:

General Topic Tags: