Wastewater testing specifically for bird flu virus will scale up nationally in coming weeks Specific testing for H5 flu virus in wastewater is scaling up nationwide through a partnership between universities, Verily, and philanthropies. Megan Molteni STAT

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Study shows vaccination lowers risk of long COVID COVID-19 patients vaccinated against the novel coronavirus were less likely to have symptoms of post-COVID condition (PCC), or long COVID, according to a new study in Nature Communications. CIDRAP

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In other long-COVID research news, a study in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases describes new estimates of long-COVID incidence and clinical study trends in a number of regions.

Avian flu is in cows in the US - is it inching closer to humans? The H5N1 strain of avian flu has been around since 1996, but until now its been largely confined to animals. But it has now jumped to cattle in America and some think it means we are inching towards eventual human-to-human infection, with potentially serious consequences. BBC News

... the (spread of the virus between states seems to be down to the movement of infected cows across state lines. ...

Reporting and surveillance of cattle movement in the US is poor compared with the UK and Europe where the BSE outbreaks of the mid-nineties led to all cows having to be tagged.

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Australia reports first human avian flu infection Australia reported its first human case of avian influenza on Wednesday in a child who authorities said had been infected in India but made a full recovery, while a different highly contagious strain was found on an egg farm. Peter Hobson Reuters

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Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd US case tied to dairy cows A Michigan farmworker has been diagnosed with bird flu in what is the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows. AP News

The male worker had been in contact with cows at a farm with infected animals. He experienced mild eye symptoms and has recovered, U.S. and Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday.

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COVID, other misinformation varies by topic, country on social media The UK maintained a relatively stable proportion between questionable and reliable retweets, while Germany had the highest rates of misinformation. CIDRAP

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-other-misinformation-varies-topic-country-social-media

States have legal duty to cut greenhouse emissions, says top maritime court Wealthy states must cut emissions faster than their developing peers, court says, in major step for climate justice The Guardian

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Long-COVID codes in health record may dramatically underestimate its prevalence Long COVID is likely much more prevalent than indicated in electronic health record (EHR) diagnostic or referral codes, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine researchers report in eClinicalMedicine. CIDRAP

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US says cyberattacks against water supplies are rising, and utilities need to do more to stop them The Environmental Protection Agency warns that cyberattacks against water utilities around the U.S. are becoming more frequent and more severe. AP News

WASHINGTON (AP) — Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water.

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