Five things to know about bird flu

There have been major outbreaks around the world in the recent past, including four from 2014 to 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So what makes this time different, and at what point should you be concerned?

Here are five things you should know about bird flu.

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Will your last COVID vaccine work against new ‘FLiRT’ variants?

...Both FLiRT variants are considered very similar to JN.1, health officials say, with early data suggesting only a couple of changes in their spike proteins.

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However, because the FLiRT variants are relatively new, there isn’t enough data to show whether the vaccine or immunity from a recent case of COVID will provide effective protection against them.

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A cyberattack forces a big US health system to divert ambulances and take records offline A cyberattack on the Ascension health system operating in 19 states across the U.S. forced some of its 140 hospitals to divert ambulances, caused patients to postpone medical tests and blocked online access to patient records. AP News

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US government announces new financial incentives for farms to stem the spread of bird flu in dairy cattle | CNN The US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture announced on Friday a new plan to pay dairy farmers and farm workers to take steps to prevent the spread of H5N1 bird flu. Brenda Goodman CNN

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Measles case confirmed as experts fear UK faces worst outbreak in 12 years A person who attended Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales has been found to have had measles as experts fear the UK faces the worst outbreak of the infection in 12 years tim-hanlon The Mirror

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Almost 900 cases of the virus have been recorded in 2024 so far, compared with 368 cases recorded 2023, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), meaning England has seen more cases of the disease in the first four months of this year, than in the whole of last year.

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Researchers estimate vaccines have saved 154 million lives over past half-century

An international team of health and medical researchers including workers at the WHO, working with economists and modeling specialists, has found that the use of vaccines to prevent or treat disease has saved the lives of approximately 154 million people over the past half-century.

In their study, published in The Lancet, the group used mathematical and statistical modeling to develop estimates for lives saved due to vaccines and then added them together to find the total.

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Farmers resist push for workers to wear protective gear against bird flu virus While the bird flu virus risk to the general public is still very low, the threat is more significant for farm workers in contact with cows. Sarah Owermohle STAT

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this week that dairy and poultry farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers in a bid to stave off human transmission of the H5N1 virus. The challenge now is making it happen.

US to post influenza A wastewater data online to assist bird flu probe, official says The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to post data on influenza A found in wastewater in a public dashboard possibly as soon as Friday that could offer new clues into the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in cattle herds. Julie Steenhuysen Reuters

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Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID After the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders worldwide vowed to do better next time but are still struggling to finalize a global plan. The World Health Organization is overseeing an effort to come up with an agreement for responding to the next pandemic. AP News

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