Retiring Guy's Digest: Keeping tabs on human-to-human transmission of H5N1

Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Keeping tabs on human-to-human transmission of H5N1

Headline: AVMA News, 12/30/2024

The key is in the lock.....

Given H5N1's circulation among wild and migratory bird populations, along with clade 2.3.4.4b's knack for infecting a broad range of mammalians species and the associated morbidity and mortality rates, experts worry H5N1 will eventually mutate into a lethal strain capable of human-to-human transmission, setting off another pandemic.
However, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports, the current risk to individual and population health remains low and has not significantly changed from the most recent assessment done on a similar H5N1 virus that caused an outbreak among mink in 2023 in Spain.
That said, the virus strain found in dairy cows in the U.S. may only need one mutation for it to be able to spread among humans, according to a study published in the journal Science in early December.

Bird flu and normalcy bias. (12/30)

Bird poop will save us from the next pandemic. (12/29)

Iowa records first human case of bird flu. (12/28)

Wildlife sanctuary in Washington State provides on refuge from bird flu. (12/27)

Lax response by US government allows bird flu to spread nationwide. (12/22)

Iowa reports first human case of bird flu. (12/21)

Bird flu in humans; it's here in the USA. (12/20)

Bird flu emergency in California: 300 herds test positive in last 30 days. (12/19)

Bird flu in chickens: IT'S EVERYWHERE IT'S EVERYWHERE!! (12/18)

Simply deadly: Raw milk in an era of widespread bird flu. (12/17)

Coming soon to your cat: Bird flu. (12/16)

Bird flu has now reach 49 states and 560 counties. (12/15)