In new H5N1 avian flu confirmations today, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) reported that the virus hit more flocks in four states, including another massive layer farm in Ohio, the nation’s second biggest poultry producer.

Over the past several weeks, Ohio has been one of main outbreak epicenters, with one of the latest events involving a commercial farm in Darke County that has more than 3 million birds, according to APHIS. The virus also struck another layer farm in Ohio’s Mercer County, a facility that has nearly 85,000 birds.

Elsewhere, the virus struck two more commercial farms in Indiana, another hard-hit state. The latest outbreaks occurred at a turkey farm in Washington County and a commercial duck-breeding facility in Elkhart County. The virus was also confirmed in backyard birds in two states, a location in Florida’s Broward County and a location in New York’s Delaware County.

Over the last 30 days alone, ongoing H5N1 outbreaks have led to the loss of nearly 19 million birds.

In dairy herd developments, over the last few days, APHIS confirmed one more detection, which involves another herd from Nevada. The state now has eight affected herds. Since the virus first emerged in dairy cattle about a year ago, detections have been reported in 973 herds across 17 states.

CDC updates status of two recent human cases

In updates on February 21, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed H5N1 in samples from an Ohio poultry worker whose illness was first reported on February 12. The CDC had initially listed as a probable case. 

In its latest FluView update, the CDC added a few more details about the two recent human cases, including the one from Ohio and a patient from Wyoming. It said the patient from Ohio worked on an outbreak farm and was involved in culling activities. The patient was hospitalized with respiratory and nonrespiratory symptoms and now recovering at home. Meanwhile, a recently reported patient from Wyoming who got sick after exposure to backyard poultry remains hospitalized after experiencing both respiratory and nonrespiratory symptoms. 

The CDC has confirmed 70 cases, one of them fatal, since early 2024. The agency has also recorded seven probable cases.

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) said today during the fourth Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum that Saudi Arabia has formally committed $500 million to end global polio.

"The world is on the path to eradicating polio once and for all, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proud to be part of this global initiative," said former Saudi health minister Abdullah al Rabeeah, MD, in a press release from GPEI. "The Kingdom's contribution will go toward the important work of protecting the most vulnerable children of today so that the generations of tomorrow can live free from this preventable disease."

Goal is to reach 370 million kids annually 

The funds will help vaccinated 370 million children annually to stop transmission of the wild type virus in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and vaccine-derived virus outbreaks in African countries, as well as conflict zones, the GPEI said. Last summer Gaza reported its first case of polio in 25 years.

As we saw in Gaza last year, the hard-won gains of the global eradication effort are fragile if vaccination rates are allowed to drop.

"As we saw in Gaza last year, the hard-won gains of the global eradication effort are fragile if vaccination rates are allowed to drop," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, JD, in the GPEI statement. "With the support of committed partners like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we can better reach every child with life-saving vaccination and end polio, once and for all."

The GPEI said polio cases have fallen globally by over 99% since the GPEI was founded in 1988.

A survey of hospitals in Ontario reveals that the incidence of carbapenemase-producing organisms (CPOs) doubled from 2022 to 2023, according to a report published last week by Public Health Ontario.

The survey, which was distributed to all public hospitals and microbiology labs in the province, found that 1,229 patients were either infected or colonized with a CPO in 2023, up from 560 patients in 2022. The overall rate of new patients with CPOs per 10,000 patients doubled, from 5.1 to 10.2. Of these new CPO patients, 98.2% were infected or colonized with Enterobacteriaceae organisms. The most commonly reported carbapenemase was New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase (55.2%), followed by Oxacillinase (26.0%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (13.7%).

Data from labs also showed increasing resistance to third-generation cephalosporins among Escherichia coli (from 9.6% in 2017 to 12.8% in 2023) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (4.7% to 9.2%) isolates, as well as rising resistance to ciprofloxacin among E coli isolates. Resistance to ciprofloxacin among E coli isolates climbed to 22.3% in 2023, the highest resistance levels reported to date.

MRSA incidence declining

Other key findings include a 17.5% decrease in the number of new patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from any specimen site compared with 2022 and a decline in the Clostridioides difficile positivity rate (from 12.1% in 2022 to 10.1% in 2023). The incidence of vancomycin-resistant enterococci remained stable, and Candida auris incidence remained rare, with only three cases reported in 2023. 

"The epidemiological data obtained from Ontario laboratories and hospital infection prevention and control programs helps in understanding the impact of AROs [antimicrobial-resistant organisms] and informs recommendations to prevent spread within our province," the report stated. "Continued and improved surveillance of AROs are necessary to understand the current landscape of resistance. Identifying regional variation in incidence of organisms can inform provincial and local decisions regarding appropriate application of infection control policies."

Another Indiana county is reporting its first case of chronic wasting disease (CWD), less than a year after the state's first detection.

A 2.5-year-old white-tailed buck in Posey County tested positive after being harvested by a hunter, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said in a news release late last week. 

The county is in the southwestern part of Indiana, on the border with CWD-positive Illinois and CWD-positive Kentucky, the far opposite of LaGrange County, where the state's first case was discovered in April 2024. LaGrange County abuts CWD-positive Michigan. The other state that borders Indiana, Ohio, has also reported cases of the fatal neurodegenerative disease.

During the 2025-2026 deer hunting season, DNR will enhance its surveillance efforts in Posey County and the surrounding counties to determine the extent of disease in this area.

"During the 2025-2026 deer hunting season, DNR will enhance its surveillance efforts in Posey County and the surrounding counties to determine the extent of disease in this area," the DNR said. "This will allow biologists to develop a targeted response based on the prevalence of CWD in this part of Indiana. CWD testing will be voluntary for hunters in this area."

Cooking doesn't neutralize prions

CWD, a disease of cervids such as deer, moose, and elk, is caused by infectious misfolded proteins called prions, which spread through direct contact and the environment.

The disease isn't known to infect people, but some experts fear it could cause illness similar to another prion disease, bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow" disease). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns against eating meat from infected animals, as cooking temperatures cannot deactivate prions.