Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

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News Scan for May 24, 2022

Parts of Australia report early-season flu surge

Flu levels are up sharply in some Australian states, putting pressure on healthcare systems that are also coping with ongoing COVID-19 activity and prompting more efforts to get more people vaccinated against flu.

  • Australia flu spike
  • Avian flu in Alberta skunks, US poultry

News Scan for May 23, 2022

COVID-related thyroiditis still detectable 1 year later in some patients

While COVID-19–related thyroid inflammation usually resolves shortly after the acute illness, about half of participants in a study presented today at the 24th European Congress of Endocrinology still had thyroid abnormalities a year later. The congress is being held May 21 to 24 in Milan, Italy.

  • COVID-19 and thyroid dysfunction
  • Peanut butter Salmonella
  • Fourth DRC Ebola death
  • Unexplained hepatitis in UK
  • More avian flu in 3 states

News Scan for May 20, 2022

Study: Omicron caused 3 times as many deaths as Delta in Massachusetts

More adults died of COVID-19 in Massachusetts in the first 8 weeks of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant surge than in the entire 23-week Delta period, suggests a modeling study published today in JAMA.

  • Omicron vs Delta deaths
  • Waning COVID vaccine immunity
  • Avian flu in US, Gabon
  • Polio cases in Africa

Flu Scan for May 19, 2022

Swine-variant H1N1 flu infects German resident of pig farming region

Germany recently reported a swine-origin variant H1N1 (H1N1v) influenza infection, which was identified during routine surveillance, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in a statement.

  • German H1N1v flu case
  • Avian flu outbreaks in 7 states

News Scan for May 18, 2022

Meta-analysis supports shorter antibiotic course for kids' pneumonia

A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials of antibiotic treatment for children with community-acquired pneumonia provides further support for shorter treatment duration, Finnish researchers reported yesterday in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

  • Fewer antibiotics for kids' pneumonia
  • Polio in Mozambique
  • H5N6 avian flu death in China
  • Avian flu strikes NJ poultry
  • Salmonella in European chocolate

News Scan for May 17, 2022

Machine-learning models may detect patients at risk for long COVID-19

Machine-learning models created by a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported research team can identify, with high accuracy, patients likely to have long COVID, according to a study yesterday in The Lancet Digital Health.

  • Predicting long-COVID risk
  • H5N1 avian flu risk to people
  • Antibiotic-resistance progress in US
  • More UK monkeypox cases
  • HPV vaccine protection
  • MERS in Oman

News Scan for May 16, 2022

Trial suggests awake prone position doesn't cut need for intubation in COVID

A randomized, controlled trial of 400 adults hospitalized for COVID-19–related respiratory failure suggests that awake prone positioning doesn't significantly reduce the need for endotracheal intubation at 30 days, but the authors caution that the effect size was imprecise and a therapeutic benefit cannot be ruled out.

  • Awake prone positioning for COVID-19
  • More avian flu in 4 states
  • New UK monkeypox cases

News Scan for May 13, 2022

Michigan reports avian flu in fox kits as US outbreaks increase

Michigan's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) yesterday reported three highly pathogenic avian flu cases in red fox kits in three different counties, which came closely on the heels of a similar report from Minnesota.

  • More avian flu in US foxes
  • Qatari MERS cases
  • Unexplained hepatitis in Europe
  • Polio in Africa

News Scan for May 12, 2022

Avian flu infects Minnesota fox kit; more poultry outbreaks in 4 states

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) yesterday announced that a wild fox in Anoka County near Minneapolis has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian flu, which follows similar detections in Canadian foxes that marked the first known wild mammal infections in North America.

  • High-path avian flu in Minnesota fox
  • Hospital C difficile intervention

News Scan for May 11, 2022

Study suggests link between diet and antibiotic resistance in gut bacteria

A study published yesterday in mBio suggests a diverse, high-fiber diet is associated with fewer antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in gut bacteria.

  • Diet and antibiotic resistance
  • More unexplained hepatitis in kids
  • Avian flu in 5 states

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