Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)

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News Scan for Oct 01, 2020

Loss of taste or smell accurately predicts COVID-19, study finds

A study shows four out of five people with recent loss of smell and/or taste tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies, and 39.8% of those did not have a cough or fever.

  • COVID and loss of taste or smell
  • Psychiatric diagnosis and COVID-19
  • DRC Ebola deaths rise
  • HPV vaccine and cervical cancer
  • Monkeypox in DRC
  • Avian flu in Vietnam

News Scan for Sep 29, 2020

US public sees frontline workers as first priority for COVID vaccine

A JAMA Network Open survey study of US adults' preferences for COVID-19 vaccine allocation in the event of a limited supply ranks frontline medical workers, high-risk children, and high-risk older adults as highest priority for vaccine distribution.

  • COVID vaccine priority groups
  • Carbapenem-resistant bacteria over time
  • Avian flu in Russia, Taiwan

News Scan for Sep 23, 2020

Florida reports more dengue cases in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties

The Florida Department of Health (Florida Health) this week announced that a second local dengue case has been reported from Miami-Dade County, and last week it confirmed another local dengue case in Monroe County, raising the total in the county, which includes the Florida Keys, to 56.

  • More local dengue cases in Florida
  • Avian flu outbreaks in 3 nations

News Scan for Sep 21, 2020

COVID-19 pandemic tied to worse stress, depression among US adults

Acute stress and depression rates rose in US adults as COVID-19 cases and deaths accumulated from mid-March to mid-April, largely related to preexisting mental and physical conditions and stressors such as job and wage loss, according to a study of 6,514 people from three large, nationally representative cohorts.

  • COVID-19 and stress, depression
  • Incentives for antibiotic development
  • New DRC Ebola case
  • More avian flu in poultry

News Scan for Sep 17, 2020

High COVID-19 viral load in hospital patients tied to higher risk for death

High SARS-CoV-2 viral load at hospital admission may place patients with and without cancer at higher risk for death, a new multicenter observational study published in Cancer Cell suggests.

  • High viral load and COVID-19 death
  • Eastern equine encephalitis in Indiana
  • Avian flu in Kazakhstan

News Scan for Sep 14, 2020

Experts: Using death certificates alone undercounts COVID-19 fatalities

A group of experts from Stanford and Harvard universities, as well as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, propose a new model for measuring direct, indirect, and excess deaths from COVID-19 in the United States, and they say relying solely on death certificates likely undercounts the true death toll COVID-19 has taken in the United States. Their proposal is published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

  • COVID-19 death counts
  • Marriage and pandemic well-being
  • CWD expansion in Norway
  • Three more Ebola cases
  • H5N8 avian flu in Russia

News Scan for Sep 11, 2020

Report shows steep declines in antibiotic use on British poultry farms

A report this week from the British Poultry Council (BPC) shows steep reductions in antibiotic use in recent years.

  • Antibiotic use falls in UK poultry
  • Orphan drug designation for antibiotic peptide
  • Five more DRC Ebola cases
  • More polio in 5 countries
  • Avian flu in Vietnam

News Scan for Sep 04, 2020

Early trials of Russian COVID-19 vaccine show safety, immune response

Today The Lancet published the results of two nonrandomized trials (called Sputnik V) of a Russian COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which showed no serious adverse events and demonstrated that the vaccine elicited an antibody response in study participants within 21 days of administration. The phase 1/2 trials were conducted in 76 healthy adults.

  • Russian COVID-19 vaccine data
  • Prioritizing COVID vaccines
  • CWD not spread in ticks
  • Polio in 3 countries
  • Avian flu in Russia

News Scan for Sep 02, 2020

Waning MMR immunity, vaccine hesitancy, could mean more measles outbreaks

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 62 studies has found that immunity conferred by the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine fades each subsequent year, suggesting that vaccination strategies should be revisited.

  • Fading measles immunity over time
  • Few global flu detections
  • Avian flu in Russia, Taiwan

News Scan for Aug 27, 2020

Study: Feedback, education reduced antibiotic prescribing in telemedicine

Individualized prescribing feedback and education in a telemedicine practice significantly decreased antibiotic prescribing rates for upper respiratory infection (URI) and bronchitis compared with education alone, US researchers reported yesterday in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

  • Telemedicine antibiotic stewardship
  • DRC Ebola case rise
  • Severe dengue after Zika
  • Mosquito-borne viruses in US
  • Avian flu in Australia, Russia

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