U.S. may repeat COVID-19 mistakes with bird flu

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• 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the U.S.
• Lack of preparedness and preemptive strategies
• Investment in and funding of major health organizations needed
• Misinformation and vaccine hesitancy remain high

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The spread of H5N1 bird flu among animals and the risks for humans

• The H5N1 bird flu has been spreading widely among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals, increasing the chances of human exposure and potential infection.
• Officials are urging people who have contact with sick or dead birds to take precautions, including wearing respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry.
• The growing presence of H5N1 in the environment highlights the need for continued monitoring and preparedness to prevent a potential outbreak among humans.

Source

HuffPost

The Current Situation of Bird Flu Outbreak in the US

• Since January 2022, more than 130 million birds, including commercial poultry, have been infected with H5N1 bird flu in the US.
• The virus has also sickened more than 900 dairy herds in 16 states, after it spilled into dairy cows for the first time in April 2024.
• Of the 66 confirmed human cases of bird flu in the US last year, most had exposure to dairy cows or poultry and culling operations, while the exact source of exposure is unknown in three cases.

Source

WIRED

Lack of Preemptive Strategies in Handling Bird Flu

• High-risk individuals like farm workers should be offered a bird flu vaccine to mitigate the spread of the disease
• Lack of testing early on underestimates the amount of cases and severity of infections throughout the country
• Reactive testing after cases have already been confirmed remains reminiscent of the lack of testing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Source

Forbes

Investing in Research and Funding for Effective Therapies

• Research and funding should be in place to discover effective treatments to target bird flu, especially since the virus can mutate and render known treatments ineffective.
• A specific monoclonal antibody against the bird flu virus does not exist currently, and Tamiflu is the only known effective anti-viral medication against both the common flu and the bird flu.
• Investing in and funding major health organizations is crucial to finding the best and most effective therapies to combat the virus.

Source

Forbes

Bird flu cases in the US and the risk to humans

• People who work with birds, poultry or cows, or have recreational exposure to them, are at higher risk of contracting bird flu.
• California has reported the highest number of confirmed cases in dairy cattle, out of a total of 917 cases in the US.
• The virus has mutated inside a Louisiana patient, which could allow the virus to better bind to receptors in the upper airways of humans, but there has been no recorded human-to-human transmission.

Source

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