“Urgent CDC Data and Analyses on Influenza and Bird Flu Go Missing as Outbreaks Escalate”

By Amy Maxmen
“Flu has been brutal this season. The CDC estimates at least 24 million illnesses, 310,000 hospitalizations, and 13,000 deaths from the flu since the start of October. At the same time, the bird flu outbreak continues to infect cattle and farmworkers. But CDC analyses that would inform people about these situations are delayed, and the CDC has cut off communication with doctors, researchers, and the World Health Organization, say doctors and public health experts.
“CDC right now is not reporting influenza data through the WHO global platforms, FluNet [and] FluID, that they’ve been providing information [on] for many, many years,” Maria Van Kerkhove, interim director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness at the WHO, said at a Feb. 12 press briefing.”
to read the full article go to
https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cdc-data-analyses-missing-mmwr-bird-flu-seasonal-influenza/

“Is it time to worry about bird flu?”
by Kim Mas and Sean Collins

“The term pandemic tends to refer to the unchecked spread of a disease among humans; experts told me what we’re seeing here is a panzootic, which is essentially a pandemic that affects animals. This strain of bird flu is on every continent except Australia — and Australia has its own deadly strain going around. It’s also in our waters. It’s in dolphins, in seals, and in sea lions — in 2023, 24,000 sea lions washed up in South America, dead from avian flu.””
“The thing experts are keeping an eye on is the amount of contact humans (and species that have a lot in common with humans) have with infected animals. The more contact this strain of bird flu has with various animals, the more opportunities it has to replicate. With each replication comes the possibility for genetic reassortment and mutations — basically for changes to the virus’s structure that could alter its characteristics. Those changes could make it into something that spreads more easily among humans.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.vox.com/explainers/399776/auto-draft

“Bird flu case with “flu-like symptoms” reported in Colorado, 1 person hospitalized”

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a third U.S. bird flu hospitalization, Wyoming’s health department said Friday after a woman was admitted to a healthcare facility in neighboring Colorado.

The patient was experiencing “flu-like symptoms” and had “health conditions that can make people more vulnerable to illness,” Wyoming’s health department said. She was likely exposed to the H5N1 virus through direct contact to an infected poultry flock at her home.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bird-flu-case-woman-hospitalized-colorado/

“Trump’s drive to reshape government threatens bird flu response”
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trumps-drive-reshape-government-threaten-bird-flu-response-rcna192133

“Mpox Is Spreading in Congo’s Capital, Threatening Global Efforts to Contain the Virus”
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/23/health/mpox-spread-congo-kinshasa.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare