By Apoorva Mandavilli

“A human pandemic is not inevitable, even now, more than a dozen experts said in interviews. But a series of developments over the past few weeks indicates that the possibility is no longer remote.
Toothless guidelines, inadequate testing and long delays in releasing data — echoes of the missteps during the Covid-19 pandemic — have squandered opportunities for containing the outbreak, the experts said.”…
“In one example emblematic of the disarray, a few dairy herds in Idaho that were infected with bird flu in the spring displayed mild symptoms for a second time in the late fall, The New York Times has learned.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/27/health/bird-flu-h5n1.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

“US reports first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry”
By Reuters
“The United States has reported its first outbreak of H5N9 bird flu in poultry on a duck farm in California, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Monday.”…
“The strain that has caused most damage in recent years has been H5N1. H5N9 is rarer.
“This is the first confirmed case of HPAI H5N9 in poultry in the United States,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in the report to the WOAH.”

to read the full article go to
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reported-first-outbreak-h5n9-bird-flu-poultry-woah-says-2025-01-27/

‘Grossly irresponsible’: health experts urge US to control bird flu
https://www.ft.com/content/8eb284d4-d853-4a0a-a8c0-5173d1a6d666

Bird flu prevention zone imposed across England
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cly9r71pn91o

“CIA says lab leak most likely source of Covid outbreak”
By Holly Honderich
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9qjjj4zy5o

“What is HMPV and how does it spread?”
By Kelly Ng & Jennifer Clarke
“A surge in cases of the flu-like human metapneumovirus (HMPV) in China has raised fears of another Covid-style pandemic.”
“They say China and other countries are simply experiencing the seasonal increase in HMPV typically seen in winter.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c23vjg7v7k0o

By Mackenzie Lofgren.

“Dr. Michael Osterholm is a medical detective and Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, or CIDRAP, at the University of Minnesota. Osterholm has nearly 50 years of investigating infectious disease outbreaks and public health threats.”…
“Today, I am certain that we are seeing clouds of dust with bird feces in that, and we are beginning to see what I would consider to be almost an environmental type disease…..”
“Now that the virus has gone airborne, Osterholm believes we’re going to start seeing more and more cases in humans with no explanation for why they occurred. Meaning, people are going to get sick without even coming in contact with the infected animal.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/wind-blowing-feces-may-be-route-of-transmission-for-bird-flu/

“As bird flu rises, federal health agencies are halting external communications. Are we flying blind?”
by Nicole Karlis
““Similar temporary freezes were implemented during presidential transitions previously. These pauses typically allow incoming leadership to review and align agency activities with new priorities,” he said. “However lack of clarity with respect to the scope, duration and implementation — especially concerns about potential delays in critical public health information are valid.””
to read the full article go to
https://www.salon.com/2025/01/25/as-bird-flu-rises-health-agencies-are-halting-external-communications-are-we-flying-blind/

How will federal health ‘black out’ affect bird flu response?
By Safia Samee Ali
“CNN reported that a follow-up memo specified the blackout is set to last through Feb. 1, and includes public speaking engagements and communications with lawmakers. Communications deemed urgent, such as recall notices or those required by law, are exempt but higher-ups must be notified.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.newsnationnow.com/health/federal-health-black-out-bird-flu/

By Beatrice M. Spadacini
“The Outbreak Atlas, co-authored by Katz and Wellcome Trust scholar Mackenzie S. Moore, uses global case studies to explain outbreak preparedness, response, and recovery. It aims to educate people with the tools to make informed decisions during disease outbreaks, regardless of federal actions.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.yorkdispatch.com/story/opinion/contributors/2025/01/22/bird-flu-and-the-battle-against-emerging-diseases/77873522007/

“The US Has Bird Flu Vaccines. Here’s Why You Can’t Get One”

By Emily Mullen
“Experts say the decision comes down to risk, and currently, the risk of H5N1 remains low. Rolling out a vaccine to farm workers and others at higher risk of infection would be a more targeted tactic, but even that measure may be premature. Now, with a changeover in federal health leadership imminent as President Donald Trump begins his second term, the decision rests with the new administration.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.wired.com/story/the-us-has-bird-flu-vaccines-heres-why-you-cant-get-one/

Trump administration asks U.S. health agencies to pause reports, online posts
the Associated Press ·
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/health-communication-trump-1.7438695

By Texas Biomedical Research Institute

“Researchers at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) have identified a strain of bird flu isolated from a human in Texas that carries a distinctive set of mutations, making it more adept at replicating in human cells and causing severe disease in mice. This strain was compared to one found in dairy cattle, and the findings are detailed in Emerging Microbes & Infections.
The discovery underscores a significant concern about the H5N1 strains of bird flu currently circulating in the U.S.: the virus’s rapid mutation when it infects a new host species.”

to read the full story go to
https://scitechdaily.com/first-u-s-h5n1-death-sparks-urgency-scientists-warn-that-bird-flu-is-mutating-faster-than-expected/

by Juliana Kim

“”Accelerating the development of new vaccines will allow us to stay ahead and ensure that Americans have the tools they need to stay safe,” outgoing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement on Friday.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.npr.org/2025/01/18/nx-s1-5266868/bird-flu-vaccine-moderna

“As bird flu concerns grow, scientists race to develop new vaccines”
By Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
“The federal government already has two bird flu vaccine candidates in limited quantities in the nation’s stockpile. Those shots use traditional vaccine technology, but take far longer to produce — a hindrance during an emergency like a fast-moving pandemic.
Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said an mRNA-based bird flu vaccine is important because the technology is faster to develop and easier to update than more traditional vaccines.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/bird-flu-concerns-grow-scientists-race-develop-new-vaccines-rcna187824

By Mary Kekatos

“”It’s not universal surveillance. We’re not able to capture all of the cases that we might like to catch,” Moody said. “And so, it’s kind of hard to know what to do with isolated data points like this, when you get a report of, yes, this is a confirmed case. But it’s also like, what is the actual denominator here? How many cases are there really out there? And it’s kind of hard to tell.””
“So, I’m not sure that the identification of this case tells us a whole lot, other than, yep, it’s circulating,” Moody added.”

to read the full story go to
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/3rd-case-bird-flu-unknown-source-infection-fight/story?id=117740861

By Erika Edwards“

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged labs nationwide to determine within 24 hours of admission whether people hospitalized with the flu have seasonal influenza or are infected with the bird flu that’s behind an escalating outbreak in dairy cows and poultry.”to read the full article go tohttps://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/cdc-urges-faster-testing-find-human-bird-flu-cases-rcna187870

“CDC urges doctors to speed subtyping of patients hospitalized with the flu to better track H5N1 infections”
By Brenda Goodman, CNN
https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/16/health/cdc-urges-doctors-to-speed-subtyping-h5n1-infections/index.html?cid=ios_app

“Accelerated Subtyping of Influenza A in Hospitalized Patients”
Distributed via the CDC Health Alert Network

“CDC has routinely recommended influenza testing for hospitalized patients with suspected influenza. In light of the ongoing avian influenza A(H5) virus animal outbreak in the United States, CDC now recommends subtyping of all influenza A virus-positive specimens from hospitalized patients on an accelerated basis. This accelerated subtyping is part of a comprehensive strategy to identify severe human infections with avian influenza A(H5) viruses, in addition to characterizing seasonal influenza viruses in a timely fashion.”

to read the full press release go to
https://www.cdc.gov/han/2025/han00520.html

“White House’s Pandemic Office, Busy With Bird Flu, May Shrink Under Trump”
By Brian Bennett

“By Inauguration Day on Monday, most of the pandemic office’s staff will have cleared out their desks. The office, officially known as the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy, or OPPR, is losing more than half of its 18-person staff as the Biden Administration hands off the duties to a Trump Administration that has yet to fill multiple key pandemic-response positions, according to two Biden Administration officials. “

to read the full article go to
https://time.com/7207599/trump-bird-flu-pandemic-office/