Tag Archives: infectdis

California tuberculosis outbreak kills 1, infects 14 as officials declare health emergency

A deadly outbreak of tuberculosis (TB) has occurred inside a California hotel housing homeless people, leading to the death of one person and forcing city health officials to declare a public health emergency. The alarming outbreak at the unnamed hotel infected 14 people, resulting in nine people being hospitalized, the Department of Health and Human Services for Long Beach announced …

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Texas cats die on dairy farm after drinking raw milk contaminated with bird flu, CDC warns

A cluster of cats on a Texas dairy farm died after drinking raw milk from dairy cows affected with bird flu, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The felines developed “fatal systemic influenza infection” after drinking the unpasteurized colostrum and milk from cows that tested positive for the virus. Initally, the cats …

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Dairy farm worker infected with bird flu; CDC urges workers to wear protective gear

The Texas dairy farm worker infected with H5N1 bird flu was not wearing respiratory or eye protection and had been exposed to cattle that appeared to have the same symptoms as those in a nearby farm with a confirmed outbreak of the virus, according to new details on the case released on Friday. The details, reported online in the New …

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Mpox outbreak that is rapidly spreading through Congo may be a new form of the disease

Congo is struggling to contain its biggest mpox outbreak, and scientists say a new form of the disease detected in a mining town might more easily spread among people. Since January, Congo has reported more than 4,500 suspected mpox cases and nearly 300 deaths, numbers that have roughly tripled from the same period last year, according to the World Health …

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Bird flu could spread to cows outside US, head of WHO flu program says

A World Health Organization official said on Tuesday there was a risk of H5N1 bird flu virus spreading to cows in other countries beyond the United States through migratory birds. U.S. officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in 34 dairy cattle herds in nine states since late March, and in …

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Chinese scientist, first to publish COVID sequence, protests lab lockout

The first scientist to publish a sequence of the COVID-19 virus in China staged a sit-in protest outside his lab after authorities locked him out of the facility — a sign of the Beijing’s continuing pressure on scientists conducting research on the coronavirus. Zhang Yongzhen wrote in an online post Monday that he and his team had been suddenly notified …

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Amid bird flu spread, experts reveal if it's safe to drink milk: 'Indirect concern'

Traces of bird flu have been detected in pasteurized milk — leaving many people wondering if it’s safe to drink. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a notice on Thursday stating that one in five retail samples of commercial milk tested positive for fragments of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu or avian …

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Fauci to testify publicly before Congress for 1st time since retirement

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institution of Allergy and Infectious Disease, will testify publicly before a congressional panel in June, marking the first time he has done so since retiringfrom government at the end of 2022. Fauci has agreed to testify before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, a House panel investigating the origins …

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Republic of the Congo declares monkeypox epidemic after more than a dozen cases confirmed

Republic of the Congo has declared an epidemic of mpox after 19 cases were confirmed across five departments, including the capital Brazzaville. No deaths have yet been recorded, Health Minister Gilbert Mokoki said in a statement on Tuesday. He called on the public to take precautions including avoiding close contact with suspected cases, avoiding contact with animals and avoiding handling …

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Bird flu virus found in grocery store milk, but no risk to customers, FDA says

Samples of pasteurized milk on grocery store shelves have tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that hasalready infected herds of dairy cows, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday. The FDA stressed that the material is inactivated and that the findings “do not represent [an] actual virus that may be a risk to consumers.” Officials …

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