The outbreak of Hantavirus aboard the expedition cruise ship MV Hondius has been rather startling. Hantavirus is a rodent-borne virus that typically is not associated with cruise ships, including those that go on adventures to the Antarctic. Transmission to humans is usually from exposure to aerosolized particles of rodent feces or fluids. Hantavirus has a […]
In an unfortunate and interesting twist in bird flu news, a person from Washington State has died of H5N5, a strain of bird flu. While we have seen constant news coverage of H5N1, which has been circulating the globe for several years now, this is the first report of a human case of H5N5 bird
In late May, a story started to gain traction about a Canadian ostrich farm and a culling order due to H5N1 in the flock. Universal Ostrich Farms had been ordered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to cull its 400+ ostriches after detecting H5N1 in December 2024. The farm owners challenged the culling order in
Last week, we discussed the first H5N1 human case in Mexico. (See Mexico Reports First Human H5N1 Case). This case was in a three year old girl, hospitalized in serious condition. The situation evolved quickly and unfortunately the child died from respiratory complications in the hospital. (See Fatal H5N1 Cases in Children and Risks to
In recent and unfortunate bird flu news, We have reports of two fatal H5N1 cases in children. The first, a three year old girl in Mexico. The second, a two year old child in India. The latter case also invites questions about the safety of the food chain as more H5N1 infected poultry meat is
On Friday, April 4, 2025, Mexico reported the country’s first human case of H5N1 bird flu. The details about the first human H5N1 case in Mexico: The patient is a three year old girl. She is currently hospitalized. She was treated with oseltamivir and remains in serious condition. The Mexican Government issued a press release
The CDC recently issued a Bird Flu Response Update (March 19, 2025). It provides more details on the recent human H5N1 case from Ohio. The human H5N1 case from Ohio: As we previously discussed in New Human H5N1 bird flu cases: Nevada, Ohio, Wyoming, a poultry farm worker in Ohio tested positive for H5N1 in
In its recent bird flu update, the CDC reported results of serology testing from the close contacts of a recent H5N1 case in a child in San Francisco, California. The results show no human to human transmission of the virus. Another child in California tests positive for H5N1, with an unknown exposure source: This was the
Recently, there have been more reports of cats dying from H5N1 bird flu after eating contaminated pet food or otherwise exposed to the virus. Indeed, just last week, health authorities in New York City confirmed the deaths of 2 domestic cats from H5N1 after eating raw poultry products. The USDA currently lists over 100 confirmed
Rumors of a “concerning new mutation” in some infected dairy herds have surfaced in recent news articles. This is the PB2 E627K mutation, reportedly present in four herds, with the data being reported on Tuesday, March 11, 2025. This is a well-known indication of mammalian adaptation. While the scientific community has been on alert for
We now have a second report of dairy cattle infected with H5N1 genotype D1.1, the bird flu strain circulating in wild birds. This is different than the genotype B3.13 viruses circulating through dairy cattle herds. Arizona reports H5N1 genotype D1.1: On Friday, February 14, the health department of Maricopa County, Arizona issued a press release
This last week was busy with new human H5N1 bird flu cases in 3 states. We have the first reported case in Nevada, with exposure from dairy cattle. We have the first case from Ohio, with exposure to poultry. And we have the first case out of Wyoming, with exposure to backyard poultry and the
