Add another name to the list of mammal species infected with #H5N1#avianflu: alpacas.
It’s not surprising at this point but it certainly isn’t reassuring either that this virus just keeps spreading farther and wider…
"We say we don’t believe that there are cases of H5 novel influenza circulating because we haven’t seen any evidence that would be suggestive of that. But until and unless we enhance our subtyping...
👉 we are basing that conclusion on negative implication rather than on affirmative data,” Shah said in the interview.
When H5N1 goes off the rails as it almost certainly will in the not-too-distant future, who do you want to be in charge of the country?
Competent leaders and scientists or a clown show. Because this stuff is not a joke.
A new unreviewed preprint is ringing alarm bells about the possibility of human to human transmission coming from cows. (Similar to the problem with pigs.) It's not good.
With latest update from @USDA the total number of herds affected in the #H5N1#avianflu outbreak in the US is 49 herds in 9 states (without widespread testing mind you…)
8 of the last 12 confirmations are from herds in Michigan
Sitting with the fact that cattle industry has more power over whether humans in their employ get tested for #AvianFlu than #PublicHealth authorities do.
Hence #CDC preparing to launch wastewater dashboard for tracking spring and summer influenza surveillance...
To address absence of #BirdFlu testing. Taking a page out of the #CovidIsNotOver handbook of better too-late-to-be-actionable data than no data.
If you live in TX and you're not aware of H5N1 (Avian Flu), you really need to get it on your radar ASAP.
Due to various political/social factors in this state that I won't need to explain to anyone who lives here, it is quite likely that in the event this goes human to human this state will become an epicenter.
Also, anyone anywhere feeding their pets a raw diet, REALLY think about shifting that. This virus is transmitted through raw meat/dairy.
it makes me so impossibly sad to think that i may only have a couple years of seeing wild birds left with the way #avianFlu is going. but hey, the people have spoken: eating tortured chickens is priority number one, even if it drives an apocalyptic wildlife pandemic (and a human one, too!). healthy, delicious, climate-friendly alternatives be damned.
We're Watching The Elite Panic in Real Time
by Jessica Wildfire
"The #AvianFlu situation is evolving daily now. Farmers & ranchers are starting to show "bird flu-like symptoms," but they aren't getting tested. Nobody is forcing them, either. The USDA is inspecting ground beef, but only in states with outbreaks in dairy cows, & only because other countries started rejecting our beef. As one epidemiologist told Scientific American, "We don't have a good sense of the spread because testing is voluntary and certainly not being done in a systematic way."
Avian flu has been spreading for months in cattle, & none of our government institutions can tell us anything except, "Don't panic."
It's pathetic.
You can look at nuclear meltdowns, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, & pandemics. Almost every single time, government authorities rush out to calm down the population. They censor accurate information. They put most of their emphasis on protecting the assets of the rich***." https://www.okdoomer.io/were-watching-the-elite-panic-in-real-time/
#BirdFlu Is Infecting More #Mammals. What Does That Mean for Us? #H5N1, #avianflu#virus, killed tens of thousands of #marinemammals, and infiltrated American #livestock for first time.
H5N1, one of the many viruses that cause bird flu, had already killed at least 24,000 South American sea lions along the coasts in less than a year. Now comes for elephant seals.
Scientists are working quickly to assess how it is evolving and risk it poses to humans #Maskup
The USDA is doubling down on mythical milkborne spread:
"The USDA said cows shed the virus in milk at high concentrations, so anything that comes in contact with unpasteurized milk may spread the disease. Respiratory transmission is not considered a primary way for the virus to spread in cattle, the department added."
No explanation given. Flu is a milkborne pathogen now. Total fucking clownshow
Since the outbreak of the #AvianFlu flu seems to be spreading from Texas, are the people who called #COVID19 the “China Virus” calling this the “Texas Virus?” 🙂
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am under the impression that #influenza viruses have never been demonstrated to be foodborne, and this stuff about pasteurizing milk from infected cows sounds like public health theater to calm the plebs