Experts Urge US To Prepare For Potential Pandemic As A New Virus Spreads In All 50 States

Health experts are raising alarms as the H5N1 bird flu virus spreads rapidly across US dairy farms. Since March 2024, the outbreak has affected over 1,000 dairy herds nationwide, leading to more than 70 human infections and at least one confirmed death.

Measles cases in Europe, the Americas skyrocket Measles cases across Europe were up 10-fold in 2024 compared to 2023, while cases in the Americas so far this year are 11-fold higher, according to updates today from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). CIDRAP

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About 87% of the European cases were reported in Romania, which had the highest notification rate, at 1,610.7 cases per 1,000,000 population, followed by Austria (59.5), Belgium (44.9) and Ireland (39.6).

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Americans Are Underestimating Bird Flu. In A Future Pandemic, That Could Be A Problem The public just isn’t concerned enough about H5N1, suggests new research. Laura Simmons IFLScience

The general public are showing “ignorance and apathy” towards the threat of bird flu, say the authors of a new editorial, based on a survey they conducted of US residents. It found that many were unaware of or unwilling to take simple precautions that might decrease their risk of exposure to the virus.

As bird flu hits cattle herds in U.S., scientists say these H5N1 factors worry them most Bird flu infections have been rare among people, but the pathogen is evolving, which has scientists worried about a possible pandemic. CBS News

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What causes breakthrough measles infections? A small number of people who are fully vaccinated may get sick during a large outbreak, doctors say. NBC News

...Infectious diseases doctors are at pains to emphasize that the MMR vaccine is one of the most effective vaccines on the market, but as Rodney Rohde, a professor at Texas State University explains, a small number of people who are fully vaccinated may get sick during a large outbreak.

Trump turns a COVID information website into a promotion page for the lab leak theory A federal website that used to feature information on vaccines, testing and treatment for COVID-19 has been transformed into a page supporting the theory that the pandemic originated with a lab leak. AP News

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Studies across 14 nations show 25% to 30% rate of long COVID Among the 25% of participants in 1 study who said they experienced long-COVID symptoms, 13% reported sleep disorders. CIDRAP

A new study in BMJ Global Health across 13 middle- and high-income countries reveals that 25% of patients reported symptoms of long COVID after symptomatic COVID-19, and long COVID is significantly more prevalent in participants from less wealthy nations and in patients of Arab or North African ethnicity.

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