I've studied bird flu for 20 years and here's why I stopped drinking milk..as FDA begin testing dairy cows for deadly virus
Dr Rick Bright, a virologist and former director at the Department of Health and Human Services, revealed the decision online - saying he had concerns the virus could still be active in milk. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - April 25, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

From birds, to cattle, to … us? Could bird flu be the next pandemic? – podcast
As bird flu is confirmed in 33 cattle herds across eight US states, Ian Sample talks to virologist Dr Ed Hutchinson of Glasgow University about why this development has taken scientists by surprise, and how prepared we are for the possibility it might start spreading among humansRead more Guardian reporting on this topicContinue reading... (Source: Guardian Unlimited Science)
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - April 25, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Presented by Ian Sample, produced by Madeleine Finlay, sound design by Tony Onuchukwu, the executive producer was Ellie Bury Tags: Science Bird flu Health Society World news Cattle World Health Organization Farm animals Farming Environment Source Type: news

Africa intensifies battle against mpox as ‘alarming’ outbreaks continue
Researchers and public health officials in Africa are intensifying their battle against mpox, a neglected infectious disease that long has circulated on the continent and suddenly gained notoriety in 2022 when it started to spread rapidly in Europe and North America. At a meeting last week in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC, scientists from there and nine other affected African countries reviewed an alarming rise of cases on the continent, discussed plans to improve mpox surveillance and introduce vaccination, and launched an African-led research consortium. The meeting, convened by the Africa Centres for Disease Co...
Source: ScienceNOW - April 19, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Long Covid trials aim to clear lingering virus —and help patients in need
One Monday morning last September, Shelley Hayden pulled into a parking spot in an underground garage at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She switched off the ignition, pushed the red record button on her cellphone, and gazed into the camera. “The time has come,” said Hayden, long dark-blond hair framing her blue eyes. “Here we are, I’m actually getting to do something.” More than 3 years earlier, in the summer of 2020, Hayden had come down with COVID-19 while visiting family in Colorado. Since then she’s been plagued by the disease’s cruel sequel, Long Covid, whose symptoms include ov...
Source: ScienceNOW - April 11, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Meningococcal disease on the rise in the US
Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, responsible for causing meningococcal meningitis. Courtesy: CDC A rise in invasive serogroup Y meningococcal disease has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue a health advisory for healthcare providers.  "Meningococcal disease is a bacterial infection caused by Neisseria meningitidis. About 1 in 10 people are natural carriers of the bacteria, and it can spread to others by sharing respiratory secretions," says Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. Serogroups B, C&helli...
Source: News from Mayo Clinic - April 11, 2024 Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news

Mayo Clinic virologist offers perspective on avian influenza, bird flu, outbreak
Health officials around the globe, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, are monitoring the ongoing avian influenza outbreak. Also known as bird flu, the highly contagious viral disease typically spreads among birds, but can also infect livestock and, in rare cases, humans. "Avian influenza is very common among migratory birds such as waterfowl," says Dr. Matthew Binnicker, director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory at Mayo Clinic. He adds that human infection is rare,… (Source: News from Mayo Clinic)
Source: News from Mayo Clinic - April 8, 2024 Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news

U.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five states
Texas officials today issued a “health alert” about the first confirmed case of a human infection with a bird influenza virus that has found its ways into dairy cows. The worker developed conjunctivitis, a mild eye infection that frequently occurs when avian influenza viruses jump into humans. The case is the latest surprise in the global march of the flu strain, a subtype of H5N1 known as clade 2.3.4.4b that has devastated wild birds and poultry around the world for more than two years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it has confirmed that the virus has infected cattle at farms in...
Source: ScienceNOW - April 2, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Smallpox may be gone but U.S. should better prepare for its return, report says
Nearly 5 decades after the last documented case, smallpox remains the only human disease that has been officially eradicated. But a new report concludes that the United States can do much to strengthen its ability to respond if the dreaded disease resurfaces, whether naturally, through a lab “leak” of the responsible virus, or from an act of terrorism. The authors of the smallpox report, however, do not offer a recommendation on the long-running debate over whether the only two labs that still hold samples of variola, the smallpox virus, should destroy them for safety reasons—that issue was outside th...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 26, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Early Antibiotics for COVID-19 Can Cut Recovery Time
MONDAY, March 25, 2024 -- A significant reduction in recovery time is seen among COVID-19 patients who receive early antibiotic treatment, according to a study published online March 20 in the Journal of Medical Virology. Carlo Brogna, M.D.,... (Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News)
Source: Drugs.com - Pharma News - March 25, 2024 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news

Final NIH budget for 2024 is essentially flat
Congress has given the National Institutes of Health (NIH) a 0.6% increase, to $47.1 billion, in a final 2024 spending bill that lawmakers are expected to approve in time to avert a partial government shutdown this weekend. And several policy directives opposed by researchers have been stripped from the legislation. The tiny, $300 million bump is only one-third of the $920 million increase requested by President Joe Biden, who has promised to sign the $1.2 trillion package covering six federal agencies, and it comes after years of generous increases for NIH. But it was no surprise: Once the president and Congress agr...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 21, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Overlooked No More: Yvonne Barr, Who Helped Discover a Cancer-Causing Virus
A virologist, she worked with the pathologist Anthony Epstein, who died last month, in finding for the first time that a virus that could cause cancer. It ’s known as the Epstein-Barr virus. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - March 21, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Delthia Ricks Tags: Barr, Yvonne (1932-2016) Research Viruses Deaths (Obituaries) Science and Technology Epstein, Anthony (1921-2024) Middlesex Hospital Ireland Australia England Source Type: news

Column: Two Rutgers professors are accused of poisoning the debate over COVID's origins. Here's why
Richard Ebright and Bryce Nickels of Rutgers have labeled leading virologists fraudsters, perjurers, felons and murderers. Is this how scientific debate is supposed to be conducted? (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - March 20, 2024 Category: Science Authors: Michael Hiltzik Source Type: news

Possible TikTok ban has U.S. science communicators on edge
For biologist Brooke Fitzwater, a doctoral student at the University of Alabama, the social media platform TikTok has become a key tool for sharing her knowledge of marine biology with some 250,000 followers. Her short, humorous videos on everything from whale sharks to zombie worms have attracted up to 2.1 million views. “TikTok has been an unparalleled way for me to communicate science to the public,” Fitzwater says. Last week, however, Fitzwater and many other science communicators who rely on TikTok got some worrying news: The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to approve legislation...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 19, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

‘Lab-leak’ proponents at Rutgers accused of defaming and intimidating COVID-19 origin researchers
Fraudsters. Liars. Perjurers. Felons. Grifters. Stooges. Imbeciles. Murderers. When it comes to describing scientists whose peer-reviewed studies suggest the COVID-19 virus made a natural jump from animals to humans, molecular biologist Richard Ebright and microbiologist Bryce Nickels have used some very harsh language. On X (formerly Twitter), where the two scientists from Rutgers University are a constant presence, they have even compared fellow researchers to Nazi war criminals and the genocidal Cambodian dictator Pol Pot. But now, their targets have had enough. A dozen scientists filed a formal complaint ...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 15, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: news

Decoding Variants and Virology With Professor Marc Van Ranst Decoding Variants and Virology With Professor Marc Van Ranst
Learn from Prof Van Ranst about SARS-CoV-2 with insights on varied immune effects, systemic implications, evolving variants, and their influence on vaccination and healthcare practices.Medscape Medical Affairs (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - March 13, 2024 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: None Virtual Symposium Source Type: news