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Leading health experts have warned that the US is staring down the barrel of another pandemic as bird flu spirals out of control on US farms. So far, the H5N1 outbreak has affected nearly 1,000 dairy cow herds and resulted in more than 70 human cases, including the first confirmed death. The US poultry industry is at significant risk, say experts from the Global Virus Network (GVN), particularly in areas with high-density farming and where personal protective practices may be lacking. Since 2022, more than 168 million poultry in the US has been lost or culled due to the bird...

This strain may have emerged from gain-of-function research conducted at two specific facilities: the USDA Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens, Georgia, and the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Back in 2022, during the early days of the “bird flu” pandemic, I wondered if the H5N1 strain of bird flu was a gain-of-function creation. The reason for it was two-fold. One was the high kill ratio. While a new virus might have a high infection fatality rate, 100% fatality would only likely be achieved if the virus genetics were rearranged to target a host species. The second...

The discovery prompted health officials to remind people to take biosecurity measuresSan Mateo County confirmed for the first time the presence of bird flu in a backyard poultry flock in San Mateo this week after the owner contacted the state agriculture department’s Sick Bird Hotline. The H5N1 incident was one of 49 backyard flock infections documented across the country — including 38 in California — by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. No human infection has been found in association with the flock, but the county’s health department reminded backyard poultry and livestock owners to take precautions such as handwashing to...

A version of the H5N1 bird flu virus that killed a person in Louisiana and severely sickened a teenager in Canada has now been detected in dairy herds in Nevada. The version, known as D1.1, is circulating in wild birds around the nation — causing massive die-offs in places such as Chicago, upstate New York and Ohio. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed the finding Wednesday. It’s different from the version circulating in dairy cows, which has caused only relatively mild illness in humans, although it has killed scores of domestic and wild cats....

Authorities have confirmed the first human death in the United States caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1. The announcement was made by the Louisiana Department of Health on Monday, Jan. 6. The patient, a man over 65 with underlying health conditions, was hospitalized before succumbing to the illness after exposure to a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds. The Louisiana Department of Health said it has conducted a public health investigation and found no additional cases or evidence of person-to-person transmission. The department extended condolences to the patient’s family and stated this will be the final update...

Here we go. Dr. Leana Wen, the Communist doctor who demanded Americans lose all their rights during the Covid pandemic, appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday to discuss the Bird Flu outbreak. The CDC recently confirmed the first severe U.S. human case of H5N1 bird flu in a 65-year-old Louisiana man who had contact with sick backyard birds. California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom last week declared a state of emergency in response to the recent bird flu outbreak. On Sunday CBS News rolled out Covid tyrant Dr. Leana Wen to weigh in on the bird flu and she...

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) yesterday reported that a house cat has died from H5N1 avian flu after eating raw frozen pet food, which has prompted the voluntary recall of raw pet food that was sold nationwide through distributors in 12 states as well as in British Columbia. The development is part of a growing number of avian flu infections in cats, including new detections in pets from a second California county. Genetic match between cat and raw food viruses In a statement, the ODA said the house cat that tested positive for H5N1 died after eating raw food....

Dr. Leana Wen, who said during the COVID pandemic that Americans should be forced to take a vaccine, says Biden should be pushing a Bird Flu injection on “vulnerable” people before the Trump inauguration

As the H5N1 bird flu virus steamrolls its way across the globe — killing wild animals, commercial livestock and even some people — scientists and health officials fear we’re on the precipice of another global pandemic.But when, where and how that could come to pass is hard to predict — in part, some researchers say, because of guardrails the federal government has placed around gain-of-function research.The term describes experiments that seek to understand a virus’ potential to adapt to new hosts, spread more easily, survive longer in the environment and cause those infected to become sicker. Though many scientists view...

The Louisiana Department of Health said on Friday it has detected the first presumptive positive human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or H5N1, in the US state.

Nearly 1.8 million chickens will be killed after bird flu was detected at an egg-laying operation in Weld County, a major resurgence on a commercial farm of the disease that has already seen more than 6 million birds culled. Gov. Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster declaration for the facility over the long holiday weekend. The move activates the state’s emergency operations plan and makes additional resources available to respond to the outbreak. A spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Agriculture declined to name the facility.

Continued concerns about Chinese products being sold in the U.S. now include poultry. Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor was recognized in Washington today for his work on an agriculture appropriations bill that focuses on the use of appropriated funds from the Department of Agriculture for potential imports of poultry products from China. "Food safety and trade are not mutually exclusive, and are in fact very important to the economy of Arkansas. We can have both as long as the USDA can do its job of policing imports to make sure they meet our food safety standards. Our agreement enables the government...

Shares of vaccine stocks Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), Novavax (NASDAQ: NVAX), and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTX) rallied this week, appreciating 23.4%, 16.4%, and 9.3%, respectively, through Thursday trading, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. While these three stocks gained notoriety back in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears this week's detection of avian bird flu in a second U.S. citizen and the first-ever detection of avian flu in a human in Australia are spurring fears of an outbreak and thus a possible boon for companies that can quickly produce a bird flu vaccine. Bird flu detected in Michigan...

You might have assumed that a bioengineered virus, funded by the U.S. government, escaping from a CCP lab and triggering a years-long worldwide economic meltdown would be enough to cut off the gravy train to Chinese research institutions for gain-of-function research.But that would be entirely too reasonable of a remedial action.Instead, U.S. government agencies are still, in 2024, funneling cash to government-run Chinese labs for exactly the kind of tinkering that caused COVID-19 — and they’re lying about it, under oath, so far with no consequences.In March, in a congressional hearing, Congressman Ben Cline asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom...

Cows in California have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and are now in quarantine, according to the state's Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). California hosts a fifth of the nation's dairy cows, and it is the number one producer of milk, butter, and ice cream, and the number two producer of cheese and yogurt in the US. The current infections of HPAI among cattle in the US started in March, when a 'mysterious' illness broke out among dairy cows in Texas...These cows were the first in the world to officially test positive for the bird flu...

Australia has implemented lockdowns on farms due to bird flu outbreaks. Specifically, in the state of Victoria, more than 500,000 chickens have been euthanized, and strict quarantine zones have been established to restrict the movement of birds and equipment. The highly pathogenic H7N3 strain of avian influenza has been detected on four farms, while another virus, H7N9, has been found on a fifth property over the past seven weeks. As part of sweeping biosecurity controls, at least 580,000 birds have been destroyed.

Response (ASPR) at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said officials are moving forward with a plan to produce 4.8 million doses of H5N1 avian flu vaccine for pandemic preparedness. Dawn O'Connell, JD, said health officials have identified a manufacturing line at one of its manufacturing partners for fill-and-finish steps, without disrupting production of seasonal flu vaccine. Currently, the vaccine is in bulk form and will be produced in multidose vials. She said it takes a couple months to fill and finish the vaccine doses, which would save time in case a vaccine is needed. Federal health...

In a recent study published in the United States (U.S.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Emerging Infectious Disease Journal, a team of scientists reported the spread of the highly pathogenic hemagglutinin 5 neuraminidase 1 (H5N1) avian influenza clade 2.3.4.4b among cats and dairy cattle in the states of Texas and Kansas. The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses have long been a threat to poultry and wild bird populations worldwide. They have also been a cause for concern in recent years because of their ability to infect various mammalian species. North America experienced an outbreak of the Eurasian...

Dairy cows cannot be moved between states without testing for the highly pathogenic avian influenza, U.S. officials announced on April 24. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued a federal order that says “prior to interstate movement, dairy cattle are required to receive a negative test for Influenza A virus.” A strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza A, H5N1, has been spreading across the country since first being detected in cows in March. The influenza is commonly known as the bird flu. At this point, no beef cattle are known to have been infected with the virus. The order,...

Bird flu has been detected in 'very high concentrations' in milk, health officials announced. The World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday that bird flu, also known as H5N1, has been found in raw milk, which is milk that does not go through standard pasteurization processes to rid it of bacteria. Officials said that pasteurized milk, which is standard in major retailers, is still safe. Bird flu has surged in cows and chickens throughout the US, with animals in 29 farms across eight states becoming affected, according to the CDC. Last week, Dr Darin Detwiler, former FDA and USDA food safety...