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The recommendation coincides with a new report finding asymptomatic bird flu infection in some workers. Those cases were discovered using blood, or serology, testing and seem to have been transmitted from sick animals, not people. To date, 46 people have been diagnosed with bird flu, also known as H5N1, in the United States this year. Of those 115, eight (7%) had antibodies showing they’d been infected with the bird flu. Until now, workers who had a known exposure to bird flu but didn’t have symptoms haven’t been routinely tested.

Persons: Nirav Shah, Demetre Daskalakis, ” Daskalakis, they’d, Shah, “, ”, who’s, Jennifer Nuzzo, “ We’ve, ” Nuzzo, Daskalakis Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, National Center, farmworkers, Pandemic, Brown University School of Public Health, Food and Drug Administration Locations: United States, California, Washington, Colorado, Michigan

The bird flu virus hasn’t yet spread from person to person, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, releasing findings from a monthslong probe into a patient in Missouri who was hospitalized with H5N1. The patient, who tested positive for bird flu in August, had no known contact with dairy cows or poultry. One blood test on a household member of the patient who became ill suggested the person did have H5 antibodies. The bird flu outbreak in dairy cows has infected 333 herds across 14 states so far. “This is a fast-moving situation.”California, which has reported the largest number of bird flu cases, 15, has also asked for federal help, the CDC said.

Persons: Demetre Daskalakis, we’ve, ” Daskalakis, “, ”, Nirav Shah, ” Shah, Erica Pan, ” Pan Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, National Center, CDC, California Department, Public Health’s, Infectious Diseases Locations: Missouri, U.S, West, Washington, ” California, Colorado , Michigan, Texas

After the positive flu result, health care workers started using more personal protective gear around the patient. Separately, as part of routine flu surveillance and not because doctors suspected anything unusual in the patient’s case, the hospital sent the patient’s flu sample to be tested for H5, which is the bird flu virus strain. Officials found that during the patient’s time at the hospital, 112 health care workers had interacted with them. After exposure to the bird flu virus, people typically develop symptoms within 3 to 5 days. All of that additional information on the health workers will be secondary to the blood tests results, Rivers said, and whether they show signs of a previous infection.

Persons: Demetre Daskalakis, Daskalaskis, wouldn’t, Michael Osterholm, Osterholm, ”, Daskalakis, Caitlin Rivers, ” Rivers, ” Daskalakis, Rivers Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, CDC’s National Center, Infectious Disease, University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, CDC Locations: Missouri, Baltimore, United States, California

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday it has yet to identify “a clear source” of infection in a Missouri patient who tested positive for the bird flu virus despite no known contact with poultry or dairy cows. Since March, there have been 13 bird flu infections in poultry and dairy workers amid an outbreak of H5N1 spreading rapidly in dairy cows across 200 dairy herds in 14 states, according to the CDC. The patient was hospitalized, officials believe, not because of the infection but because of the patient’s underlying medical conditions. They’re also asking about the type and source of meat and dairy the patient consumed, including any raw dairy. No bird flu infections in dairy cattle have been reported in Missouri, state health officials said in a release Friday.

Persons: Nirav Shah, wasn’t, They’re, Shah, ” Shah, Demetre Daskalakis, ” Organizations: Disease Control, Prevention, CDC, ”, CDC’s National Center Locations: Missouri

☆ Is Bird Flu Coming to People Next? Are We Ready?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Bird flu outbreaks among dairy cows in multiple states, and at least one infection in farmworker in Texas, have incited fears that the virus may be the next infectious threat to people. The influenza virus, called H5N1, is highly pathogenic, meaning it has the ability to cause severe disease and death. The only symptom in the patient in Texas was conjunctivitis, or pink eye, which was also reported in people infected during other bird flu outbreaks. and other agencies in the United States and elsewhere have tracked H5N1 for years to monitor its evolution. Federal agencies have stockpiled vaccines and drugs to be used in a possible bird flu outbreak.

Persons: “, ”, Demetre Daskalakis Organizations: National Center, Centers for Disease Control Locations: farmworker, Texas, United States

☆ U.S. Measles Cases Surpass 2023 Levels, C.D.C. Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Dani Blum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There have now been 64 measles cases in the United States this year, surpassing the total of 58 cases in all of 2023, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But health experts said the milestone is a distressing reminder that even though there is an effective vaccine against the virus, measles remains a persistent threat to public health. What’s driving the spread of measlesDoctors say there are several factors contributing to the spread of measles, cases of which have climbed across the globe in recent years. Many cases reported in the United States this year were linked to international travel, according to the C.D.C., as travel destinations such as Britain, Austria and the Philippines have had outbreaks. Many of the people in the United States who have been infected have been unvaccinated children age 12 months and older.

Persons: ”, Demetre Daskalakis Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, National Center Locations: United States, Britain, Austria, Philippines

☆ FDA authorizes updated Novavax Covid vaccine as Pfizer, Moderna shots roll out in U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"In the coming days, individuals in the U.S. can go to major pharmacies, physicians' offices, clinics and various government entities to receive an updated Novavax vaccine." Last month, the FDA and CDC greenlit XBB.1.5 shots from Pfizer and Moderna for all Americans ages six months and older. The end of that declaration means all three manufacturers will sell their updated shots directly to health-care providers and vie for commercial market share. That includes the Biden administration's Bridge Access Program, which will provide Covid vaccines at no cost to underinsured and uninsured people. It's unclear how many Americans will actually roll up their sleeves and take the new vaccines from Novavax, Pfizer and Moderna.

Persons: Novavax, John Jacobs, fends, Demetre Daskalakis, Biden, it's, Eris, Megan Wallace Organizations: Drug Administration, Pfizer, Moderna, Centers for Disease Control, Covid, FDA, CDC, EG, Biden Locations: U.S, Novavax

☆ CDC urges mpox vaccination among people at high risk to prevent summer surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The patients in the Chicago cluster all have mild symptoms, according Demetre Daskalakis, deputy head of the White house mpox task force. Many of the people who caught mpox in the Chicago cluster were fully vaccinated against the virus, raising questions about whether immunity from the shots might wane over time. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged gay men and other individuals at high risk from mpox to get fully vaccinated to prevent a summer resurgence of the virus. Though the estimates of mpox vaccine effectiveness vary, Daskalakis said the message is clear: "One dose is good, two doses are better." It's also possible that the vaccine the patients in the Chicago cluster received were compromised in some way or weren't administered properly, he said.

☆ Biden administration plans to let mpox emergency declaration end in January
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Katherine Dillinger | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The US Department of Health and Human Services said Friday that it does not plan to renew the public health emergency declaration for mpox. “Given the low number of cases today, HHS does not expect that it needs to renew the emergency declaration when it ends on January 31, 2023,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement Friday. President Joe Biden named Bob Fenton, a regional Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, and Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention at the CDC, as coordinators of the White House’s mpox response in August. Get CNN Health's weekly newsletter Sign up here to get The Results Are In with Dr. Sanjay Gupta every Tuesday from the CNN Health team. Fenton’s and Daskalakis’ appointments are not tied to the emergency declaration and will continue for now, as will data collection and some other flexibilities provided by the emergency declaration.

☆ These transformative leaders in healthcare are dealing with an unprecedented era of politics in the medical industry amid the COVID-19 pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sign up for our newsletter to get the latest healthcare news and analysis — delivered weekly to your inbox. But while the peak of the pandemic appears to be in the rearview, the healthcare industry has continued to be governed by political forces. This year, healthcare focused on transgender people and abortion rights has come under attack. Other healthcare professionals are using federal power to prevent the spread of infectious diseases other than COVID-19. Social stigma from the monkeypox outbreaks has mildly echoed the intense social and political stigma of HIV, which Daskalakis has focused on for the majority of his career.

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