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Chin-Hong said the variant is a so-called recombinant of two other strains — KS.1.1 and KP.3.3 — meaning that genetic information was exchanged between them to form a third strain, XEC, Chin-Hong said. Is the XEC variant more contagious? Chan School of Public Health, said there’s no evidence yet that the XEC variant is much more transmissible than what’s currently circulating. The variant is closely related to KP.2, the strain targeted by the updated vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. Bright, however, cautioned that clinical data is ultimately needed to determine how well the updated vaccines work against the XEC variant.

Persons: “, ”, Peter Chin, ” XEC, we’re, Rick Bright, Hong, Bill Hanage, ” Hanage, It’s, XEC, Hanage, “ It’s, Marc Johnson, Johnson, There’s, ” Chin, ” Johnson, ” Bright Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, Prevention, University of California, Biomedical, Research, Development Authority, Department of Health, Human Services, CDC, Harvard, of Public Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Pfizer, Moderna Locations: United States, San Francisco, Europe, Chin, U.S, Chan, Germany, Netherlands, France

☆ Why 4 new bird flu developments have experts worried about the virus
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Read previewBird flu is flying wild, and it has many infectious disease experts more worried now than ever. The H5N1 avian influenza virus has killed tens of millions of birds across the planet and more than 40,000 sea lions and seals. Most people seem to have very little chance, if any, of catching H5N1 avian influenza right now. Jim Vondruska/ReutersBut infectious disease experts are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 virus could make a sustained jump into humans and start spreading among us. This virus is a leading candidate for the next pandemic, and four developments in the past month have experts worried.

Persons: —, Jim Vondruska, That's, Dr, Monica Gandhi, Bird, WHO —, Christopher Dye, Dye, David L, Ryan, Gandhi, Tayfun, Rick Bright, Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz, Richard Webby, Jude, Talita, Lima Freitas, Amanda Perobelli, Marko Geber, Terry Chea, they've Organizations: Service, CDC, Business, Global Medicine, University of California, Health Organization, WHO, University of Oxford, Boston Globe, Getty, US Department of Agriculture, Anadolu Agency, The Telegraph, Biomedical, Research, Development Authority, AP, Centre, Studies, Reference Laboratory, World Organization for Animal Health, Vaccines, University of Pennsylvania Locations: Luz, Monee , Illinois, San Francisco, Australia, Kolkata, India, New Mexico, New York, St, Michigan, Campinas, Brazil

☆ Bird flu is rampant in animals. Humans ignore it at our own peril
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Then, three healthy ferrets were placed in the same enclosures with three of the sick animals. These animals could touch, nose and lick the sick animals, and all of them became ill.Next, the CDC tested airborne transmission by putting three healthy ferrets into an enclosure where they could breathe the same air as sick animals but couldn’t touch them. In her lab, ferrets with previous exposures to seasonal flu strains didn’t get as sick when exposed to new flu viruses compared to those with no prior exposure to seasonal strains. How much help we might get from past exposures to flu viruses is difficult to predict, however, which is why vaccination would still be important to tune up our immunity. They never spread the virus to any of the other animals in the facility — including themselves.

Persons: Mark Naniot, Naniot, “, ”, It’s, Jeremy Farrar, Jesse Bloom, Fred Hutch, ” Naniot, Naniot hadn’t, Scott Weese, Weese, there’s, Covid, Rick Bright, Sanjay Gupta, Bright, Erin Sorrell, Zahl, Seema Lakdawala, hasn’t, ” Bright, Dr, Richard Webby, Jude Children’s, “ It’s, Ducks, Michael Osterholm, “ I’ve, he’s Organizations: CNN, Swiss Army, World Health Organization, Fred Hutch Cancer Center, University of Guelph, US Centers for Disease Control, CDC, Research, Development Authority, CNN Chief, Bright Global Health, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, Getty, Emory University, STAT, Administration, Strategic Preparedness, USDA, Jude Children’s Research, Infectious Disease, University of Minnesota, CNN Health Locations: Wisconsin’s, United States, Seattle, Canada, Texas, Vadso, Finnmark, Norway, AFP, Finland, St, Wisconsin

☆ The 3rd human case of bird flu in the US has 2 new and troubling symptoms
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-04 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The H5N1 virus has become a pandemic among animals, raging through worldwide bird populations and now through US cattle herds. There, the H5N1 virus can continue operating as an avian virus, grabbing avian receptors with no need to adapt to human receptors. Two previous one-off human cases of H5N1 — one in Chile and one in Ecuador — featured respiratory symptoms. Even with its current monitoring, the CDC would probably detect sustained human spread, he said. Correction — June 4, 2024: An earlier version of this story misstated the nature of genomic sequencing of the H5N1 virus.

Persons: —, Jude virologist Richard Webby, Diego Vara, Rick Bright, Amanda Perobelli, John Harper, Nirav Shah, farmworkers, Shah, Bright, Bill Powers, Nathan Howard, Department of Agriculture hadn't Organizations: Service, US Centers for Disease Control, Business, CDC, Reuters, World Health Organization, Studies, New York Times, Stock, Drug Administration, STAT, Webby, Department of Agriculture Locations: Texas, Michigan, Americas, Norte, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Campinas, Townsend , Delaware

☆ Why the Human Case of Bird Flu With Respiratory Symptoms Is Concerning - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-02 | by ( Rick Bright | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The third human case of H5N1, reported on Thursday in a farmworker in Michigan who was experiencing respiratory symptoms, tells us that the current bird flu situation is at a dangerous inflection point. Of the three human cases of H5N1 that have been identified, all involve farmworkers who were in direct contact with infected cows or milk. The first two cases were relatively mild, involving symptoms like eye irritation, or conjunctivitis. The emergence of respiratory symptoms is disconcerting because it indicates a potential shift in how the virus affects humans. Coughing can spread viruses more easily than eye irritation can.

Persons: farmworkers Locations: Michigan

☆ We Are Blowing the Fight to Contain Bird Flu - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Zeynep Tufekci | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among U.S. dairy cows, first reported on March 25, has now spread to at least 33 herds in eight states. Federal authorities say the milk supply is safe, but this latest development raises troubling questions about how widespread the outbreak really is. Rick Bright, an expert on the H5N1 virus who served on President Biden’s coronavirus advisory board, told me this is the crucial moment. That’s when I told him what I’d heard from Sid Miller, the Texas commissioner for agriculture. The commissioner speculated that back then, as much as 40 percent of the herds in the Texas panhandle may have been infected.

Persons: Rick Bright, Biden’s, ”, it’s, I’d, Sid Miller, Bright, I’m, what’s Locations: Texas

The subvariant of omicron, named XBB.1.5, has raised concerns about another potential wave of Covid cases following the busy holiday travel season. The CDC projected Friday that about 40% of confirmed U.S. Covid cases are caused by the XBB.1.5 strain, up from 20% a week ago. There’s no indication it causes more severe illness than any other omicron virus, Dr. Barbara Mahon, director of CDC’s Coronavirus and Other Respiratory Viruses Division, told NBC News. The XBB.1.5 is a relative of the omicron XBB variant, which is a recombinant of the omicron BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75 subvariants. Yet, only 37.5% of that age group has received the most recent omicron booster, according to the most recent CDC data.

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