“The Coming Trump(Bird Flu) Pandemic”
by Robert Kuttner February 28, 2025
“On Wednesday, the FDA sent an email to its advisory panel on vaccines canceling a meeting scheduled for March 13. There was no explanation. If the panel obeys, we will all be denied next fall’s flu vaccine.
Among its other duties, the expert panel of doctors and scientists works with vaccine makers to assess mutations in strains of flu, so that safe and effective vaccines can be made for the fall flu season, a process that takes about six months of lead time. The panel also relies on data from the World Health Organization, which the Trump administration has quit.”
to read the full article go to
https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2025-02-28-trump-pandemic-bird-flu-vaccines/
“State of play of Bird Flu in the US – and how the Trump administration is increasing the danger for everybody”
By Christina Pagel
“Scientists are not sure why most bird flu infections in the recent US outbreak are mild. It could be down to various factors (or a combination of factors) such as: route of exposure through the eye means that the infection isn’t reaching people’s lungs and causing more severe disease; an inherently milder variant in the B3.13 version; previous exposure to seasonal flu or seasonal flu jabs providing cross protection in people. Other infected animals (including cats) exhibit more severe illness from the circulating bird flu strains, including neurological symptoms, but this could be down to the virus behaving differently in different species or different routes of exposure (e.g. cats consuming infected raw meat or milk).”
“The problem is that increasing surveillance of both animals and people requires scientists to work with farms, vetinarians, landowners and farm workers. We are already in a situation where surveillance is fragmented across agencies (FDA for milk, CDC for people, USDA for poultry and cattle). USDA just fired several employees dealing with efforts to prevent the spread of bird flu and there have been mass lay-offs at the CDC and FDA. Maintaining, let alone expanding, either surveillance or cooperation in the current climate will be very difficult.”
to read the full article go to
https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/state-of-play-of-bird-flu-in-the
“CDC discovers bird flu antibodies in veterinarians working with cattle
https://www.safetyandhealthmagazine.com/articles/26550-cdc-discovers-bird-flu-antibodies-in-veterinarians-working-with-cattle
“H5N1 is spreading. America is not ready.”
by Leana S. Wen
“Meghan Frost Davis, a veterinarian and Johns Hopkins professor, has been warning for months that rodents contracting H5N1 would be a major red flag in the evolution of bird flu. “What we really need to understand is to what degree rodents are involved,” she said, so that containment can be more targeted and more precise. She also urges better surveillance and data reporting of companion animal infections and more education of veterinary workers so that they are looking for bird flu across species and aware of their own risk.
Every expert I spoke to for this column — and indeed for every piece I’ve written on bird flu — emphasized the urgent need for rapid, accessible testing. As Schultz-Cherry said, “We need to find ways to test anybody and everybody that has a potential occupational exposure — and their households.” Clinicians treating high-risk workers should have rapid antigen tests, as should veterinarians.
Thus far, 70 people have tested positive for H5N1. Americans need to be ready for when that number multiplies. The Biden administration had taken steps to expedite vaccine development, including by investing $590 million in Moderna’s mRNA technology for a bird flu vaccine. The Trump administration has said it might withdraw this funding.
Doing so would be a profound mistake. As bird flu affects more and more species, containment efforts alone will not be enough. The administration must also prepare for H5N1 potentially becoming a significant threat to human health.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/03/04/bird-flu-h5n1-cats-rats-cows/
“Deadly H5N1 bird flu strain has hit all but 1 continent”
By Rebecca Falconer
“The H5N1 bird flu strain has infected humans and other animals in every continent except Australia, and scientists say it could serve as a model for other countries.”
“State of play: What makes Australasia better positioned than other countries is not just its status as an island continent, but also its people’s commitment to “one health,” said Bennett, who’s chair of epidemiology at Australia’s Deakin University.”
“”I think it’s a matter of when, not if, the virus arrives in Australasia,” added Geoghegan, who’s co-leading a research project aimed at better understanding how and where avian influenza and other potentially devastating viruses could strike.”
“Research that tracks migratory birds shows us that we are not as isolated as we might think. We are part of a very important migratory flyway and these birds migrate here in their thousands.””
to read the full article go to
https://www.axios.com/2025/03/05/bird-flu-h5n1-australia-only-continent-no-cases