TRACKING EMERGING VIRUSES – May 27, 2025 – BIRD FLU
Aka high pathogenicity avian influenza
“Covering the ongoing bird flu story: Identifying appropriate sources”
By Katie Burke and Tara Haelle
“When considering whether you have the right sources for your bird flu story, ask yourself the following questions:
Does this person have the expertise, whether based on knowledge, education or experience, to answer very specific questions about the local situation or to provide insights on the story beyond what a general observer could figure out?
Do you have or need people with lived experience, such as farmers or ranchers who can speak to the logistical on-the-ground challenges they face in protecting their herds/flocks?
Should you talk to employees who can speak to challenges they have in finding or using PPE to protect themselves? -…..”
to read the full article go to
“Covering the ongoing bird flu story as it unfolds”
https://healthjournalism.org/blog/2025/05/covering-the-ongoing-bird-flu-story-as-it-unfolds/
“Could Bird Flu Be the Next Global Pandemic?”
By Vijay Kumar Malesu
“Unlike seasonal flu, which regularly circulates and allows populations to build partial immunity, avian strains remain largely unfamiliar to the human immune system. Furthermore, current human flu vaccines are not designed to protect against bird flu variants.4”
“How Prepared Are We?”
“Barriers to a Pandemic”
“What Needs to Happen Now
To reduce the risk of a bird flu pandemic, global disease monitoring systems must be strengthened to ensure early detection of outbreaks and viral mutations. This includes building and maintaining robust veterinary and public health surveillance infrastructures, especially in regions with close human-animal interaction.
Many developing countries lack the laboratory capacity and trained personnel needed for timely diagnosis and reporting of avian influenza in poultry and wild animals, which are primary reservoirs of the virus.
Existing human influenza vaccines offer limited protection against avian strains like H5N1 or H7N9; therefore, investing in bird flu-specific vaccine research and production is crucial.
Educating frontline workers, including farmers, animal health technicians, and veterinary professionals, is vital. Training programs can improve outbreak response, enhance biosecurity, and reduce the likelihood of animal-to-human transmission.7”
to read the full article go to
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Could-Bird-Flu-Be-the-Next-Global-Pandemic.aspx
“Bird flu cases spreading faster and with greater impacts – report”
By Marta Iraola Iribarren
“In addition to the devastating impact on poultry, bird flu is causing unprecedented mass die-offs in wild bird populations, disrupting ecosystems and threatening biodiversity, the report shows.
“As integral components of ecosystem stability, the loss of biodiversity causes cascading effects that compromise environmental resilience and global wildlife conservation,” it reads, adding that biodiversity alteration at this scale also affects migration patterns and food chains.
According to the animal health organisation, seabirds, raptors and waterfowl have suffered catastrophic losses, with entire breeding colonies wiped out. “
The WOAH’s report states that “the scale and complexity of this ongoing epizootic require urgent action beyond traditional control measures”.
What are these traditional measures? Strict biosecurity and active surveillance have been the main strategies to date. While these have been effective to some extent, the organisation warns that the virus’s relentless spread demands additional efforts.
Vaccination may offer a solution or at least serve as a valuable complement to traditional measures, as vaccines can reduce not only the spread of outbreaks but also the severity of infections.
to read the full article go to
“Bird Flu Is Now Killing Cats at a 90% Fatality Rate – Experts Warn It Could Jump to Humans”
“Diseases continue to cross species barrier as global bird flu cases double”
“Understanding the Basics of Bird Flu”
By Sara Frueh
One crucial way to lessen the odds of a bad trajectory, Bhadelia stressed, is to give the virus fewer chances to infect people, and therefore fewer chances to mutate.
“The one way we can prevent the virus from evolving further to adapt to humans is to reduce its chances to cause sporadic infections in humans,” said Bhadelia. “Which is why protecting the workers — particularly those from vulnerable populations, who have language barriers, farmworkers who are migrants who may not have access to health care — ensuring they are tested and get access to care [is important] … Because the more humans this virus affects, it’s like Russian roulette — it could give it chances to adapt.”
to read the full article go to
https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/05/understanding-the-basics-of-bird-flu
“NJ confirms bird flu at Essex poultry market. Here’s how to help keep it from spreading”
By William Westhoven
“Federal and state authorities have confirmed a case of a highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu, that was detected on May 13 at a live bird market in Essex County.”
to read the full article go to
“What Are The Risk Factors For Avian Flu?”
“With recent avian flu outbreaks making headlines and causing concern among health officials worldwide, many people wonder about their personal risk of contracting this potentially dangerous virus. What are the risk factors for avian flu?
The main risk factors for avian flu include direct contact with infected birds, exposure to contaminated environments like poultry farms or markets, contact with bird droppings, and living in or traveling to areas with active avian flu outbreaks.
While these risk factors might seem straightforward, understanding them in detail is crucial because different levels of exposure carry different levels of risk, and there are specific actions you can take to protect yourself in each scenario. Keep reading to learn about the precise circumstances that increase your risk and the practical steps you can take to minimize your exposure.”
to read the full article go to
curated by Jonathan M. Metsch, Dr.P.H.
Clinical Professor of Environmental Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai