Could bird flu become the next COVID? How worried should we be? | The Boston Globe
“We have to figure out how [H5N1 is] transmitting, how it’s evolving, and stop the transmission so we don’t get to a position where we have to think about how we do a broader response for this in humans,” CEID director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia told The Boston Globe. Read more here.
5 Signs of Lyme Disease You Really Shouldn’t Ignore | SELF Magazine
CEID faculty Dr. Cassandra Pierre recently spoke to SELF about five common symptoms of Lyme disease, a tick-borne pathogen, to recognize, especially for those who live in areas where black-legged deer ticks or western black-legged ticks are common. You have a bull’s-eye-shaped rash (or something like it)—or you spot a tick latched onto your skin. […]
To stop a pandemic before it starts, protect dairy workers from H5N1 | The Washington Post
Because of pasteurization practices which render pathogens such as H5N1 inactive, general consumers don not need to be concerned about contracting avian flu through milk or other dairy products. However, as CEID director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia and CEID affiliate Lauren Sauer write in an op-ed for The Washington Post, “Preventing farmworker infections and uncontrolled spread […]
Scientists call new measures to control bird flu in cows ‘a drop in the bucket’ | Science
CEID affiliate faculty Lauren Sauer recently expressed her concern about the lack of widespread testing of animals for H5N1. “We’re not looking where we don’t already see indicators that the virus is there, and that never gives us enough information.” Read the full article from Science.
Should I be worried about bird flu in Mass. — or in my milk? A local expert weighs in | WBUR
While public health experts are working urgently to better understand H5N1, CEID director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia reminds WBUR that for the general population, there isn’t currently need for concern or alarm about H5N1, especially because all Massachusetts grocery stores require milk to be pasteurized, which renders any potential H5N1 virus fragments inactive. Read more on […]
USDA conducting studies on beef due to bird flu outbreak but maintain supply is safe | ABC News
The USDA has not found any evidence of live, infectious H5N1 virus in pasteurized milk. USDA officials are now also testing beef for any potential for transmission of the virus. “Despite our confidence in the safety of the meat supply, the importance of continued and comprehensive investigations remains critical. These studies are crucial for maintaining […]
One in Five Milk Samples Has Bird Flu Virus Fragments, Suggesting Cow Infections Are More Widespread Than Thought | Smithsonian Magazine
“The discovery of bird flu virus fragments in commercial milk is significant, not because it poses a direct threat to public health, but because it indicates a broader exposure among dairy cattle than we previously understood,” says CEID affiliate faculty Dr. John Brownstein. Read the full story in Smithsonian Magazine.
COVID-19 hospitalizations hit record low, the CDC says | ABC News
COVID hospitalizations were down to an all time low of 5,615 hospital admissions in the most recently reported week compared to over 150,000 per week at the height of the Omicrom variant surge. “The significant decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths to these new lows is encouraging, showing that our public health measures and vaccination […]
Four reasons to be concerned (but not freak out) about the bird flu | USA Today
Now is the time to be proactively studying H5N1 & preparing for the potential of an outbreak, CEID director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia tells USA Today. She adds that more testing in humans is needed to fully assess whether there have been more human cases than the single case reported in a dairy farmer. Read more […]
America’s Infectious-Disease Barometer Is Off | The Atlantic
The public is quick to focus on what is the newest infectious disease concern – and equally quick to move on when a new threat appears. CEID director Dr. Nahid Bhadelia spoke to The Atlantic about the current need to balance researching to better understand H5N1, while not ignoring other re-emerging threats such as measles. […]