Bird Flu News:

• A delayed CDC report shows increased evidence of bird flu spreading to cattle veterinarians who may not have had symptoms. (Washington Post)
• Ohio announced its first H5N1 human case in a farm worker who handled dead poultry. (CIDRAP)
• Grocers like Costco, Whole Foods, and Trader Joe’s are restricting egg purchases due to the shortage. (Quartz)
• Workers at the only lab in California equipped to handle high-risk bird flu testing are threatening to strike, alleging staffing shortages and burnout. (Politico)
  
  
  

Health News:

• San Francisco’s UCSF hospital is “full to the brim” with flu cases. (SF Chronicle)
• Flu season still hasn’t peaked yet, with cases continuing to rise. (Forbes)
• It’s not clear if the U.S. will show up to the WHO-led global flu meeting where experts decide which strains of flu to target in next year’s vaccine. (STAT)
• Nearly one-tenth of CDC staffers (about 1300 people) will be laid off, leadership was informed in a meeting Friday morning. (Medpage Today)
• Doctors report that clinics and ERs are quieter as undocumented patients are wary of immigration enforcement. (USA Today)
• The measles outbreak in Texas has risen to 24 cases, plus another in a neighboring New Mexico county. (CIDRAP)
• The Louisiana Health Department says it will stop promoting ‘mass vaccination.’ (NY Times)
• Mosquito-borne Oropouche virus is already off to a strong start, with over 3,700 cases so far this year in the Americas. (CIDRAP)‍
• One professor’s “Free Naloxone” bike is training students to save lives. (Axios)

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Best Questions:

Can you break down exactly why eggs are so expensive right now? 

We’re all feeling the heat with sky-high egg prices and shortages right now, but understanding why they’re so high requires that we dig a bit into the world of chickens, farming, and genetics. First, it’s important to know that it’s extremely rare for poultry to recover from H5N1, especially egg-laying hens which are genetically more susceptible than other types of birds. When one bird shows signs of illness, the best thing to do for farms is to cull chickens once there are signs that a flock is sick. This prevents it from spreading further and speeds up the process so that birds suffer less and farms can start to repopulate as quickly as possible. They then have to spend money on biosecurity measures: washing trucks before they enter facilities, bussing employees in and showering them in and out, cleaning, sanitizing, and inspecting. Only then can they buy new young chickens, though they have to wait until they’re mature enough to start producing eggs. Before this crisis, it could take about 6 months for a poultry farm to repopulate after having to cull birds due to an outbreak. Now, it can take more than 12 because of the increased biosecurity measures, plus the massive demand for young egg-laying hens, which are in short supply. The result is a massive egg shortage and sky-high prices which likely will continue to climb. 

Sources: NPR, CIDRAP, APHIS, AP

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I’ve heard that bird flu is spreading silently between humans. What’s going on? 

No, there is no evidence that bird flu is spreading between people. There is new evidence that bird flu might be spreading from animals to the humans that work with them without their knowledge. A new study was released yesterday from CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), and there’s a lot of confusion about what it means. It’s getting a lot of press, in part because it’s one of three bird flu studies that were slated to be released back in January but have been held back due to the communications pause during the transition to the new government administration. The study tested the blood of 150 veterinarians who specifically work with cows. They found that three of these vets had antibodies that indicated a recent infection with H5-type bird flu. Of these, two weren't even working with sick herds (that they knew of), and one wasn't even in a state with known infected herds. This implies that more dairy cattle may be infected than we realize, even in states that have no known cases. It also means that people can have asymptomatic infections because none of the three reported pink eye or respiratory symptoms. That suggests we’re likely undercounting total human cases. What it doesn’t mean is that people are silently spreading it to each other. These are bovine vets who work closely with cows and other animals, including poultry in one case, so they likely got the virus directly from an infected animal. So, this doesn’t raise the risk to the average person, but it does suggest that we should be testing dairy cattle, milk, and high-risk workers more widely, even in states without known outbreaks and even in people without symptoms. What we’d also really love to see is a larger study of the general population to find out if people without any contact with birds or dairy cows have antibodies. 

Sources: MMWR, PBS

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In lieu of a best read…some Valentines from ZHH:

🌹 Roses are red, food safety’s key,
Handwashing basics keep guests germ-free!

 🌼 Jaundice is yellow, and hepatitis too,
Sending sick workers home keeps it out of the stew!

🦠 Norovirus spreads in the blink of an eye,
A strong safety culture keeps it running dry!

👏 Here’s to your team—protecting each guest,
With every safe meal, you show you’re the best!

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