Health News:

• Hospitals along the eclipse’s path are preparing for more traffic accidents and eye injuries during Monday’s celestial event. (Axios)
• Another sushi restaurant was at the center of a likely norovirus outbreak, this time in Pennsylvania. (WPXI)
• The CDC is working to test those who come into contact with sick dairy cows and working with veterinarians to track illness in animals. (NPR)
• Culling of millions of birds is standard practice when a commercial flock is infected with bird flu, but some activists don’t feel the farms should be reimbursed by the government. (NY Times)
• Hepatitis C cases fell in the US last year, but scientists aren’t sure if it’s a blip or a trend. (AP)
• A new study highlights the stark racial and ethnic disparities in TB cases among U.S.-born adults. (CIDRAP)
• Pfizer’s own study found that for people who are fully vaccinated and at standard risk, Paxlovid didn’t actually shorten the duration of COVID symptoms. (MedPage Today)
• Air quality improvements are linked to fewer cases in schools, highlighting the value of updating ventilation and filtration systems. (CIDRAP)
• After finding hundreds of dead penguins in Antarctica, scientists are investigating whether it’s the H5N1 avian flu killing millions of other wild birds. (Reuters)

Mental Health & Substance Use News:

• A Texas judge is pioneering court programs that aim to support people with mental illness, including with court-mandated medication. (WSJ)
• Mental health care is hard to find, especially for those with Medicare or Medicaid. (NPR)

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. 

Best Questions:

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What have we learned so far about the human avian flu case?

The CDC shared a very detailed technical update this week about the genetics of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a person in Texas. The person’s only symptom was pink eye, and they had no respiratory illness at all. That’s good news for now, though it’s worrisome that such mild symptoms mean that people won’t realize they have HPAI, and that could give the virus a chance to mutate for more efficient infection of humans. There was one important mutation on a genetic marker that is linked to the ability of the virus to adapt to a human host, but there’s no evidence that it makes the virus more transmissible to or between humans. Another big relief for public health experts is that our current vaccines will likely work against this strain. The CDC still feels that the risk to the general public is low, though this certainly means we need to - forgive us the pun - “beef up” surveillance of both dairy cows and those who come in close contact with them. 

Source: CDC, CIDRAP

If the avian flu were to spread to humans, what vaccines and treatments are available?

First, let’s reiterate that the risk to humans who don’t work with sick birds or cows is very low right now. But avian flu experts are concerned that there are so many animals out there (in the wild and on commercial farms) that are infected with this virus that the risk of a mutation that makes it spread more easily to and between humans is increasing dramatically. The good news is that based on its genetic markers, scientists are confident that our current flu antiviral, Tamiflu, will work as a treatment for this strain, at least as it is now. And we do have flu vaccine candidates that work against H5N1, though we don’t have a national stockpile right now, in part because the government doesn’t want to impact the ability to manufacture seasonal flu vaccines. But the CDC will be closely watching to see if human to human transmission begins in earnest, which may be the trigger point to start mass producing a vaccine for the avian flu. 

Source: NPR

ZHH Special Report:

If you haven’t already, check out our special report published earlier this week on the highly pathogenic avian flu and what it means for you. 

ZHH Special Report: Avian flu in dairy cows and a person. What does it mean for businesses?

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