Bird flu in 7 percent of unprotected farmworkers exposed to infected dairy cows, says CDC
Farmworkers who are exposed to infected poultry or dairy cattle as part of their jobs should be tested for bird flu even if they show no symptoms, particularly if they did not wear protective equipment, said the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. The CDC revised its safety guidelines after researchers reported that 7 percent of unprotected dairy workers carried antibodies in their blood indicating infection by the H5N1 avian flu virus.
Bird flu: 20 people ill, 300 herds infected since March
In the nearly seven months since bird flu was identified in dairy cattle in Texas, the virus has infected 20 people — all but one of them livestock workers — and been found in 300 herds in 14 states from North Carolina to California. "The epidemiology of the situation continues to suggest sporadic instances of animal-to-human spread," rather than the virus gaining power to spread among people, said the Centers for Disease Control.
Risk assessment validates ongoing U.S. response to H5N1 virus, says CDC
While the risk to the general population from the H5N1 avian flu virus remains low, an assessment rated its future pandemic potential as moderate, the same as previous assessments, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The results of this IRAT [Influenza Risk Assessment Tool] validate the pro-active, coordinated U.S. government response," said the CDC in a weekly report on bird flu.
Little to no U.S. immunity to H5N1 avian flu virus, CDC says
Blood tests show "there is extremely low to no population immunity" among Americans to the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the Centers for Disease Control. Most of the population would be vulnerable if the virus mutated to become more readily contagious, said the CDC, but it has identified two candidate vaccines that would offer "good cross-protection" against it.
H5N1 virus was spread by cattle, people and shared equipment
After the H5N1 avian flu virus jumped from birds to dairy cattle in Texas last December, it was spread across the country by infected cows, contaminated machinery, and people who inadvertently carried the virus on their clothes and footwear from farm to farm, said USDA scientists on Thursday. Officials said the risk to the public was low because the virus has not shown signs of adapting to humans. “We should be, as we are, alert, not alarmed,” said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.
In a first, farmworker infected with bird flu has respiratory symptoms
A farmworker in Michigan is the first person to experience respiratory symptoms after contracting bird flu from dairy cows infected with the H5N1 virus, said Michigan officials on Thursday. It was the third U.S. case of cow-to-human transmission and the second in Michigan. The Centers for Disease Control said the risk to the general public remained low.
Dairy worker in Michigan has bird flu in second case of cow-to-human infection
A worker on a Michigan dairy farm contracted a mild case of H5 bird flu from infected cattle — the second cow-to-human infection since bird flu was first identified in dairy cattle in late March — said the Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday. The risk to the public remains low, said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.
CDC: Bird flu virus lacks changes to make it a greater threat to people
Samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus that has infected dairy cattle and a dairy worker retain avian genetic characteristics and “for the most part lack changes that would make them better able to infect mammals,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a technical update. “The overall risk to human health associated with the ongoing HPAI A(H5) outbreaks in poultry and detections in wild birds and cattle remains low,” said the CDC.
First time: Bird flu spreads from cattle to human in Texas
A Texas patient tested positive for the bird flu virus after exposure to dairy cattle believed to be carrying the disease — the first known instance of cattle-to-human transmission in the United States, said public health officials on Monday. The patient reported eye redness, consistent with conjunctivitis, as the only symptom and was recovering, said the Centers for Disease Control.
CDC report reveals thousands of previously undisclosed Covid-19 cases in food workplaces
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an updated report on the spread of Covid-19 among food manufacturing and agricultural workers on Monday, revealing thousands of previously unreported cases and reiterating the disproportionate impact that the virus has had on workers of …
CDC updates Covid-19 numbers at meat plants but uses weeks-old data
As of May 31, more than 16,000 meat and poultry processing workers in 23 states had contracted Covid-19, and 86 had died of the disease, said a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Tuesday. Nearly 90 percent of the affected workers were identified as Hispanic, Black, or Asian. According to more up-to-date data, however, the numbers for infected and deceased workers are actually much higher. (No paywall)
Biden calls meatpacking plant conditions ‘inhumane and downright immoral’
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden joined a chorus of voices demanding stronger workplace protections for meatpacking workers at a virtual town hall on Monday. Workers – falling ill from covid-19 – deserve a safer workplace, higher pay, and immigration protections, lawmakers …
In CDC report on ‘fast food,’ Sweetgreen and McDonald’s are treated as equals
A much-publicized report from the Centers for Disease Control released earlier this month found that more than a third of Americans eat fast food daily. But what wasn't included in the media coverage was that the study’s definition of "fast food" includes fast-casual restaurants, such as the custom-salad chain Sweetgreen, as well as coffee, bagel, and even ice cream shops. Such a broad definition, well beyond the burger-centric drive-through that the term "fast food" calls to mind, raises questions about how much the CDC data actually reveal about American eating habits.
Chicken is top among food categories in CDC analysis of food-borne illnesses
Chicken is America'a favorite meat, with per capita consumption approaching 110 pounds per person this year, roughly twice as much as beef. Five CDC scientists who analyzed U.S. outbreaks of food-borne illness in recent years say chicken caused the largest number of illnesses when outbreaks were ranked by food category.
CDC chief, entangled in ‘complex financial interests,’ resigns
Two days after he was sworn into office, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar accepted the resignation of CDC director Brenda Fitzgerald, whose six-month tenure at the agency ended in a warren of “complex financial interests” that prevented her from doing her job, said the HHS.
CDC director bought tobacco shares after taking office
Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use,” reported Politico.
U.S. gives short shrift to agro-defense and the risk of zoonotic diseases
The average American consumes more than a half-pound of meat each day, yet the country devotes limited thought or funding to protecting its livestock from diseases that could disrupt production or infect humans, said former Sen. Joe Lieberman during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.
Rural Americans use seat belts less, have higher death rate
The traffic death rate on rural roads is 2.6 time higher than the urban rate; 1.8 vs 0.7 per 100 million miles, say CDC researchers in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Seat belt usage is 14 percentage points lower among rural motorists than city residents, said the scientists, …
White House taps Georgia state health official to head CDC
President Trump plans to appoint the Georgia state public health commissioner, Brenda Fitzgerald, as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the Washington Post. Fitzgerald is president-elect of the organization representing public health agencies and "has strong ties to Republican leaders," including Health Secretary Tom Price, a former Georgia congressman, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said the newspaper.