contagious disease

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Bird Flu Spreads to US Cattle, Goats
Bird Flu Spreads
to US Cattle, Goats

Bird Flu Spreads to US Cattle, Goats

Commercial milk supply is said to be safe, though, per officials

(Newser) - A week after officials in Minnesota said bird flu had been found for the first time in US livestock—specifically, goats living on a farm with infected poultry—the virus has been found to have spread to dairy cows in Texas and Kansas, per the AP . The highly pathogenic avian...

Bird Flu Continues to Wreak Havoc, Killing Seals Worldwide

Tens of thousands of seals, sea lions have died, and scientists aren't sure how to slow the spread

(Newser) - Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus . The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of...

As Measles Cases Spread, You May Want to Check Your Own Status

There have already been at least 64 US cases this year; last year saw a total of 58

(Newser) - Earlier this month, warning signs emerged of a fast-spreading measles problem, as the highly contagious disease migrated from Florida to more than a dozen other states. Now, an ominous stat: The CDC says that, as of late last week, there were 64 recorded cases of measles in the US—more...

Uptick in US Measles Cases 'Boggles the Mind'
Florida, You're Not Alone
With Your Measles Issues
THE RUNDOWN

Florida, You're Not Alone With Your Measles Issues

Cases of the technically eradicated disease in the US have popped up in at least 16 states

(Newser) - Florida isn't the only place where measles seems to be making a comeback . CDC stats as of Thursday show a total of 41 cases around the US, in 16 states and growing (click here for a current list). CBS News notes that these numbers "mark one of the...

Nearly 800 of School's Students Were Absent on Wednesday

Not due to COVID, but a 'highly contagious' gastrointestinal bug that's closed Alabama school

(Newser) - As one Florida elementary school deals with measles , another in Alabama is contending with a "gastrointestinal outbreak" that kept nearly 800 students out of school in just one day. WKRG reports that Fairhope West Elementary School is now closed Thursday and Friday after 773 students called in on Wednesday,...

At Florida School, a 'Preventable' Outbreak

So far, 5 measles cases identified at Manatee Bay Elementary in Broward County's Weston

(Newser) - Over the weekend, the Florida Department of Health warned that it was looking into "multiple cases of measles" at an elementary school in South Florida. On Monday, Broward County Public Schools official John Sullivan confirmed that five cases in total had been identified so far at Manatee Bay Elementary...

In California's 'Egg Basket,' a Fast-Spreading 'Trauma'

Poultry farmers forced to kill million-plus birds to control outbreak of avian flu in Sonoma County

(Newser) - Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: His chickens tested positive for avian flu. Following government rules, Weber's company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens—550,000 birds—to prevent the disease from infecting other farms in Sonoma County, north...

In Europe, This 'Canary in a Coal Mine' Is Afoot

Measles is surging, with outbreaks especially prevalent in UK; US also seeing an uptick

(Newser) - As we get our legs after the COVID tsunami, another set of outbreaks is taking hold, especially in Europe. The BBC reports that measles are cropping up throughout the EU, with a nearly 45-fold spike in cases last year, according to the World Health Organization. The UN agency found that...

'Disease X' Isn't Here Yet, but Preparations Are Being Made

World leaders, health experts set up for pandemic that could potentially be far worse than COVID-19

(Newser) - World leaders and health experts are coming together to combat a serious international epidemic that's thankfully hypothetical at this point. If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it's that health care systems and economies can be easily overwhelmed by the global spread of a little-understood disease. Enter "...

Hundreds of Animal Species Hit by 'Catastrophic' Flu Strain

Elephant seals, seabirds, and now a polar bear—could humans be hit hard next with H5N1?

(Newser) - "It is catastrophic ... the largest die-off for the species, period." That's how Martin Mendez, a marine biologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society, describes to the Washington Post the fate of hundreds of elephant seals last fall in Argentina, found dead along the shore of the Valdes Peninsula....

Updated COVID Shots Part of Plan to Avoid 'Tripledemic'

Approval of updated vaccines expected within days, just in time for flu and RSV season

(Newser) - Updated COVID-19 vaccines are coming soon, just in time to pair them with flu shots. Doctors hope enough people get vaccinated to help avert another "tripledemic" like last year, when hospitals were overwhelmed with an early flu season, an onslaught of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and yet another winter...

As School Year Kicks Off, a 'Rude Reminder' From COVID
Think We're Done
With COVID? It's
Not Done With Us
THE RUNDOWN

Think We're Done With COVID? It's Not Done With Us

Illness is more manageable now, but late-summer wave shows our 'new normal' will include the virus

(Newser) - If you're seeing a sudden uptick in people around you contracting COVID, more than three years after the start of the pandemic, and more than three months after the pandemic public health emergency was declared over , you're not imagining it. Per the New York Times , there's been...

At 'Disease Detectives' Forum, a COVID Outbreak
181 Caught COVID
at CDC Conference

181 Caught COVID at CDC Conference

Gathering of 'disease detectives' gets unwanted surprise

(Newser) - A group of CDC specialists described as "disease detectives" by the Washington Post have gotten an unexpected case study to examine—their own. Of the 1,800 people who attended an agency conference in Atlanta last month, at least 181 contracted COVID, reports Ars Technica , citing an agency news...

Monkeypox News Is Only Getting Worse
Monkeypox News
Is Only Getting Worse

Monkeypox News Is Only Getting Worse

Former FDA chief criticizes response, as 'NYT' reports on painful cases among patients

(Newser) - Comments from two well-known officials suggest that the monkeypox outbreak in the US is way undercounted and about to get worse.
  • Gottlieb: "I think the window for getting control of this and containing it probably has closed, and if it hasn't closed, it's certainly starting to close,
...

Chipmunks With the Plague Lead to Closures in Resort City

Sections in southern part of Calif. resort area to remain shuttered through end of week after rodents test positive

(Newser) - Last year was the year of the murder hornets and flying ants . This year, it's plague chipmunks. The AP reports that certain sections on the south shores of California's Lake Tahoe have been temporarily closed after some of the striped rodents tested positive for the infectious disease. Due...

'Sobering' Findings After Partying in Provincetown

Vaccines still keep serious illness at bay, but new CDC report suggests vaxxed can still spread virus

(Newser) - The CDC got more conservative with its face mask guidelines this week, ahead of unpublished research leaked to the Washington Pos t. On Friday, that study was released, and the Post calls its findings "sobering." Per the analysis in its weekly Morbidity and Mortality report , the agency notes...

Not All the News on the Delta Variant Is Grim
Not All the News on the
Delta Variant Is Grim
the rundown

Not All the News on the Delta Variant Is Grim

It's more contagious but cases aren't more severe, notes 'New York Times'

(Newser) - COVID cases in the US and around the world are rising again, thanks largely to the fast-spreading delta variant. But in the New York Times , David Leonhardt offers up a counterpoint to the doom-and-gloom coverage. While delta is indeed more contagious than previous variants, preliminary data suggest it doesn't...

COVID Jumped From Bats to Animal to Humans: WHO

Joint report with China finds that virus likely didn't originate in a lab

(Newser) - A joint China-World Health Organization study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is "extremely unlikely," according to a draft obtained by the AP . The findings offer...

A Deadly Rabbit Disease Is Spreading
A Deadly Rabbit
Disease Is Spreading

A Deadly Rabbit Disease Is Spreading

It's mostly in the western US, but isolated case turns up among domesticated rabbits in NYC

(Newser) - The year 2020 has been a rough one not just for humans but for rabbits, with the appearance of a deadly and highly contagious disease in North America. Now it appears that the spread of rabbit hemorrhagic disease is getting worse here. Last week, wildlife officials in Utah announced that...

Trump Contradicts CDC, Claims He's Not Contagious

It's been a week since diagnosis was made public; CDC calls for at least 10 days of isolation

(Newser) - President Trump is "cured" of the coronavirus—or so he claims in his first interview since his hospitalization a week ago. "I feel perfect. There's nothing wrong," he told Maria Bartiromo of Fox News in a phone interview on Thursday, per CNBC . "I don't...

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