It's Flu/RSV/Covid season! Latest news

BIRD FLU UPDATE:

The CDC is tracking the spread of bird flu in wastewater from cities across the US.

Bird flu has turned up in wastewater in Michigan, Iowa, Minnesota, S. Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Colorado, Idaho and California. Over the last 6 weeks, bird flu only was detected in wastewater from California.

Wastewater Data for Avian Influenza A(H5) | National Wastewater Surveillance System | CDC

www.cdc.gov www.cdc.gov

House cats catching bird flu also is a recent concern, which can happen if a cat drinks raw milk or eats raw chicken in pet food or eats infected, wild birds. It was reported that bird flu often is deadly for cats and there is concern that the cats could transfer the bird flu to their pet owners.

"In the past couple of weeks, wastewater samples in several locations mostly scattered around California—including the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento and San Jose—tested positive for genetic material from the bird flu virus, H5N1. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Wastewater Surveillance System reported detections at 14 sites in California during a collection period that ended on November 2. As of November 13, across the U.S., 15 sites monitored by WastewaterSCAN, a project run by Stanford University and Emory University researchers, reported positive samples this month. But finding H5N1 material in wastewater doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a risk to human health, says WastewaterSCAN’s co-director Alexandria Boehm, a civil and environmental engineer at Stanford University.

Analyzing trace amounts of viral genetic material, often shed by fecal matter in sewers, can alert scientists and public health experts to a possible increase in community infections. Wastewater sampling became instrumental in forecasting COVID cases across the U.S., for instance. But the way H5N1 affects both animal and human populations complicates identifying sources and understanding disease risk. H5N1 can be deadly in poultry. Cattle usually recover from symptoms—such as fever, dehydration and reduced milk production—but veterinarians and farmers are reporting that cows have been dying at higher rates in California than in other affected states. Cats that drink raw milk from infected cows can develop deadly neurological symptoms."

www.scientificamerican.com

There’s Bird Flu in California Wastewater. What’s Next?

Wastewater in several Californian cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, recently tested positive for bird flu. But understanding disease risk and exposure to humans isn’t so straightforward
www.scientificamerican.com www.scientificamerican.com
 
kwanfan1818 said:
I’m having trouble understanding this:

If you haven’t been recently infected, early autumn is optimal for your Covid vaccine.

  • The best time to get a booster is 2.7 months before the peak of a wave (assuming no recent infections). It can lead to a five-fold lower risk of infection.
  • In the U.S., the winter peak has consistently been the first week of January. This means an annual booster on September 15th provides the lowest yearly probability of infection
Isn’t 2.7 months before the first week of January in mid-October, not mid-September?
Click to expand...
I got my Covid and flu shots (same day) in September 2024. I have never had a RSV shot. So I don’t plan on getting those right now, but how important is the RSV shot right now?
 
Vash01 said:
I got my Covid and flu shots (same day) in September 2024. I have never had a RSV shot. So I don’t plan on getting those right now, but how important is the RSV shot right now?
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Important. I also skipped it, and then my granddaughter got it and put her other grandmom in bed for a week. Now I’m vaccinated.

But if you’re not over 60 or around small kids you can take your chances.
 
I saw enough children get RSV, hospitalized, some on vents and some die.

My pulmonologist agreed with me, if we can protect ourselves and others from RSV, the better. But it not only is for you, but those around us.

I know you don't have children, but if you know someone with children, you could potentially protect those children.
 
PRlady said:
Important. I also skipped it, and then my granddaughter got it and put her other grandmom in bed for a week. Now I’m vaccinated.

But if you’re not over 60 or around small kids you can take your chances.
Click to expand...
I better get vaccinated soon, but can’t do it this week. Too busy.
 
Bird flu was detected in wastewater in Lincoln, Nebraska today and they're investigating to determine the source.

“Our disease surveillance systems are always active and provide data and information on a daily basis,” Health Director Kerry Kernen said in a press release. “In this instance, testing is telling us an H5 subtype of flu was present in wastewater. But it doesn’t tell us whether the virus came from animals, animal products or people or if the detection is highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1). We’re working to identify possible sources and further testing will help us learn more about the situation.”

www.klkntv.com

Bird flu detected in Lincoln wastewater, health department reports

The disease was detected in a wastewater sample collected from the Northeast Water Resource Recovery Facility near 70th Street and Fletcher Avenue.
www.klkntv.com www.klkntv.com

Bird flu also recently killed a flamingo and a harbor seal at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

"Two animal deaths at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago have been traced to an outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, according to a statement from zoo officials on Wednesday."


It's interesting how often bird flu jumps from species-to-species. It seems to jump between chickens, cattle, cats, wild birds, seals, humans, etc. with relative ease.

One of the next virus adaptations that CDC is watching for is when bird flu begins jumping from person-to-person. In several, recent articles, I've noticed that US virology experts believe USDA should make it mandatory for farm workers that work with chickens and dairy cattle to get vaccinated against bird flu. That will reduce the risk that bird flu mutates into a strain that can transfer from person-to-person. However, USDA still hasn't taken that step yet.

USDA also hasn't even taken the basic step of making it mandatory for farm workers that work with chickens and dairy cattle to wear masks and eye protection, since the virus often transfers via the mouth, nose or eyes. You'd think USDA would at least take that step, at a bare minimum. This follows USDA's existing lackadaisical approach to managing bird flu.

It's odd that the federal government continues to act in such a laissez-faire manner when dealing with bird flu, especially when considering its recent experience with the Covid pandemic. The US corporations that sell frozen chicken overseas, the dairy farmers, etc. must have excellent lobbyists. I can't wait to hear what the plans are for dealing with bird flu from Trump, Brooke Rollins (USDA), Dave Weldon (CDC), RFK Jr. (HHS), Dr. Marty Makary (FDA), etc.
 
100,000 ducks from a Long Island farm (the last of it kind) had to be killed because of finding bird flu among its flocks.

The New York Times on Instagram: "The last duck farm on New York’s Long Island must kill its entire flock of almost 100,000 ducks and may go out of business because of an outbreak of bird flu, a virus that has spread in herds and flocks across the U.

1,274 likes, 62 comments - nytimes on January 23, 2025: "The last duck farm on New York’s Long Island must kill its entire flock of almost 100,000 ducks and may go out of business because of an outbreak of bird flu, a virus that has spread in herds and flocks across the U.S., its owner told us...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
My company is going back to 5 days a week on 3/3/25. But we're not there yet, fortunately, as flu is going around our area.

Ex-Mr. Coco had the flu, violent dry cough and a fever for 5 days. I'm assuming it was flu because covid test was negative. Also, he didn't get a flu shot this year, but I did. I took care of him the whole week he was sick and I didn't get it.
 
I got a pneumonia vaccine the other day, so I'm caught up. Two people I know, including an older close friend and DS (age 34) both got pneumonia in the last 2 months.
 
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I don’t know where to put this.

Most of the Canadian team at 4CC became ill (Lia Pereira mentioned it, Madeline Schizas said she competed with the flu and thanked the Canadian medical team for helping her. G/P and SD/D withdrew from the gala due to illness, Maxime and Deanna also missed the GP final because he was super ill.)

I hope everyone will be able to perform their best at Worlds, but I really wish mask wearing would be more encouraged for everyone during the worst of the season, especially for travel.
 
Desperado said:
I don’t know where to put this.

Most of the Canadian team at 4CC became ill (Lia Pereira mentioned it, Madeline Schizas said she competed with the flu and thanked the Canadian medical team for helping her. G/P and SD/D withdrew from the gala due to illness, Maxime and Deanna also missed the GP final because he was super ill.)

I hope everyone will be able to perform their best at Worlds, but I really wish mask wearing would be more encouraged for everyone during the worst of the season, especially for travel.
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I don't think the 4CCs skater have influenza - I think they caught noroviruses which are highly contagious (but mostly short-lived). Masking may help somewhat but hand sanitizer is useless against them. Health Canada on preventing norovirus transmission.
 
I got my last COVID vaccine in Sept.2024. Tested positive for COVID yesterday. Same as the last time I had it, it’s a very mild case. Sneezing a lot, but otherwise fairly minor nose and chest congestion - was a little tight at the top of my lungs yesterday, but that has broken up. Also had a headache for a day. I’m pretty lethargic, but hey, I’m retired!
 
My COVID was not bad at all, just lasted 2 days of feeling low energy and congested, felt a lot better the third day and back to normal the fourth day so I took a 45 minute walk outside. I also went to the grocery store wearing a mask since I was 24 hour past the time my symptoms approved only to have the maskless cashier tell me how sick she was - she stayed home the day before, but had to come back to work even though she was still so sick. :wall:

I will test again in a couple days before I go to Legacy on Ice so I don’t share.
 
I've now completed 6 flights in 4 weeks wearing a mask...and managed to avoid getting sick on any of them. Total win. Especially true for the Kona-Denver flight where we were on-board for 7.2 hours with a whole bunch of folks who were sneezing, coughing and otherwise sounding scary.

Back in 2022 I bought a large bag of duckbill N95 masks with straps that go behind-the-head rather than behind-the-ears. They are way more comfortable than the ones that are so close to my nose. And for anyone who wears hearing aids, the behind-the-head straps are way less likely to pull out your hearing aids when you take the mask off.
 
Regarding the RSV vaccine, my doctor told me to hold off a couple of seasons because I got my pneumonia vaccines in 2020 and 2021. The RSV vaccine protects against lower respiratory infections as a result of RSV so I already have coverage from the Prevnar and Pneumovax. She said there is evidence that the pneumonia vaccines begin to wane after 5 years so I could get the RSV in 2026 or 27 to bump up the coverage then since it’s a one time shot. She also said there were ongoing discussions about whether to change it to an annual shot, but it seems RFK Jr. has obstructed all such conversations.
 
I thought RSV is an upper airway disease? Which can progress to pneumonia, but starts with upper airway disease?
 
ive never had a pneumonia vaccine to my knowledge, I feel like rolling up to CVS and asking for everything
 
A teacher friend in Texas was told by one of her student’s grandmother that there should be measles parties like they had back in the day. Really???? Oye. :wall:
So far no one in her school has confirmed measles, hopefully it stays that way.
 
annie_mg said:
My five year old was hospitalised for pneumonia due to RSV last week. Now my almost three year old is struggling with it. I wish we had a vaccine for this. It sucks.
Click to expand...
There is a vaccine for both RSV and pneumonia. Your kids may not have been in the recommended group for getting it (old people and weak immune systems) but you can ask for it anyway. Especially since they've both gotten very sick this time.
 
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