Last summer, the highly contagious strain of avian influenza that had been spreading through North American birds made its way into marine mammals, causing a spike in seal strandings along the coast of Maine. In June and July, more than 150 dead or ailing seals washed ashore. Now, a study provides new insight into the […]
Read MoreTag: Avian Influenza
U.S. Considers Vaccinating Chickens Amid Bird Flu Outbreak
Cases typically involve people exposed to poultry. In the United States, the C.D.C., in partnership with state and local public health departments, is monitoring people who are exposed to H5N1. As of last week, 6,315 people had been monitored; 163 reported symptoms; and one tested positive, according to Dr. Tim Uyeki, the chief medical officer […]
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Is the United States Ready for Back-to-Back Pandemics?
Over time, fatality rates considerably higher than those encountered with Covid would (one hopes) shake a lot of the country’s current mitigation fatalism — because a disease that kills 5 percent of those infected looks very different from one that kills only 1 percent. But a deadlier pandemic would probably also, perversely, reignite arguments over […]
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Bird Flu Outbreak Puts Mink Farms Back in the Spotlight
Early last October, the mink on a fur farm in Spain suddenly began to fall ill. They stopped eating and began salivating excessively. They became clumsy, started to experience tremors and developed bloody snouts. At first, experts suspected that the coronavirus might be to blame. It was a reasonable assumption; since the beginning of the […]
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H5N1 Bird Flu is Causing Alarm. Here’s Why We Must Act.
We already have antivirals for influenza, which work regardless of strain, but they need to be administered early, which requires widespread early testing, easy access, and sufficient and equitable stockpiles globally. Scientists are working toward a universal flu vaccine, potentially covering all variants as well as future pandemic ones — a moonshot, perhaps, but worth […]
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Why Eggs Cost So Much
Prices have risen for just about everything over the past couple of years. But anyone shopping for groceries recently has probably noticed the cost of one item in particular: eggs. Buying eggs has become very expensive. In December 2022, the average price of a dozen eggs in the U.S. was $4.25, more than twice what […]
Read MoreEgg Shortages Are Driving Demand for Raise-at-Home Chickens
Which shortage came first: the chicks or the eggs? Spooked by a huge spike in egg prices, some consumers are taking steps to secure their own future supply. Demand for chicks that will grow into egg-laying chickens — which jumped at the onset of the global pandemic in 2020 — is rapid again as the […]
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