News brief
Lisa Schnirring
Topics
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)
As part of its food safety testing in the wake of H5N1 avian flu circulation in dairy herds, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS)announced today that viral particles were detected in tissue samples, including muscle, from 1 of 96 cows that were tested.
Meat from the culled dairy cows did not enter the food supply. At select FSIS-inspected facilities, the agency collected multiple tissues from the culled animals, including muscle samples from the diaphragm. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which can detect virus fragments but not live virus, on the sample was done by the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Postmortem examination of the animal that tested positive revealed signs of illness, and traceback activities are under way, along with notification of the producer to get further information.
USDA said the actions are part of its routine operations and provide further confidence in the US food safety system.
Virus strikes herd in 10th Michigan county
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) today announced that H5N1 has been detected in three more dairy herds, including the first from Calhoun County. The other two farms are in Clinton and Ionia counties.
Samples from the cows tested positive for the virus atthe Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. MDARD said the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) has already confirmed findings from the outbreak in the Ionia County herd and that the NVSL's confirmation tests are still pending on samples from the Calhoun and Clinton county herds.
MDARD'sline list for the outbreak now reflects 21 affected dairy herds from 10 counties, the most of any state.
News brief Topics Salmonella An outbreak of Salmonella linked to backyard poultry flocks has sickened 109 people in 29 states, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officialssaid yesterday. While no deaths have been reported, the CDC said 33 people have been hospitalized. The median age of case-patients is 10 years, with 43% of those sickened under 5 years. Illnesses started on dates ranging from February 24 to April 30. Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory indicate backyard poultry is the source. Of the 70 people interviewed by state and local public health officials, 51 reported contact with backyard poultry in the week before they got sick. Of the 28 people with information available, 18 reported buying poultry from multiple retail stores and a hatchery. No common poultry supplier has been identified. The outbreak involves multiple Salmonella serovars, including Altona, Indiana, Infantis, Mbandaka, and Typhimurium. Whole-genome sequencing conducted by CDC PulseNet—the national subtyping network for foodborne bacterial disease surveillance—on isolates from case-patients shows they are closely related genetically. In addition, sequencing of samples collected from boxes used to ship poultry from hatcheries to retail stores in Indiana and Utah found that the Salmonella Altona and Salmonella Mbandaka isolates were the same strain as those found in case-patients. Further testing of isolates from 101 case-patients and 4 environmental samples found no predicted antibiotic resistance, but seven people's samples predicted resistance to one or more of the following antibiotics: amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, cefoxitin, ceftiofur, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline. While most people recover from Salmonella infections without antibiotics, the CDC says some illnesses in the outbreak may be difficult to treat with commonly recommended antibiotics. Young children, adults over 65, and people with weakened immune systems have a higher risk of becoming severely ill. The CDC advises people to wash their hands after touching backyard poultry and their eggs, supervise children around flocks, and to refrain from kissing or snuggling backyard poultry.Some antibiotic resistance detected
News brief Lisa Schnirring Topics COVID-19 Polio Norovirus Foodborne Disease
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This week's top reads
- Drug-resistant Trichophyton fungus represents emerging threat in US Retrospective reviews suggest the earliest confirmed US isolate was from 2017. Stephanie Soucheray
- Singapore reports rise in COVID activity The health ministry said two JN.1 variants, KP.1 and KP.2, make up more than two-thirds of Singapore's COVID cases. Lisa Schnirring
- HHS advances plan to produce 4.8 million H5N1 vaccine doses Officials have identified a fill-and-finish opening on a production line at a vaccine company partner and said the activity won't disrupt the supply of seasonal flu vaccine. Lisa Schnirring
- USDA experiments suggest H5N1 not viable in properly cooked ground beef Federal officials said it's unclear if dairy cow outbreaks are peaking, and they haven't made much headway testing farm workers for avian flu virus. Lisa Schnirring
- Michigan reports 3 more H5N1 outbreaks in dairy herds In other developments, H5N1 has been detected in cats from South Dakota with no known links to poultry or dairy herd outbreaks. Lisa Schnirring
- Global meta-analysis estimates 43% rate of multidrug resistance in COVID patients A total of 76% of patients were prescribed antibiotics. Mary Van Beusekom
- Michigan reports H5 avian flu in dairy farm worker Tests on an eye swab were positive in testing at the CDC, though respiratory samples were negative. Lisa Schnirring
- Wastewater testing for H5 avian flu virus could provide early warning, outbreak insights The group will use the H5 probe to test samples from all 190 WastewaterSCAN sites and share the information with local public health officials and on its dashboard. Lisa Schnirring
- COVID, other misinformation varies by topic, country on social media The UK maintained a relatively stable proportion between questionable and reliable retweets, while Germany had the highest rates of misinformation. Stephanie Soucheray
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