It's certainly not a safe or mainstream "thing"! In fact it's illegal in a lot of places, but as we've seen with alt-med types taking ivermectin, colloidal silver, or worse, lots of weird nonsense is becoming "a thing" for certain subcultures 🙃
Thanks for the updates! Agree with all you’ve presented, and my lifelong dream to own chickens is on hold these past couple years. Also my b/c wife thinks it’s crazy, and living in the city impacts that decision 😉
I really hope this doesn’t end up being round 2. People can’t handle it so close after Covid especially.
I agree with your second paragraph... As terrible as much of the pandemic was, we SHOULD have used it to learn lessons, stock up on PPE and medical supplies nationally, re-invest in the CDC and state health agencies, improve our communication plans, and generally be more prepared for the next (inevitable) epidemic/pandemic. Sadly, it seems like we've done NONE of those things, and lost a lot of public trust to boot....
Yes indeed Eric. On March 6 I started a series on the virus. I called it, "A Panzootic Gathers Speed". It eventually got to three installments by which time this virus was on everyone's radar. Here is the initial story with enough links to give you an idea on the scope of the thing.
"It is a historical curiosity how two great panzootics* arose almost simultaneously, but because one virus and Its companion variants was primarily attacking humans, the other which attacked primarily bird and wild animal populations drew less attention.
Now, roughly five years down the road, the human/animal panzootic seems to be weakening while the animal one seems to be gaining strength. Ominously some cases of spillover to humans have been reported. So far there is no verified instances of human to human transmission. (this changed)
Here is a selection of articles drawn primarily from CDC EID sources but also from the USDA and PubMed.
Wow, this is really intriguing, thanks for sharing Michael! Many aspects of our modern world, from human encroachment on wild habitats to intensive farming to global travel and climate change, apply selective pressures to pathogens and facilitate zoonotic spillover. (Sorry doubters, evolution is real!)
Is there anyone monitoring dairy waste fed to hogs? Every small hog farmer I know does this and THIS is what keeps me up at night. Jumping from birds to pork to us is a literal doomsday scenario.
Also Rep Massie (Q- Pluto) is a nut job. I love how he touts the benefit of raw milk with his government subsidized healthcare.
From your paper: “The new pre-print shows convincingly that cows harbor both human-flu and avian-flu receptors in their mammary glands. As a result, dairy cattle *may* have similar potential as pigs to serve as evolutionary intermediaries between avian and human flus."
1) I had no idea unpasteurized milk was a thing. 🤢
2) Thank you for the update! We do not have dairy cows but will be on the look out for the barn cats! Great tip.
It's certainly not a safe or mainstream "thing"! In fact it's illegal in a lot of places, but as we've seen with alt-med types taking ivermectin, colloidal silver, or worse, lots of weird nonsense is becoming "a thing" for certain subcultures 🙃
Thanks for the updates! Agree with all you’ve presented, and my lifelong dream to own chickens is on hold these past couple years. Also my b/c wife thinks it’s crazy, and living in the city impacts that decision 😉
I really hope this doesn’t end up being round 2. People can’t handle it so close after Covid especially.
I agree with your second paragraph... As terrible as much of the pandemic was, we SHOULD have used it to learn lessons, stock up on PPE and medical supplies nationally, re-invest in the CDC and state health agencies, improve our communication plans, and generally be more prepared for the next (inevitable) epidemic/pandemic. Sadly, it seems like we've done NONE of those things, and lost a lot of public trust to boot....
I’m putting a few chicks in the mail, Ryan! 🤣
As long as I’m forced to rescue them, that might work actually 🐥
Also found in marine mammals...
Interesting! Can you share the study/story?
Yes indeed Eric. On March 6 I started a series on the virus. I called it, "A Panzootic Gathers Speed". It eventually got to three installments by which time this virus was on everyone's radar. Here is the initial story with enough links to give you an idea on the scope of the thing.
"It is a historical curiosity how two great panzootics* arose almost simultaneously, but because one virus and Its companion variants was primarily attacking humans, the other which attacked primarily bird and wild animal populations drew less attention.
Now, roughly five years down the road, the human/animal panzootic seems to be weakening while the animal one seems to be gaining strength. Ominously some cases of spillover to humans have been reported. So far there is no verified instances of human to human transmission. (this changed)
Here is a selection of articles drawn primarily from CDC EID sources but also from the USDA and PubMed.
Nov 21 2021 Wild Red Foxes in the Netherlands https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/11/21-1281_article
September 2022 Ferrets in North America https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/28/9/22-0879_article
April 2023 Seals in New England, United States. https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/4/22-1538_article
April 2023 Harbor Porpoise, Sweden https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/4/22-1426_article
March 2023 Royal and Cabot's Terns, Brazil https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1157_article
April 2022 Domestic Ducks, Indonesia https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-0973_article
February 2023-on, Multispecies Outbreak, Argentina https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/4/23-1725_article
April 2021 Wild Birds, China https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/4/23-1725_article
May 2022 Mass Die off Wild Birds, Caspian Sea Russia https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/12/23-0330_article
November 2022 Wild Birds, South Korea https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/7/22-1893_article
April - July 2022 Multiple Species Wild Terrestrial Mammals, United States https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/7/22-1893_article
2022 - 2023 Mass Mortality Sea Lions and Sea Birds, Peru https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/7/22-1893_article
2022 -2023 SeaBird, Pelicans and Zoo lion deaths, Peru https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/12/23-0505_article
2020 - 2023 Wild Birds and Poultry in the U.S. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/spotlights/2021-2022/updated-bird-flu-poses-low-risk.htm
2020 - 2023 Patterns of Mammal A(H5N1) Infection, Global https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/3/23-1098_article
Wow, this is really intriguing, thanks for sharing Michael! Many aspects of our modern world, from human encroachment on wild habitats to intensive farming to global travel and climate change, apply selective pressures to pathogens and facilitate zoonotic spillover. (Sorry doubters, evolution is real!)
Here's a very recent report on further infections in seals in Canada from today's EID:
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/6/23-1033_article
Is there anyone monitoring dairy waste fed to hogs? Every small hog farmer I know does this and THIS is what keeps me up at night. Jumping from birds to pork to us is a literal doomsday scenario.
Also Rep Massie (Q- Pluto) is a nut job. I love how he touts the benefit of raw milk with his government subsidized healthcare.
Well, I'm a bit concern about the infected cows. SA-alpha-2,3-gal and SA-alpha-4.6-gal are found mixed in the udder. https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/studies-yield-more-clues-about-h5n1-avian-flu-susceptibility-spread-dairy
From your paper: “The new pre-print shows convincingly that cows harbor both human-flu and avian-flu receptors in their mammary glands. As a result, dairy cattle *may* have similar potential as pigs to serve as evolutionary intermediaries between avian and human flus."
Well that’s certainly not ideal 😬
Aigh. That is...suboptimal
News that a dairy worker in Wisconsin(?) has viral particles in his lungs is not encouraging either.