Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Officials On Alert Over Rise In Both Dengue Fever And Powassan Virus
NBC News: CDC Warns Of Increased Dengue Fever Risk Across The U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory Tuesday alerting authorities, health care providers and the public of the increased risk of dengue fever infections in the United States. The alert comes as an unexpectedly higher number of dengue fever cases have been reported across the country, according to the CDC. (Acevedo, 6/25)
CIDRAP: Surveillance Data Show Rise In US Powassan Virus Cases
From 2004 through 2013, 64 cases of human Powassan virus were reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but that number jumped to 270 cases from 2014 to 2023. (Soucheray, 6/25)
Updates on bird flu —
CIDRAP: Scientists Expand H5N1 Testing In Dairy Products, Launch Human Serology Study
Don Prater, DVM, acting director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, said the FDA last week launched a second round of testing in retail products to fill remaining gaps in knowledge about the status of products from different geographic areas and about a wider variety of products, which will include aged raw-milk cheese, cream cheese, butter, and ice cream. In an update on its website, the FDA said it will test 155 dairy products collected from retail outlets for H5N1. (Schnirring, 6/25)
CIDRAP: Study Shows Persistence Of H5N1 In Unpasteurized Milk And On Milking Unit Surfaces
The H5N1 cattle virus remained infectious in unpasteurized milk on stainless steel and rubber inflation lining after 1 hour, and the H5N1 cattle virus had a similar decay rate to the human H5 virus. (Soucheray, 6/25)
Stat: Michigan Launches First Effort Of Its Kind To Detect Silent Bird Flu Infections In Workers
Michigan has led the nation in making inroads with its farmers as it has worked to contain spread of H5N1 bird flu infections in dairy cows. Now the state’s health authorities are trying to do the same in looking for undetected infections among farmworkers. (Branswell, 6/25)
Stat: Three Months Into Bird Flu Outbreak, Deep Problems In The Response
Three months since an outbreak of avian influenza in U.S. dairy cattle was declared, the country is failing to take the necessary steps to get in front of the virus and possibly contain its spread among cows, according to interviews with more than a dozen experts and current and former government officials. (Joseph, Zhang, Branswell and Molteni, 6/26)
