US Confirms 1st Case Of Bird Flu In Pig
Five pigs on a noncommercial farm in Oregon were tested for the virus after other animals fell ill. As NBC News points out, "pigs can become infected with both bird and human viruses at the same time, which can give rise to mutated strains that can more easily infect humans." Meanwhile, the USDA will start bulk testing the milk supply for signs of the virus.
NBC News:
H5N1 Bird Flu Found In A Pig In The U.S. For The First Time
A pig in Oregon has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus, the Agriculture Department said Wednesday. It's the first time the virus has been detected in swine in the United States. Test results are pending for two other pigs found on the farm in Crook County, Oregon, the USDA said, while two others tested negative. ... The case is concerning as pigs can become infected with both bird and human viruses at the same time, which can give rise to mutated strains that can more easily infect humans. Officials said there are no concerns about the safety of the nation's pork supply. (Lovelace Jr. and Edwards, 10/30)
Reuters:
Exclusive-US To Begin Bulk Milk Testing For Bird Flu After Push From Industry
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon begin testing bulk raw milk across the country for bird flu, a significant expansion of the agency's efforts to stifle the rapid spread of the virus, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters. The move comes after livestock and veterinary groups pushed the USDA to strengthen its current surveillance approach, calling it inadequate to contain the virus, according to state records and industry documents reviewed by Reuters. (Douglas, 10/30)
On E. coli, flu, and pneumonia —
AP:
McDonald's E. Coli Case Count Rises As Federal Officials Inspect An Onion Grower
Federal officials on Wednesday reported more cases of E. coli poisoning among people who ate at McDonald’s, as government investigators seeking the outbreak’s source identified an “onion grower of interest” in Washington state. The Food and Drug Administration said 90 people across 13 states have fallen ill in the outbreak, up from 75 at the end of last week. The number of people hospitalized increased by five, to 27 people. One death has been tied to the outbreak. (Perrone, 10/30)
USA Today:
The Flu Hospitalizes Thousands Each Year, CDC Study Finds
More than 100,000 people are hospitalized and 4,900 people die from flu complications annually in the U.S. Vaccines, which target last year’s dominant flu strains, can help you avert serious illness or death. The study published Tuesday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report showed the risks seasonal flu still poses, especially to people who haven't been vaccinated. (Cuevas, 10/30)
CIDRAP:
Analysis Finds 20% Of Children With Pneumonia Don't Receive Antibiotics
A multistate study of publicly insured children diagnosed as having pneumonia found that one in five did not receive antibiotics, researchers reported yesterday in JAMA Network Open. But while children who didn't receive antibiotics had slightly higher rates of treatment failure than those who did, severe outcomes were rare regardless of antibiotic treatment, the researchers found. (Dall, 10/30)
On the spread of mpox —
CIDRAP:
UK Reports Imported Clade 1b Mpox Case
The United Kingdom today reported its first imported clade 1b mpox case, a patient who recently traveled to countries in Africa that are experiencing infection in community settings. In a statement, the UK’s Health Security Agency (HSA) said the case was detected in London and that the patient has been transferred to the Royal Free Hospital’s High Consequence Infectious Diseases unit. (Schnirring, 10/30)
CIDRAP:
WHO Analysis Of 67 Years Of Mpox Surveillance Data Reveals Patterns In Spread, Mutations Over Time
A World Health Organization (WHO) analysis of global mpox surveillance from 1958 to 2024 reveals highly mobile clade 1 viruses in Central Africa, sustained human-to-human spread of clade 2b lineage A in the Eastern Mediterranean, distinct mutations that can distinguish between sustained transmission among humans with that among animals, and unique clade 1 sequences from Sudan that suggest local circulation in Eastern Africa. For the study, published last week in Nature Medicine, the team extracted 6,585 mpox sequences from GenBank and 3,914 from GISAID from 64 countries from the past 67 years. (Van Beusekom, 10/30)
