Influenza News

A dairy worker in Michigan became the second human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus linked to an outbreak in dairy cows, the CDC and Michigan health officials announced Wednesday.

A recent survey showed that only about one-quarter of older adults have received respiratory syncytial virus vaccinations.

The CDC has launched an influenza A wastewater online dashboard to help track the potential spread of H5N1 avian influenza, or “bird flu,” which has caused outbreaks among birds and dairy cows.

Six more dairy cattle herds in the United States have tested positive for avian influenza, bringing the national total to 42 herds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

H5N1 “bird flu” is widespread among wild birds and has caused sporadic outbreaks among poultry for more than a couple years. A recent outbreak among dairy cow herds in the United States has raised the virus’ profile.

TORONTO — An online training module that instructed clinicians to assess vaccination status and use strong language to recommend vaccines helped increased influenza vaccine uptake at 12 obstetrics clinics, according to researchers.

Influenza-related hospitalization rates begin to increase in patients at a younger age than previously assumed, indicating that prevention strategies should be encouraged for younger patients, researchers found.

The FDA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said this week that pasteurized milk and beef products appear safe for consumption based on testing conducted after traces of avian influenza were found in pasteurized milk.

Older patients with respiratory syncytial virus have higher complication rates than those with influenza, although both illnesses had comparable mortality rates, researchers found.

The FDA announced this week that testing has identified genetic traces of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus in pasteurized cow milk samples collected in the United States.