I think it’s fair to say H5N1 becoming seemingly endemic in US dairy cattle in the past year caught us off guard. The virus has spread widely within and between US dairy herds, has caused mild infections in a number of people in close contact with infected cows, has killed a lot of cats on
Culling Considerations in Disease Outbreak Response: Take 2
My post earlier this week about culling considerations for control of disease outbreaks in animals generated some good discussion and ideas (and a surprisingly small number of “you’re an idiot” emails). Although that post was focused primarily on culling in response to influenza outbreaks, we can also think about it little more broadly
To Cull or Not to Cull: Managing H5N1 in an Era of Endemicity
The recent situation has raised more discussion about the role of mass culling in response to H5N1 influenza infection in domestic / captive birds. After H5N1 flu was identified on an ostrich farm in British Columbia, the CFIA ordered all 400 birds to be culled, but the owner is trying to find options to preserve
H5N1 in a Pig in Oregon: Separating Risk From Buzz
This week US officials reported a case of H5N1 influenza in a pig in the Oregon. While it’s certainly a noteworthy finding, as is unfortunately now typical, a lot of the social media buzz is overblown. This is a concerning situation that we need to watch, and yet another indicator that we need to continue
Global Impact of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Humans and Animals
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a big problem with a crappy marketing plan. It’s been termed a “silent pandemic,” and it has huge health and financial impacts that are only going to get worse if we don’t act. Unfortunately, even though we’ve been battling this issue for decades, the average person doesn’t know about it, or
Bats and Rabies Risk Assessments
Bats are getting a lot of attention around here following the recent death of a person in Ontario from rabies. The infection was “suspected to have been acquired from direct contact with a bat…” Most rabies deaths that occur in North America nowadays are due to transmission from bats, but all too often
Seal Bites and Rabies Risk
I know seals are mammals.
I know rabies virus can infect all mammals.
I’m pretty tuned into rabies and rabies prevention.
Yet, I’m not sure how quickly I’d clue in to any rabies risk from a seal bite. (I’d hopefully get there eventually, but I doubt it would jump to mind like it would with
H5N1 Flu in Dairy Cattle: New Info About Disease in Cattle and Potential Human Issues
There’s a great new early-release paper in Emerging Infectious Diseases (Oguzie et al. 2024) about the emerging situation with H5N1 influenza in dairy cattle. It provides some important new information, and more details that somewhat challenge the early narrative.
The authors explain some of the limitations of the study to keep in
Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis For Unvaccinated Dogs and Cats: A Retrospective Look at the Texas Approach
When an unvaccinated person is exposed to rabies, they typically receive post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) consisting of a dose of anti-rabies antibodies and four (4) rabies vaccines over the course of two weeks. In dogs and cats, it’s a different story. We don’t use formal PEP protocols in pets in most regions.
- Why not? I’m not
A Farm-Level View of an H5N1 Outbreak in Cattle
For such a potentially big problem, we’re received disappointingly little official information about H5N1 influenza on dairy farms in the US. The more we know, the better we can plan for containment and control, wherever it pops up next. If information isn’t being gathered or isn’t being shared, our ability to address this problem