COVID-19, HPAI H5N1 Avian Flu and other virus UK and World News Update 7th March 2025
Just in case you haven't had enough of Norovirus this year, the UK Health Security Agency are warning us that there are 2 common strains, and the one which was most popular a couple of months ago is waning, but the second one is having a bit of a party. Sadly catching one doesn't mean you won't catch the other, so there are fun times ahead for some of you...
As an aside, UKHSA reckon for every lab confirmed case, there are another 288 riding it out quietly at home.
Latest UK Norovirus figures still aren't pretty, but they do finally show a decrease in cases. Overall still very high levels, and more than double the 5 year average for the same 2 week period.
Aside from Norovirus the UK is doing okay according to UKHSA viruswatch - flu is down to low/medium, COVID and RSV are at baseline levels.
Flu levels in the USA are thankfully beginning to drop after an exceptionally long and severe season, with the highest hospitalisation rates since 2010-2011. At least 98 US children have died from flu over the last 12 months.
In the latest available data, week ending 22nd Feb, 99.6 per 100,000 Americans were in hospital with flu.
Amanda Pritchard, Head of NHS England is stepping down. Last month she said "I think we now must consider private capital investment in the NHS", and she alluded to it in her resignation letter. Every £1 committed to renting and paying private companies is £1 not invested in the NHS, so it's not messaging I like, but I don't balance the books or have the targets to meet.
Professor Steve Powis, Medical Director at NHS England is also stepping down. He did a lot of press conferences during COVID, and has been pushing for reforms to medical training.
It's hard to guess whether they were unhappy with current NHS reform plans, absolutely exhausted because of COVID and its aftermath, or are just naturally moving on.
The US CDC has sent letters to around 180 fired employees, offering them their jobs back. It seems DOGE also 'accidentally' fired some important people doing vital work there, it just took longer to admit it than it did for the nuclear safety team.
"After further review and consideration..... you should return to duty under your previous schedule..."
I bet they had some choice replies to that email...
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) "has approved an mRNA respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine (brand name mRESVIA) to protect patients aged 60 and over against lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV".
A study found that around 4 months after vaccination, people who received the RSV vaccine had a 79% reduction in their risk of getting lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV, compared with those who received placebo.
Job's a goodun.
Despite withdrawing from the World Health Organisation, representatives from the USA joined in the week long meeting to discuss which strains of flu should be in the next vaccination. This is an annual event, where world experts make educated decisions about which particular flu variants are going to cause the most grief for the Northern hemisphere next Winter.
(Human bird flu vaccinations aren't included in these discussions, however I'd love to know what was said... )
Bizarrely, the US FDA then cancelled their own advisory committee meeting on updating next season’s flu vaccine. Without that they'll probably just go with WHO recommendations... there's some irony there...
There's a great article in The Atlantic about COVID evolution. It broke the rules because it should have mutated slowly, but instead it mutated quickly in leaps and bounds. Scientists are now realising this is likely because of immunocompromised patients having live virus in their bodies for long periods of time before they finally beat it. The more antibodies, vaccinations and treatments that were thrown at it, the more it mutated to survive.
Probably best to remember this for the future...
Last week Trump fired 2,000 USAID employees and put thousands more worldwide on leave. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were moved into the USAID Headquarters. I don’t think you can receive a much clearer view of a policy change in US Governance.
Meanwhile the judge who temporarily overturned the 90 day finding freeze to grants (until it goes to court) says the Trump admin hasn't supplied any "evidence of waste, fraud or abuse.”
According to the Washington Post fact-checker, 11 out of 12 "claims by the White House about the agency’s work are misleading, wrong or lack context".
In other news, desperate to fire some more government workers, Musk is sending 2.3m employees a weekly email asking them to detail what they did during the previous week. It has been pointed out that a lot of jobs don't work like that, defense and security roles can't just send random emails detailing what they did, and how is AI meant to assess value from a single email?
The entirely preventable US measles outbreaks continue. In Texas a previously healthy child has died. In New Mexico an unvaccinated adult has tested positive after dying - they did not seek medical care while alive.
"First, there’s nothing normal about a child dying from measles. Also, this year’s tally has already surpassed 8 out of the past 15 years’ annual measles counts... We are only 1.5 months into 2025. Finally, we have only had 4 outbreaks with more than 100 cases in the past 10 years. West Texas is now on the list."
Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist.
Vaccine hesitancy has grown over the past decade, and misinformation in mainstream social media has led to 5 years of much lower rates of vaccination of children. This is the result.
Most people younger than me don't know anyone disabled by Polio, or deaf because of measles. You didn't hear your little brother desperately trying to breathe through whooping cough, and your parents didn't worry about sterility or meningitis when their teenager caught mumps. Most people alive today have the privilege of a life without fear from vaccine preventable illnesses. Vaccines are a victim of their own success.
It is the most idiotic game of FAFO ever.
Measles leaves you immune to catching measles again for life, but for at least one third of people it does it by hijacking your existing immune cells and taking them over. You are once again more vulnerable to things you had protection against - COVID, flu, chicken pox, colds, Norovirus, you name it. A Dutch study of 77 children found they lost 33-40% of their previous immunity to diseases. They compared it to having HIV for 5-10 years, and it's likely it would take 2-3 years to rebuild a healthy immune system.
“Ending the measles outbreak is a top priority for me and my extraordinary team.”
In a win for science and common sense, current US head of Health and Human Services and oftentime vaccine-sceptic, RFK Jr, is asking people to get their measles vaccinations, although his messaging is a bit mixed.
He did say "MMR vaccine is crucial to avoiding potentially deadly disease", but then he spent longer talking about Vitamin A.
Vitamin A is useful for malnourished children with a shortage, but no help to healthy, well-fed patients - and doesn't stop anyone catching measles. It is fairly easy to overdose because you can't flush it out by drinking loads of water, and it is especially dangerous to unborn babies, so please don't take a vitamin A supplement without a doctor's approval (I'm not talking about regular multivitamins, this is specifically vitamin A supplements).
Extra vaccinations have been supplied to outbreak areas, including 2,000 doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine to Texas. The CDC have sent in a response team.
RFK Jr is also promoting use of cod liver oil as a treatment for measles. Let me just mention this again. Cod liver oil is relatively high in vitamin A, so unless you know you have a deficit and a doctor has advised it, take cod liver oil by all means, but don't top it up with a vitamin A supplement - please, please, please. Especially not if you are giving it to kids or you may be pregnant.
As well as potentially encouraging the stupid to overdose on vitamin A, RFK Jr suggests treating measles with Budesonide (synthetic corticosteroid with internal anti-inflammatory properties, usually used for things like asthma and allergies) and clarithromycin (antibiotic for bacterial infections). Pass.
Tom Corry, a leading spokesperson at the US Department for Health and Human Services, abruptly resigned on Friday. It's clear it was no secret he and RFK Jr didn't quite see eye-to-eye over how to approach the measles outbreaks. 2 days after the resignation RFK Jr posted a big opinion piece on Fox News.
At that point (2nd March) in Texas there were 146 cases - 116 were children, 79 had not had their mmr vaccinations, 62 were unsure, 5 were vaccinated. None of the 20 who were hospitalised were vaccinated.
RFK Jr didn't actually tell people to get their kids vaccinated, but he did give the pre-vaccine stats:
"For example, in the United States, from 1953 to 1962, on average there were 530,217 confirmed cases and 440 deaths, a case fatality rate of 1 in 1,205 cases."
That's per year, every year.
According to the latest data I can find, measles cases in the USA:
"As of March 6, 2025, a total of 222 measles cases were reported by 12 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Washington."
As of March 7th:
- Texas 198 cases (153 children), 23 hospitalised, 1 death of an unvaccinated child.
- Texas 198 cases (153 children), 23 hospitalised, 1 death of an unvaccinated child.
- New Mexico 30 cases (11 children, 15 adults, 4 unknown), 1 death of an unvaccinated adult.
- New York City has 2 unrelated cases of measles
For comparison, 16 outbreaks of 3 or more cases of measles were reported in the USA during the whole of 2024. Outbreaks accounted for 69% of cases (198 of 285).
In a turn of events we probably couldn't have anticipated, Mexico is warning it's citizens against US travel to Texas, Alaska, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico and Rhode Island, due to risk of measles. One case of measles has already been detected in Chihuahua, just over the Texan border. They also advise anyone not yet vaccinated to get their jabs.
The latest statement from the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada yesterday:
"In 2024, we saw a sharp increase in measles cases globally compared to 2023. In Canada this concerning trend has continued with more cases reported in the first two months of 2025 than in all of 2024 due to a noticeable increase in cases associated with outbreaks in New Brunswick, Ontario, Québec and Manitoba. As of March 6, 2025, Canada has recorded 227 measles cases this year, many requiring hospitalization. The majority of cases are unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children who have been exposed in their communities..."
UK residents, don't you be sitting on your haunches feeling smug. According to this week's report on notifiable diseases, in just week 9 England and Wales reported:
- 45 cases of measles
- 81 cases of mumps
- 3 cases of rubella
- 84 Whooping Cough
Well isn't that disappointing. These are all diseases we should be vaccinated against as children. Fun times ahead. Most cases are spread out as opposed to being outbreaks, and it's not clear how many are imported.
The UK HSA are becoming twitchy about our own mmr vaccination rates, which have dropped to around 85% nationally, but are around 75% in places, including Manchester, Liverpool and Nottingham. They've launched a campaign to make parents aware of the benefits.
The World Health Organisation are also campaigning. Across Europe there were 42,000 measles cases in 2023, up from 941 in 2022.
Despite his new more positive stance on measles vaccines, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has paused a $460m contract with Vaxart to develop a new oral tablet-form COVID vaccine. 10,000 people should have begun trialling it on Monday, instead it is "under review".
Damn shame. Not only would it offer vaccination to people who can't be injected, it is an incredibly cheap and portable option...
The UK Government have announced £100 million investment into hospices "so patients and their families get the best care possible".
The funding distributed through Hospice UK will help:
- upgrade patient rooms
- improve gardens and outdoor spaces
- modernise IT systems
The Sudan Virus Ebola outbreak in Uganda was considered over, but a 4 year old boy who died on 24th February tested positive. His mother and her newborn baby had died in early February, but were assumed to have died from a more common illness due to their vulnerable state. Sadly this means 1/3 of the now 12 known patients died. The little boy is not a contact of any other cases, and 201 of his contacts are now being followed up.
As an aside, one of Trump's first funding cuts eliminated US funding for exit screening in Uganda - while an Ebola outbreak was underway. Exit screening is assessing people for infectious diseases as they leave a location (e.g. get on a flight while you're sweating like that? No chance).
In a smarter move that funding was reinstated fairly swiftly.
The 2025 mystery illness outbreak in DRC still isn't entirely resolved, although thankfully there haven't been any more deaths recorded since 22nd February, so it may be over.
On 25th February the WHO Africa office were saying: "...the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms."
Tragic and scary, but now it seems this could be unconnected to some or all of the later cases, which sometimes report nosebleeds, but not haemorrhagic illness.
By 27th February 1,318 cases and over 60 deaths in Basankusu and Bolomba had been identified in total. These areas are 180km (111miles) apart, and cases occurred in different timeframes, so they are assumed now to be 2 separate events. The symptoms include fever, headache, chills, sweating, stiff neck, muscle aches, multiple joint pain and body aches, a runny nose or bleeding from nose, cough, vomiting and diarrhoea. The illness primarily affected adolescents and young men, and half of those who died did so within 24 hours.
Patients have tested negative for Ebola and Marburg. In over 500 rapid tests 55.6% were positive for malaria, and in 70 blood smears, 77.9% were positive for malaria.
Mike Ryan of WHO is leading the investigation in DRC, and says they are testing environmental samples and water sources for toxins.
WHO report: "Given the rapid decline in the incidence of reported deaths, their geographic clustering, the age profile of deaths and the rapid disease progression in the initial cluster, working hypotheses include chemical poisoning or a rapid onset bacterial meningitis cluster, on a background of malaria and other infectious illnesses endemic in the region."
Before Christmas DRC had another unknown illness outbreak which was eventually put down to a combination of malnutrition, malaria and common illnesses including flu and RSV.
Trump has signed an executive order revoking COVID vaccination mandates and workplace safety protocols for all US government employees and federal contractors. This follows more hostile revocations for education (threatening stopping funding), and the military.
I've mentioned bird flu travelling via the wind before, and a not-yet-peer-reviewed study of an outbreak in Czech Republic has found that to be the most likely way that two farms 8km apart were infected with direct descendent viruses.
The study authors don't expect 8km to be normal, but in this case ducks in a densely populated, mechanically-ventilated building caught bird flu, and shortly afterwards 2 high biosecurity henhouses 8km away became infected. The weather conditions were perfect for this to happen - wind direction and speed, temperature, humidity. The timeline suggests the live ducks caused the spread, rather than the dust from culling them once infected, and because of the high biosecurity for the indoor hens, including tunnel ventilation, it's unlikely rodents or wild birds (or even flies) were involved. No humans went to both businesses, which each had their own well water. Chickens nearest the ventilation systems were infected first.
Often disease outbreaks can be tracked using wastewater, but sadly that isn't going to be as much help for bird flu. Wild birds poo too, and it gets washed into sewers, as does water used to clean down animal and bird houses. Scientists can only estimate how much is human, how much has been dropped locally by wild or farmed birds or animals, and how much blew in on the wind. The first we know of any human to human outbreak may well be hospital admissions.
It looks likely that the D1.1 (wild bird) variant of bird flu was passed to dairy cows in Nevada some weeks before it was detected. Bulk milk testing discovered it in a creamery during a monthly check, and then it had to be traced back to the individual farm. Was that quick enough to actually prevent spread? The answer is no.
6 neighbouring Nevada herds had already been confirmed to have D1.1 HPAI H5N1 within a week of first detection.
The US Government has told us their grand plan to tackle bird flu and bring down the price of eggs, and errrr....well, it turns out its just not as simple as that.
They've held off vaccinating chickens for now, but are going to examine vaccinations and therapeutics (treatments for sick birds). They intend to increase biosecurity, potentially limiting access to farms, and upgrading washing and hygiene measures. Compensation for lost flocks will increase, but relies on passing biosecurity checks. They also intend to relax rules so that it's easier for people to keep their own backyard flocks, and they're attacking California for their strict rules on animal welfare - most Californian hens do not live in cages, or have larger cages than elsewhere, reducing yield per square metre. Californian residents voted for higher animal welfare in 2018 (the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act), and it's tragic the Government under Trump would seek to lower standards just to make more eggs, and make them cheaply.
This plan is to be funded by cuts made by DOGE, and is being given $1b in funding.
Various biosecurity measures have already been tried, and for the most part are not succeeding.
It is incredibly hard to prevent exposure to wild birds, rats, mice and even foxes, which can all carry bird flu and spread it in their breath, saliva and droppings. Caged hens, free range, backyard flocks and even pets, they can all catch bird flu, and do.
Will these steps bring down the price of eggs? Will they help prevent infections? Will Californians decide to house their birds in tiny cages instead? Probably not.
Helen Branswell of Stat News also points out, this is only talking about chickens. Cows are also catching bird flu by the tens of thousands, yet no mention of any mammals - including humans - and what about other birds? What about protecting endangered species? Nothing for now at least.
Genuine best of luck to anyone with poultry (or any birds or animals) right now, you are fighting a battle against an enemy which can run, creep or fly in, and remain hidden throughout...
If you fancy a quick, easy explainer, there is a beautifully written opinion piece on mammals and bird flu by Leana S Wen in the Washington Post - "Cows, cats and rats".
In brighter news, the US bird flu outbreak does appear to be slowing down. We may have survived this Winter without human to human spread happening in the USA, although don't say that out loud. Finally more cow herds are coming out of quarantine than are going into it, and there have been no more reported human cases for the last 3 weeks - although it is hard to assess whether this is genuine, delayed information (possibly due to lack of Government updates), or lack of testing. A group of Michigan farmworkers have come together to tell press they all fell ill with a flu and struggled to access testing, PPE or treatment. They also hadn't received a regular Winter flu vaccination, and according to CDC guidelines they definitely should. Farmworkers can worry they'll lose their jobs if they make life more difficult for their boss, and a huge percentage of farmworkers are also immigrants, so language barriers exist, as well as fear of deportation.
Latest officially available CDC/APHIS H5N1 Avian Flu stats for the USA (some of which are seriously out of date):
- Last 30 days 16 new dairy herds confirmed infected across 4 states, for a total of 978 across 17 states (last update Thursday)
- Last 30 days 16 new dairy herds confirmed infected across 4 states, for a total of 978 across 17 states (last update Thursday)
- Last 30 days 100 newly confirmed bird flocks - 49 commercial, 51 backyard
- 70 total confirmed human infections and 7 probable (last updated Wednesday)
- 1 confirmed human death
India's top health research body, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), has invited private companies to collaborate on human H5N1 vaccines.
Human vaccines are already available, the US Food and Drug Administration already has 3 approved H5N1 vaccines in the national stockpile (with more in development), and other countries (including the UK) have stockpiles and orders, but to update a bird flu vaccine to the best match for a breakout variant (will it be D1.1, B3.13 or something else entirely?), and then make enough to vaccinate entire populations, is going to need production on epic levels.
The subject of vaccinating farmed poultry is of worldwide interest. Poultry vaccine stockpiles for bird flu do exist, and at least 27 European Union countries had tested vaccines by 2023. A review by researchers from National Taiwan University concluded that they have an efficacy of 78% - 97%, so they can be very effective.
Over 30 countries including China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mexico, France, Finland, The Netherlands and Egypt have vaccinated poultry against avian influenza, often in response to outbreaks, rather than as a permanent solution.
Vaccination risks infected asymptomatic birds spreading the virus. It risks complacency over biosecurity, infection of wild animals or humans. It is expensive, you have to vaccinate each bird and it won't give full protection against all strains. It risks birds carrying the virus for a period of time and reassortment/recombination causing new strains of flu virus. Vaccination may not be practical for chickens raised solely for food, who are culled as young as 4 to 6 weeks old, and most countries won't currently import flu vaccinated chickens. However, with much of the world currently pondering use of vaccines themselves, that could change any minute.
South African farmers are amongst those pleading with their Government for the authorisation to vaccinate poultry. They had a big outbreak of bird flu in 2023, from which they still haven't recovered. 9.6m birds were culled, with no government compensation, so farmers went out of business. Prices for poultry and eggs went up by as much as 30%.
A newly released (not-yet-peer-reviewed) study has found that 2 domestic cats infected with H5N1 this year in India have an almost identical (99.2%) strain caught by a 2 year old Australian child who visited India a year ago.
The strain is a reassortment of two highly pathogenic avian influenzas 2.3.2.1a plus 2.3.4.4b, and wild bird low pathogenicity avian influenza gene segments. The authors conclude "This suggests that this triple reassortment "has a fair degree of `fitness', and is likely far more widespread than we'd previously suspected".
Although almost identical, there were still 27 mutations distributed across the different gene segments.
After more house cats in Washington and Oregon tested positive, there's been another recall of raw cat food contaminated with H5N1 bird flu. This time it's Wild Coast frozen food.
Freezing preserves viruses, cooking kills them.
Seriously, if you are still feeding your US cat raw food when you have any other option, I have nothing left to say.
Apparently Trump’s team may be considering cancelling a $590m grant Biden's team authorised for Moderna to work on human mRNA bird flu vaccines. Damn shame if they do...
French researchers have discovered Flu type A and Flu type B patients are treated differently by medics. Flu B only spreads through humans, so is rarer than Flu A, which travels through animals too. Only around 1 in 4 flu patients has Flu B.
Both flu types have similar Intensive Care (ICU) and mortality rates overall, although Flu B patients are more likely to survive past 5 days before succumbing.
Researchers discovered Flu A patients were twice as likely to be given the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu). They suggest this is because Flu B is perceived as 'less severe' (rarer, slower), when in reality that's simply not the case.
A study into Clades 1a and 1b mpox (formerly monkeypox) in DRC, and Burundi and beyond, has found mutations which make it more easily transmitted human to human. This helps explain why attempts to control spread are no longer as successful, and despite better education and testing, we are seeing more cases worldwide. The new data from the study also shows it is particularly dangerous to unborn children.
Clade 1a has been endemic in some Central and Eastern African areas for a while, spreading to humans (especially children) from wild animals. Those humans can then spread it to their households and other close contacts.
Clade 1b was only discovered in late 2023, and is also spreading among close contacts.
DRC is doing its best and, with support from WHO and UNICEF, has begun a vaccination campaign targeting more than 600,000 people aged 1 or over.
79,579 suspected cases (all clades) and 1,549 deaths have already been reported this year (mortality rate almost 2%).
Media have reported that Shi Zhengli, a virologist best known for work on coronaviruses at the Wuhan lab, has discovered another coronavirus strain that can very effectively infect humans and other animals.
There are hundreds (thousands?) of coronaviruses. It would be more surprising if researchers never found another strain capable of causing a human pandemic.
There are potentially millions of things out there waiting to kill us off. This is why we do research - to try and stay ahead of the game.
What is surprising is that this is a MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) coronavirus which traditionally have a fatality rate of 30-40% with hospital treatment, and yet lab research was allowed at "BSL2+" (Biosecurity Level 2 and a bit).
BSL2 is for things that you would consider a small risk in a petri dish - flu, HIV, Salmonella. BSL3 is where doors automatically lock and air is sterilised on the way out.
Is it appropriate to study and grow a new respiratory virus with potentially such a large human fatality rate in BSL2+ conditions? Several leading scientists think not... and I think I agree...
Iowa are closer to banning mRNA vaccines after a bill passed a Senate sub-committee. Bizarre arguments in favour of a ban included 'mRNA vaccines are "gene therapy products intent on altering a person’s body”' (errrm nope), concerns that mRNA vaccines injected into one human can transmit to other people (pahahaha) and evidence that more working age people are becoming disabled, which they believe could be due to vaccines (despite overwhelming evidence of disability happening directly after COVID infection, and the fact that people who caught COVID before vaccinations rolled out were far more likely to become disabled than any vaccinated population).
As a reminder for those of you not suffering, 1 in 10 of us currently have long lasting damage after catching COVID (Long COVID), and that number only increases as more people catch it (repeatedly).
The UK COVID Inquiry will now spend 4 weeks studying the supply and distribution of PPE and other medical equipment. Their focus is on the role of Government and ministers.
Despite the deadline being last November, Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman just put in requests to become 'core participants', which would have allowed them to make statements and question witnesses. They have been denied.
Sorry Chelle, looks like you'll have to put up with people talking about you without you being able to quiz them. Now, give our NHS back the £122 million please...
On 27th February the UK Government and the British Medical Association (BMA) agreed reforms for GP contracts - the GP's "Deal For Change".
Among other changes it intends to:
- fix the front door of the NHS and bring back the family doctor
- end the 8am scramble for appointments, with online appointment-making available from October
- free up doctors from red tape and box-ticking targets
- modernise general practice
- make it easier for practices to triage patients based on medical need
GP surgeries will be allocated extra funding for reforms (£889m in 2026).
It's not virus news, but James Harrison, an Australian blood and plasma donor who saved the lives of 2.4 million babies has passed away in his sleep aged 88. He had major chest surgery aged 14, and this could be why his blood was so rich in Anti-D, which is essential to save babies who have RHD positive blood when their mother is RHD negative. He donated every 2 weeks from age 18 to 81.
Oh that we could all leave such a legacy. Thank you Sir.
It's British Science Week! We've always been particularly good at science, so keep an eye out for shares of some of the science we are particularly proud of, as well as this year's focus on 'science you don't usually see'.
It is the weekend! Huzzah! It's been a long week for me and I'm sure some of you too. Relax, sit back, forget the world and read a book or watch a movie. Take some time off from the real world and treat yourself to some time for YOU. If the 'weekend' is not your 'weekend', then be sure to plan something for when you do get time off. You deserve it, and you've earned it...
I'll be back in a couple of weeks, when hopefully the world news will have stopped spinning quite so quickly. Until then...
Play Outdoors, Use Soap, Save The NHS...
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Sources COVID
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
Reference pages H5N1
https://www.paho.org/en/topics/avian-influenza
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
Infectious disease tracker
Bird flu updates and news
https://www.birdflualerts.com/
Moo flu B3.13
Wild bird flu D.1.1
Images
HPV vaccination UK HSA
GP's deal.for change image
Pregnancy vaccinations UK NHS
070325 Norovirus chart UKHSA
https://x.com/UKHSA/status/1897590007012978840?t=tShZr3Z2pn1uZ2JK96RHqA&s=09
(Nicer chart on this page)
UK virus watch image
Sources
Norovirus strains UK
UK virus watch
USA flu season
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1895662323517239479?t=9iuQcD3SGapxA9FgU95HUQ&s=09
Professor Steve Powis is to stand down as medical director at NHS England
Amanda Pritchard, Head of NHS England is stepping down
US CDC asks staff to come back
https://www.statnews.com/2025/03/05/cdc-fired-employees-invited-back/
UK approve RSV vaccine for over 60s
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mresvia-rsv-vaccine-approved-to-protect-patients-aged-60-and-over
USA joins WHO meeting on flu vax, then cancels USA meeting
Flu vaccine meeting cancelled and COVID vaccine pill halted
COVID broke the rules of virus evolution
No evidence of waste fraud or abuse at USAID
https://t.co/kafpNMKEPG
Trump fires 2,000 USAID employees and puts thousands more worldwide on leave.
The White House inaccurate claims USAID spending
Many USAID jobs contracted out to the global elite
https://x.com/dogeai_gov/status/1893780699418591621?t=b1tyOBLM1vIAD0ggGY1l8g&s=09
US measles:
Latest measles stats US CDC - updates Friday
texas
New Mexico
Quote Katelyn Jetelina
first measles death child
Second USA death from measles
https://x.com/BNOFeed/status/1897769420405051513?t=FNghWE_Q14FGp960q-8PiQ&s=09
Measles long term damage
RFK Jr top.priority quote
RFK Jr urges to vaccinate
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1896738521018474699?t=LxXargqG1KrDmA38LSQyNA&s=09
Rfk jr vitamin A and cod liver oil -
non paywalled link to WaPo
Rfk measles vitamin A
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/04/health/measles-texas-cdc-rfk-response/index.html
RFK in Fox News
Vitamin A can be dangerous
1st measles case in Pennsylvania 2025 (sunday)
https://www.reddit.com/r/ContagionCuriosity/s/JCTW3jDBCV
Tom Corry resigned
First Florida measles case tied to latest outbreak detected near Miami
Mami dade school measles
https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/1897055608198848791?t=k-wSZPLdhaN346q0BFfNFg&s=09
4th Mar
Texas outbreak 158 cases
Ontario, Canada, halfway between Detroit and New York State, [has just doubled] to 146
2nd Mar RFK Jr on Fox News re measles
https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1896329038962339893?t=TkmIJjgAh6ZL_HyobWWm_w&s=09
Nyc 2 unrelated cases of measles
Your local epidemiologist latest 3rd March
Mexicams warned against US travel
Canada measles
UK gov mmr campaign
https://x.com/UKHSA/status/1895428504453288076?t=ADR90KKo0_yUwlhCsLunJg&s=19
UK NOIDS Week 9
UKHSA dashboard measles
Measles week 1
26th Feb
LA passenger flight from Korea
Update 26th Feb
LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — A person who was hospitalized with measles has died from measles in West Texas, the first death in an outbreak that began late last month.
The measles outbreak in rural West Texas has grown to 124 cases across nine counties, the state health department said Tuesday. There are also nine cases in eastern New Mexico.
Texas update 25th
124 cases
age 5 - 17, 62 cases
Age 0-4, 39 cases
More than 17.5% of kindergarteners in the county had parents or guardians who filed for an exemption for at least one vaccine in 2023.
Individual schools- At Loop ISD (IndependentSchool District), Gaines County, 47.95% of students between kindergarten and 12th grade received a conscientious exemption from at least one vaccine during the 2023-24 school year, according to DSHS data.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/texas-measles-outbreak-grows-124-cases-unvaccinated/story?id=119158746
Conscientious exemptions
Measles immune system damage
Feb 25th column Texas and measles
https://archive.is/5s3if
Texas measles update 22nd Feb
Texas measles outbreak Mennonite community
Measles update friday 21st. Georgia outbreak??
Texas measles friday 21st 90 cases
https://www.reddit.com/r/ContagionCuriosity/s/r5zyXZBlHV
2 more Measles cases New Jersey
2 family.member sof recently reported case - all unvaccinated
Seattle infant with measles - recent travel outside home area
Kentucky adult - went to gym for 3 hours contagious
Overview of US Measles situation week 1 - Katelyn Jetelina
Vaxart jab paused
https://uk.investing.com/news/sec-filings/vaxart-receives-stop-work-order-on-governmentbacked-project-93CH-3940420
UK Gov investing in hospices
Trump revokes covid vaccine mandates for government and federal workers
Sudan Virus Ebola in Uganda
Link to WHO Afro report on Ebola victim
Exit screening Uganda Ebola
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1894832088378913225?t=EQwgspDBqp-vyrFdxnW4OA&s=09
DRC 28TH feb Poisoning suspected
Latest DRC illness WHO update
Mike Ryan
Drc 27th feb
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/probe-febrile-illness-clusters-dr-congo-points-malaria-other-factors
First cases 2 children ate a bat.
WHO report about the bat-eating patient zero:
AP say "According to the WHO’s Africa office, the first outbreak in the town of Boloko began after three children ate a bat and died within 48 hours following hemorrhagic fever symptoms."
25th Feb
24th feb
DRC mystery disease - malaria and poisoning maybe
Interesting debate on how humans really are doing this to themselves.
Could mystery virus be novel hibecovirus?
Range of bats that carry new sars-like virus extends to region where mystery disease seen.
Range of chimps and colebus seen eating bat feces
Chimps discovered to be eating bat feces because tobacco farmers cut down the trees https://www.science.org/content/article/forced-eat-bat-feces-chimps-could-spread-deadly-viruses-humans
Bird flu flies on the wind
Bird flu markers in wastewater may come from wild birds
Bulk milk testing is too slow
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1894463785668415704?t=_041Pq-MuQgIMBNAYAu3Lg&s=09
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/05/health/bird-flu-cattle-nevada/index.html
Trumps grand plan for bird flu
Prop.12 (the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act)
America's grand plan to tackle bird flu and bring down the price of eggs
Trump’s grand bird flu plan doesn't mention cattle
Cows, cats and rats - H5N1
https://archive.is/g8BXF
Bird flu is slowing down USA
Farmworkers struggle to access testing etc
H5N1 Confirmed AND probable human cases
https://www.cdc.gov/fluview/surveillance/2025-week-07.html
3 x H5N1 vaccines in the pipeline USA
Indian vaccine body wants H5N1 vaccines ICMR
Review of poultry vaccination policies by country feb 2023
A systematic review of poultry vaccination against avian influenza published by a team of researchers at National Taiwan University in Taipei concluded that they have an efficacy of “78% to 97%.”,
Also field studies show efficacy
Vaccine efficacy bird flu
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/keeping-lakeside-egg-ranch-flu-free-takes-constant-vigilance-would-a-vaccine-help/ar-AA1zHJzB?ocid=BingHp01&cvid=05560f241a9746a4e350e5fb4f6e8026&ei=57
South African Poultry Farmers call for bird flu vaccination
India cats and Australian child
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.23.638954
GISAID database
https://platform.epicov.org/epi3/frontend#16d9ee
Michael Coston
https://afludiary.blogspot.com/2025/02/preprint-hpai-h5n1-clade-2321a-virus.html
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.23.638954v1.full.pdf
Cat food recalled due to possible bird flu contamination
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/28/cats-bird-flu
Trump considers pulling moderna grant for mRNA bird flu vaccines
Flu A and Flu B
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-general/report-influenza-and-b-clinically-different-and-type-b-patients-less-likely
Mpox increased transmission
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20250220/New-mpox-variant-can-spread-rapidly-across-borders.aspx
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03582-1
UK latest
World latest
https://www.cdc.gov/mpox/situation-summary/index.html
UKHSA Data Dashboard
New coronavirus strain discovered in bats in china
https://x.com/unusual_whales/status/1893009292154020064?t=moTjOCWfw2CjOaiqVuB0WA&s=09
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/03/opinion/risky-virus-research.html
https://archive.is/ZDUd8
Bill banning mRNA vaccines in Iowa passes subcommittee
COVID Inquiry looks into supply of PPE
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/dec/17/how-the-michelle-mone-scandal-unfolded-200m-of-ppe-contracts-denials-and-a-government-lawsuit
GP's deal.for change
James Harrison
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y4xqe60gyo
British Science Week
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