cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/23282836
Summary
The CDC confirmed the first severe U.S. case of H5N1 bird flu in Louisiana, linked to exposure to sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
This marks the first backyard flock-related case in the U.S., though 61 human cases of H5 bird flu have been reported since April 2024.
The virus belongs to the D1.1 genotype, found in wild birds and recent cases in Canada and the U.S.
There is no evidence of person-to-person spread, and public health risk remains low. The CDC advises precautions for those exposed to infected animals.
There’s a great 60 minutes interview with the husband and wife of BioNtech. They talked about having a vaccine in February already that was producing an immune response in mice and by May of 2020 they already started a trial. The speed that we went from first hearing about Covid, to lock down, to having a vaccine is and was incredible. The US already talked at one point about having bird flu vaccines made and stockpiling them for this exact reason.
Interview