Media – birdflustocks.com

In May, Medgene informed the USDA that it had an H5N1 vaccine for cows and already had half a million preorders from desperate farmers. To develop the vaccine, the company relied on USDA regulations formulated in 2018 to accelerate vaccine approval in the event of an agricultural emergency. But as it struggled to get sign-off, the company kept hearing that trade restrictions stood in the way. Meanwhile, the USDA kept stating that vaccine development was still in the early stages. Says Medgene CEO Mark Luecke: “We’re screaming at the top of our lungs, ‘We have an H5N1 vaccine for cattle ready to help farmers and ranchers today!’”

Source: Inside the Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health

From bad to worse: How avian flu must change to trigger a human pandemic

https://www.science.org/content/article/bad-worse-avian-flu-must-change-trigger-human-pandemic

Stockpiles and Pandemic Preparedness

A collection of articles related to stockpiles and pandemic preparedness.

Antivirals

https://undark.org/2024/09/23/h5n1-old-drug-protect-against-new-pandemic/

https://fortune.com/2024/06/24/us-strategic-drug-stockpile-inadequate-bird-flu-outbreak/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/04/23/bird-flu-h5n1-plan-pandemic/

Vaccines

https://www.statnews.com/2024/05/22/h5n1-bird-flu-vaccine-questions-and-answers/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/11/bird-flu-human-transmission-prepared-pandemic

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/24/h5n1-bird-flu-vaccine-preparedness/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bird-flu-vaccine-chicken-eggs-researching-alternatives/

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/17/health/bird-flu-pandemic-humans.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-bird-flu-vaccine-might-come-too-late-to-save-us-from-h5n1/

Understanding the Zoonotic Potential of Avian Influenza

https://www.canadianveterinarians.net/media/2lwf2vec/cezd-infobulletin-understanding-the-zoonotic-potential-of-avian-influenza-2023-03-21.pdf

Short Scientific Publication with Focus on Mutations

https://rupress.org/jem/article/220/8/e20230447/214173/Mammalian-infections-with-highly-pathogenic-avian

H5 influenza: A virus that takes, then takes some more

https://www.jdscommun.org/action/showPdf?pii=S2666-9102%2824%2900151-0

Influenza viruses do not follow our human rules. Instead, they follow the biology defined by a negative-sense, single-stranded, segmented RNA genome and interactions with their environment and hosts. They will not wait for us to work through our politics, our man-made rules, or even our science to exert their damage. They will merely follow their biology. This is a point we humans often fail to recognize, one that allows a virus, such as H5 influenza, to wreak havoc, leaving us in the dust. This is where we went wrong and where we need to do better.

Source: H5 influenza: A virus that takes, then takes some more

Avian influenza death of Alaska polar bear is a global first and a sign of the virus’ persistence

https://alaskabeacon.com/2023/12/30/avian-influenza-death-of-alaska-polar-bear-is-a-global-first-and-a-sign-of-the-virus-persistence/

Aside from the large and wide-ranging death toll in the wild, the current outbreak has some other differences, particularly its durability, as seen in its persistence away from domestic flocks.

Source: Avian influenza death of Alaska polar bear is a global first and a sign of the virus’ persistence

The Story of Influenza

Virtually every expert on influenza believes another pandemic is nearly inevitable, that it will kill millions of people, and that it could kill tens of millions—and a virus like 1918, or H5N1, might kill a hundred million or more—and that it could cause economic and social disruption on a massive scale. This disruption itself could kill as well.

Source: The Story of Influenza

Primary Pandemic Prevention

How can we stop the emergence of pandemic viruses in the first place? Whenever possible, treat the cause. (...)Indeed, factory farms are a public health menace. In addition to discontinuing the intensive confinement practices of animal agriculture, we should continue to research, develop, and invest in innovative plant-based and cultivated meat technologies to move away from raising billions of feathered and curly-tailed test tubes for viruses with pandemic potential to mutate within.

Source: Primary Pandemic Prevention

Endangered Species

California condor preservation efforts

California condor study update

More California condor study updates

Wild bird vaccinations in New Zealand

ECDC "Avian Influenza Overview"

https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data

Example report, April-June 2023

CDC Basic Information

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/basics/faq.html

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/avian-flu-faq.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/timeline/avian-timeline-background.htm

CDC H5N1 Mutation Information

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/avianflu/h5n1-inventory.pdf

APHIS Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Mammals

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/mammals

Universal Influenza Vaccine Technology Landscape

A great vaccine database with a different focus is the Universal Influenza Vaccine Technology Landscape by CIDRAP.

Ebola documentary

A terrifying documentary on Youtube showing the psychological impact and resulting chaos of a very lethal outbreak .

Long-term effects of viral infections

Cancers caused by infections are more common than you might think

Serious infections linked to dementia risk, study shows

It Isn’t Just Long COVID. Post-Viral Illnesses Are More Common Than You Think

‘Long flu’ has emerged as a consequence similar to long COVID

Adenovirus 36 prevalence and association with human obesity: a systematic review

Covid-19 may increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and deaths for three years after an infection, study suggests

Disaster Bonds documentary

A documentary on Youtube about how tail risk hedge funds calculate risks for disaster bonds.

"The Pandemic That Lasted 15 Million Years" documentary

A documentary on Youtube about a pre-historic panzootic being so severe that traces of the virus can still be found in the DNA of humans and many animals.

The Phrase "No Evidence" Is A Red Flag For Bad Science Communication

While Slate Star Codex author Scott Alexander wrote this blog post in the context of Covid-19, it is still highly relevant. It is impossible to monitor billions of people, domestic and wild animals. The absence of evidence shouldn't be confused with the absence of infections or mutations.

In an extremely nitpicky sense, these headlines are accurate. Officials were simply describing the then-current state of knowledge. In medicine, anecdotes or hunches aren’t considered “real” evidence. So if there hasn’t been a study showing something, then there’s “no evidence”. In early 2020, there hadn’t yet been a study proving that COVID could be airborne, so there was “no evidence” for it.

Source: The Phrase "No Evidence" Is A Red Flag For Bad Science Communication

8 things US pandemic communicators still get wrong

Risk communication expert Peter Sandman writes about mistakes of public health communication in the Covid-19 pandemic context.

Favorite News Sources

Introduction

The global H5N1 influenza panzootic in mammals

Inside the Bungled Bird Flu Response, Where Profits Collide With Public Health