Latest news with #AndrewPekosz
NBC News
29-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
A new Covid variant could drive up summer cases: Here's what you should know
A new Covid variant that's gaining momentum globally has landed in the U.S. The World Health Organization announced last week that it was monitoring the variant, NB.1.8.1, following a rise in cases in several parts of the world, including Europe, Southeast Asia and North and South America. The variant appears to be more transmissible than the dominant strain worldwide, LP.8.1, meaning it has the potential to drive up cases this summer. But it does not seem to be much better than LP.8.1 at evading protection from vaccines or a prior infection. And the WHO has found no evidence that it leads to more severe illness, so the agency has determined that it doesn't pose an added health risk. 'It's an important one to track, but it doesn't show any signs so far of being able to drive a large surge in Covid-19 cases — at least in the U.S.,' said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Federal and state health officials regularly monitor Covid strains to identify potential changes in how the virus behaves and help inform vaccine updates. The strains that have been dominant in the U.S. since late 2021 are versions of the omicron variant and generally produce similar symptoms. NB.1.8.1 is part of that lineage. Covid vaccines are updated each fall to better match the circulating strains, but eligibility will likely be limited this year to older adults and young people with medical conditions. Infectious disease doctors said NB.1.8.1 could potentially lead to a small surge of infections for two reasons: The U.S. hasn't seen a Covid wave in awhile and less than a quarter of adults have received the latest booster, meaning population immunity has likely waned. 'It may unfortunately come back with a little bit of vengeance on us. Let's hope that doesn't happen, but I am concerned that we may be setting ourselves up for that with this combination of factors,' said Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Covid cases typically rise twice a year — in the summer and winter — regardless of what variant is circulating, said Dr. Scott Roberts, associate medical director of infection prevention at the Yale School of Medicine. 'I'm going to go ahead and guess that it's going to lead to an uptick in the summer — probably a mild to moderate one,' he said of NB.1.8.1. A spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been fewer than 20 sequences of NB.1.8.1 reported in the U.S. to date. That means the variant is not prevalent enough to appear on the CDC's dashboard, which lists variants that make up more than 1% of national Covid cases over a two-week period. The Arizona Department of Health Services said it identified three samples of the variant in late April and early May through routine surveillance. NB.1.8.1 has also been detected in Rhode Island, according to the state's health department. The Cleveland Clinic said it had detected a few cases in Ohio. 'Whether it gets a foothold in this country and it becomes our new dominant variant or not remains to be seen,' Russo said. The variant is now dominant in China, where it has spread rapidly since the start of the year. By late April, it made up nearly 11% of genetic sequences submitted to a global virus database called GISAID, up from 2.5% earlier that month. Meanwhile, LP.8.1 has become less prevalent since mid-April, according to the WHO. A preprint study, which has not been peer-reviewed, found that NB.1.8.1 had the 'potential for future dominance' over other circulating variants due to additional mutations that could make it more transmissible. People who haven't been vaccinated or had Covid in awhile should get a booster now if they're eligible, Roberts said. NB.1.8.1 is a cousin of JN.1 (the variant targeted by the current booster), so the vaccine should protect against it to some degree. The Food and Drug Administration has asked drugmakers to update Covid vaccines to target the LP.8.1 variant this fall. Data from Pfizer and Moderna suggest the updated vaccines would offer protection against NB.1.8.1 as well. But the FDA has said it will limit its approval of updated Covid shots to older adults and younger people with a medical condition that puts them at risk of severe illness. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday stopped recommending Covid vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. 'I haven't seen any substantial new data to guide these decisions,' Roberts said. Doctors said they worry that, because of those changes, pregnant people and children under 5 may be vulnerable to severe outcomes from Covid this winter. And even healthy adults who've been vaccinated before might not have optimal protection, Russo said. 'Even for people that have received one shot, two shots, even three shots — yes, that's better than no shot,' he said. 'But we know that immunity wanes and we know the virus evolves.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
What is bird flu? Here's everything you need to know about the virus affecting chickens and dairy cattle
Bird flu has spread widely in poultry, causing egg shortages. Virus spillover has occurred in various mammal species, including humans. H5N1 does not currently have the ability to spread human to human. It's not just higher egg prices. The ongoing bird flu outbreak has led to millions of wild bird deaths, slaughtered livestock, hazardous conditions for dairy industry workers, and spillover infections in humans and other mammals. While there's no sign that H5N1 can be transmitted person to person at this point, some experts worry about the possibility of a pandemic if the virus continues to spread widely. Here's what you need to know about bird flu. What is bird flu? The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread among a variety of bird species, including chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, and many migratory wild birds. There have also been cases in humans and other mammals, including dairy cows, seals, bears, and cats. Dairy cows have seen the biggest impact among mammals, with 985 confirmed cases in 17 states since March 2024, according to USDA data. In February, the virus affected a total of 15.83 million birds, with outbreaks reported in 79 commercial and 55 backyard flocks. Where is the virus now? The H5N1 virus has spread worldwide, hitting every continent except Australia. In the US, the most affected states are California and Washington, with 38 and 11 confirmed human cases, respectively. Who has the bird flu affected? According to CDC data, there have been a total of 70 human cases since 2024 and one death related to the virus. Of those cases, 41 were related to exposure to infected dairy cattle, 24 to exposure to infected poultry farm operations, and two to infected backyard flocks, wild birds, or other mammals. The exposure source for three of the cases was undetermined. Andrew Pekosz, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, recommends avoiding feeding household animals raw, unpasteurized milk products because of the potential for the milk to carry bird flu. How is bird flu spreading? Bird flu can spread through direct contact with contaminated animals, water sources, or surfaces. So far, human exposure to the virus has mainly come from unprotected exposure to infected animals. The virus has not shown the ability to transmit human-to-human. Mild cases may look similar to regular flu infections, with patients showing signs of fever, cough, runny nose, headache, diarrhea, chills, and teary eyes, according to the CDC. In the poultry industry, when a bird flock becomes infected, "you have to actually put the whole flock to death," Pekosz said. For dairy cattle, the detection of just one infection in a herd means that the whole herd is taken out of production to prevent contaminated products from leaving the farm. What is the bird flu infection threat to humans? The CDC currently considers the risk of H5N1 infection to the public to be low. "The risk to the general population is essentially zero," said Dr. William Schaffner, former medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. People should exercise caution in their interactions with wild birds and products that could spread infection, such as unpasteurized dairy. What is the government doing about H5N1 outbreaks? Under USDA guidelines, farmers must immediately contact authorities and test animals suspected of being infected. Once an infection is detected, the flock is put in quarantine and the infected birds are killed. On Feb. 26, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced a $1 billion strategy to curb the bird flu, including expansions to the agency's biosecurity measures and funding for vaccine research. The CDC is monitoring human infections and has released guidelines for contact with possibly infected animals at the commercial and hobbyist levels. How is bird flu affecting the economy? The biggest hit to the poultry economy has been the massive loss in chicken populations, which has resulted in a decrease in egg production in the U.S. The egg shortage has led to rising prices and dwindling grocery store supplies. "When this virus enters a poultry farm, it starts to kill chickens almost immediately," Pekosz said. "The eggs or the chickens never really get a chance to even leave the farm before the farmers know that there's an infection going on." How can people stay safe from bird flu? The CDC suggests minimizing or avoiding exposure to dead and sick animals unless wearing adequate protective equipment. While there is no real risk of infection from food products like eggs or chicken, Pekosz said people who are concerned can err on the side of caution and follow USDA cooking guidelines. "If you follow those recommendations, the bird flu virus will be killed," he said. "So even if in the very, very low possibility that you would get something that's contaminated with H5N1, if you just cook the eggs properly, that virus will be killed and won't pose any harm to you." "Raw milk is probably the biggest thing that is a concern for people who are not working on cows or at dairy or poultry farms in terms of a risk factor," Pekosz added. For those with backyard bird feeders or bird baths, Schaffner suggested using surgical gloves when touching water or surfaces where the birds flock and carefully disposing the gloves once done. How should we expect the virus to evolve? The virus is beginning to mutate in ways that could make it more equipped to infect humans, but we have some tools to combat it. "With H5N1, we know we have drugs that will prevent the virus from replicating. We know how to make vaccines that work against influenza viruses. We have a lot of tests that we know work really well in terms of detecting the virus," Pekosz said. "We've had 40 years of research on this virus that allowed us to show that we have a bunch of tools that can be used to minimize the effects of this virus should it become a human pathogen." That said, an H5N1 pandemic could be devastating. The risk of the virus mutating to become better at infecting beef cattle appears to be low, according to Pekosz and Schaffner. Of the dairy cows affected by the virus, most infections have been caused by improper cleaning of milking equipment, and the infection has stayed localized in the cow's milk-producing organs, removing the risk of infection for cattle not involved in milking procedures. In May 2024, the USDA started randomly testing beef cattle for the virus. What do people need to keep in mind now? The influenza vaccine doesn't protect humans against bird flu infection, but the ongoing flu season, which is the worst in 15 years, is a bigger threat right now. "Bird flu is a theoretical risk. Seasonal flu is a real risk," Schaffner said. Read the original article on Business Insider
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Five years later, COVID-19 cases in Maryland top 1.5 million, health department reports
Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland this week passed the 1.5 million mark, five years after the virus was first found in the state. (Adobe Stock photo) Nearly five years after COVID-19 was declared a public health emergency in the United States, the number of cases detected in Maryland has topped 1.5 million, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health. According to data updated Tuesday, the state had recorded 1,500,501 total cases since March 4, 2020. The state also reported 18,290 COVID-19 deaths in that same span. Andrew Pekosz, professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who researches COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, speculates that the 1.5 million cases milestone likely occurred several months ago. 'These days, so many people either don't test for COVID-19 or they use a home test and don't report those results,' he said. 'These are the official diagnosed numbers – that have 1.5 million – but I'm sure we blew past that many months ago because so many cases are now mild enough that people don't even feel the need to test, let alone seek out any kind of health care resources for their illnesses,' he said. But even as the state hits that milestone, today's COVID-19 is less severe than in the height of the pandemic. The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a public health emergency on March 11, 2020, and the disease has shifted significantly since then. Vaccines are now available and there are much lower hospitalization rates and deaths from COVID-19. Meanwhile, most of the federal emergency funds and support for states are no longer available. Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director for the American Public Health Assocation, wouldn't say that the pandemic is over, but that it's shifting. 'The way people are thinking about it is it has moved to a next phase. It's still around the whole world, so it's still definitely a pandemic, you can still get it,' Benjamin said. 'But the good news is that it isn't mutating as readily as it was before. 'It's reached endemic proportions,' he said. 'Think flu — the flu is an endemic disease, it's around all the time.' Pekosz also referred to COVID-19 as 'endemic.' 'I think we've firmly seen the transition of COVID-19 from a pandemic into an endemic disease – meaning a disease that we know we're going to be dealing with on an annual basis,' he said. 'What we hope we'll see is a transition to it also being seasonal disease. One of the things that really differentiates COVID-19 from virtually all other respiratory afflictions is that we see cases all year round,' Pekosz said. When it comes to tracking COVID-19 cases in the United States, epidemiologists use computational modeling to tease out the actual presence of COVID-19 in the country and in Maryland. But even as COVID-19 remains a dangerous virus, health officials are not seeing the number of cases, deaths and hospitalizations reach the heights that occurred in 2021 at the peak of the pandemic. According to the Maryland Health Department, the highest number of daily cases reported was on Dec. 28, 2021, with 17,252 new cases reported in the state that day, when the total number of cases to date had reached 680,351 cases. A few weeks later, on Feb. 25, 2022, the state would pass the 1 million cases mark. The most recent data shows that there were 1,305 cases reported just this week and just under 4,500 cases for the month of January. The record number of daily deaths due to COVID-19 was recorded on Jan. 18, 2022, when 80 Marylanders died from COVID-19. The most single-day deaths last year, by comparison, was 17 on Feb. 2, 2024, and there were nine deaths this week. Lower numbers, but they show that COVID-19 is still a deadly disease, especially for those over age 55 and those with underlying health conditions. About 94% of COVID-19 deaths in Maryland are among those aged 50 and older, even though that age group only makes up about a third of total cases, according to the Maryland Health Department's data. 'It's important to target, even more strongly, messaging toward those in vulnerable parts of the population — individuals … with medical conditions that predispose them to severe influenza,' Pekosz said. 'Because when you look at the hospitalized population, they are primarily elderly, they have secondary medical conditions — and many of them haven't had a vaccine in over a year.' But recent actions at the federal level concern public health experts like Benjamin. Over the weekend, there were reports that datasets and webpages from websites such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were offline and showing error messages. When some of the pages reappeared on Sunday, there were messages saying that the CDC's website was being modified to comply with recent executive orders from President Donald Trump. Benjamin says that weakened communications from federal health agencies will slow the health system's ability to respond to emerging health needs, such as potential changes in COVID-19 or if a new pandemic arises. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'The fact that the federal government is taking down websites and screwing around with the data reporting systems, that means that for a lot of these infectious diseases, including COVID, we're flying – I don't want to say blind, but we're much less knowledgeable than we need to be,' he said. 'I fear that something bad could start transmitting itself in our communities, and we wouldn't know about it until we would be chasing an outbreak.' Pekosz agreed that slowing down health communications could weaken the ability to respond to new threats. 'The faster you respond, the more likely you are to successfully fight an outbreak,' he said. 'Problems with communication, problems with sharing data, all slow down that process of making us aware of what's going on in the situation. And that's not a good thing.'
