Pandemics

Nearly a year after a wild bird infected with H5N1 avian flu presumably passed its viral baggage to a dairy cow in the Texas panhandle — which has subsequently led to the infection of more than 700 herds nationwide and sickened at least 35 dairy workers — the nation’s agriculture department announced Friday that it will sample the nation’s milk supply to test for the virus.

PHP 1580, Pandemic Game Changers, is a course that prepares the next generation of decision-makers for emerging biosecurity threats.

State agriculture officials on Thursday banned Fresno-based Raw Farm from distributing its raw dairy products to retailers amid ongoing concerns about possible bird flu infections among its cattle.

Canadian health officials announced Tuesday that a teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu from an unknown source is in critical condition.

A Canadian teenager is hospitalized in critical condition with suspected bird flu, health officials reported Tuesday. The teen has been receiving care at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver since Friday, the same day an initial test came back positive for H5 influenza.

This fall there was a deadly disease outbreak in the east African country of Rwanda. But you may not have heard about it, and according to Professor Craig Spencer, that’s a good thing.

In October, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that high-risk adults get a second updated Covid vaccine to bolster their protection against the virus.

NEW YORK — A pig at an Oregon farm was found to have bird flu, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday. It's the first time the virus has been detected in U.S. swine and raises concerns about bird flu's potential to become a human threat.

Acclaimed writer and historian John M. Barry ’68, author of the “The Great Influenza,” spoke at a Brown University seminar about lessons learned from previous pandemics.

SACRAMENTO, California — Health officials across the U.S. are working to prevent a potentially dangerous combination virus as avian flu rips through one of the nation’s largest milk-producing regions during the height of flu season.

A third farmworker has tested positive for bird flu in California, according to the state’s health department. If confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this would be the 17th human case of H5N1 flu in the US since March, when the virus was first detected in cows.

WHO currently deems the risk of spread to nearby countries as high, but global spread low.

Dean Jha addressed the School of Public Health at this annual fall event, showcasing the school’s impact by sharing the stage with members of the school’s community, including student, staff and faculty speakers.

With the approach of fall and cooler weather across the United States, officials say the risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus could rise — and they’re taking steps to prevent the creation of a hybrid flu virus that could more easily infect humans.

Infections historically rise during the colder months — but is that still true since COVID is surging now?

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the new Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. It’s the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. The shots should be available within days. The agency hasn't yet approved a third vaccine, from drugmaker Novavax.

U.S. health officials now say COVID-19 is an endemic disease. That means it's here to stay – circulating regularly like the flu. Even though that changes how public health officials think about managing the virus, they say it doesn't mean being less cautious or vigilant during surges, like the current one this summer. COVID still poses significant risks for older individuals and those with underlying conditions — and anyone who gets COVID is at risk of developing long COVID.

If it seems like a lot of people are getting COVID right now, you’re not imagining it. We’re in the middle of a worldwide summer COVID-19 wave.

Four years after SARS-CoV2 sparked a devastating global pandemic, U.S. health officials now consider COVID-19 an endemic disease.

BIRD FLU CHECK-IN — More cows and humans continue to test positive for avian influenza, but the CDC maintains that the risk to the public remains low. We checked in with several infectious disease experts to learn more about what the recent outbreak at poultry farms in Colorado means for the U.S. response to the virus.

Coronavirus activity in wastewater reached levels considered “high” or “very high” in 26 states, according to the most recent CDC data.

Even as the H5N1 virus evolves, gaps remain in the nation’s contingency plans for human testing, scientists say.

Farmworkers need paid sick leave and widespread testing to help prevent an H5N1 pandemic, experts say.

The dean of the Brown University School of Public Health shares what to know to stay safe amid a summer wave of COVID-19 cases and the new strain circulating.

How worried you should be about H5N1, the bird flu virus spreading on dairy farms in the United States, depends on who you are. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described the current H5N1 risk to the general public as low. The risk that the virus poses is tempered by the fact that it doesn’t spread easily among people — yet.

While baseless attacks on Dr. Anthony Fauci may be comforting to some, it doesn't get to the heart of the issues.

No one knows when the next pandemic will sweep across the United States. It could be bird flu, or an as-yet unknown infection. But after living through the Covid-19 pandemic, which claimed more than 1 million American lives, left more than 300,000 children orphaned, and shut down workplaces and schools, U.S. citizens should demand that the nation does better next time.

Brown researchers find that routine testing of asymptomatic residents identifies carriers and prevents outbreaks within long-term care settings.

As much as we would all love to ignore COVID, a new set of variants that scientists call “FLiRT” is here to remind us that the virus is still with us.

Outside a farm in Michigan in early May, an RV pulled up and parked. Registered nurse Aracely Nerio and others helped set up a canopy, where nearby farmworkers could find shade or bottles of water, and check their blood pressure and glucose levels. Health care is often out of reach for these laborers.

After Joe Silva graduates from Brown’s School of Public Health, he will begin a two year role as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer for the U.S. Government.

In this special bonus episode of Humans in Public Health, we talk with Professor Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University, about the rising concerns about bird flu in the United States.

Failure to shield these workers could allow the H5N1 virus to become a greater threat.

Officials are racing to conduct more testing to better understand the spread of the virus and its potential risk to humans.

Anaridis Rodriguez is joined by Pandemic Preparedness expert, Jennifer Nuzzo, from Brown University, to dig deeper into how we can best prepare ourselves for another pandemic.

A Texas dairy worker has tested positive for the avian flu, marking the first identified human case of an illness in the U.S. that has sickened cattle across several states over the past few weeks.

Four years out from the onset of the COVID-19 epidemic, a new study explores the extent to which COVID-19 and influenza vaccines are being distributed and employed simultaneously, particularly among high-risk populations.

In four years of the Covid pandemic, we have seen lots and lots of guidance change over time. Most recently, the CDC has relaxed its recommendations about isolating after testing positive for Covid.

Americans who test positive for COVID-19 no longer need to stay in isolation for five days, U.S. health officials announced Friday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its longstanding guidance, saying that people can return to work or regular activities if their symptoms are mild and improving and it’s been a day since they’ve had a fever.

An expert on global health security, public health preparedness and response, and health systems resilience, Jennifer Nuzzo DrPH, is professor of epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health where she directs the Pandemic Center. We spoke to her about pandemic proofing the future, and how Brown is uniquely positioned to make impact in the field.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may soon drop its isolation guidance for people with COVID-19. The planned change was reported in The Washington Post on Tuesday, attributed to several unnamed CDC officials.

An analysis of health care claims data, conducted in partnership with Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, finds billions in excess health care spending following COVID-19 infection, and has important implications for pandemic preparedness.

The Pandemic Center kicked off a new Brown Arts IGNITE film and media series with the pre-release screening of Scott Hamilton Kennedy’s documentary “Shot in the Arm,” followed by panel discussion.

The CDC says we should isolate for five days after testing positive. Other public health officials disagree. Who is right?