Bird Flu

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday urged labs nationwide to determine within 24 hours of admission whether people hospitalized with the flu have seasonal influenza or are infected with the bird flu that's behind an escalating outbreak in dairy cows and poultry.

The guidance for labs to do this type of testing has been in place since last fall, but the process has been slow, with many hospitals sending flu samples out for testing in bulk every few days.

US urged to do more to fight bird flu after first death The first human death from bird flu in the United States has intensified calls for the government to ramp up efforts to stave off the threat of another pandemic—particularly ahead of Donald Trump's ... Science X Medical Xpress

...Health experts around the world have for months been urging US authorities to increase surveillance and share more information about its bird flu outbreak after the virus started spreading among dairy cows for the first time. ...

Tom Peacock, a virologist at the Imperial College London, said he thought "the biggest error the US has made is its slow and weak response to the cattle outbreak"

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Bird flu risk remains low after first US death, WHO says The risk to the general population from H5N1 bird flu remains low, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday, following the first death of a patient from the virus in the United States. Reuters Reuters

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