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6 Aug, 7 tweets, 4 min read
1. Short thread on flu-like activity in the U.S.
#Flu has been at historically low levels around the world during the pandemic. At some point, it will come back. When? Not sure.
Interesting FluView today, @cdcgov's weekly flu report. cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
2. From about late May thru the end of Sept, @CDCgov issues a pared down weekly #flu report, because it's off-season for flu. So there isn't a lot of detail to explain this.
This graph shows out-patient visits for influenza-like illnesses, a.k.a. ILIs.
3. It looks like right now there are more people going to doctors or clinics for ILIs than there were at any point last winter during what would normally be flu season. That red line is the 2020-21 flu season. (In @CDCgov reporting terms, flu season runs from Oct. through Sept.)
4. #Flu-like illnesses are caused by all sorts of viruses. Human coronaviruses, adenoviruses, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinoviruses. During flu season, the red line in the graph above typically tells you about flu, but that's not what it is doing here.
5. A couple of weeks ago, @CDCgov reported on an increase in several types of respiratory viruses, all of which had been quiescent earlier in the pandemic. RSV, human coronavirues and especially parainfluenza viruses have rebounded. Rhinoviruses too. cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/7…
6. This week's FluView suggests most of the activity is in little kids, under 4 yo. After +15 months in cocoons, these germ magnets are even more susceptible to anything that's circulating now. As masks came off & distancing measures eased, you'd expect this to happen.
7. Meanwhile, the chart that shows the number of positive #flu diagnoses is still showing very little activity. This curve is for the 2020-21 season. The current number of positive cases is far below the peak of what was a historically quiet flu season.
So we wait.

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More from @HelenBranswell

Helen Branswell Profile picture
6 Aug
1. @SoceFallBirima confirms there is a possible case of #Marburg in Guinea, at Gueckédou — where the 2014-16 West African #Ebola outbreak was first reported.
Samples have been sent to a reference laboratory for confirmation.
This would be West Africa's first Marburg outbreak.
2. For those who don't know Marburg fever, it is very similar to #Ebola — a dangerous hemorrhagic fever that transmits through contact with a sick or dead person's bodily fluids. Marburg outbreaks have been less frequent and generally smaller than Ebola outbreaks.
3. Things to know about #Marburg: There is no licensed vaccine & no approved drugs to treat it. There's been work on experimental vaccines & some Phase 1 trials, which suggests there may be some human grade vaccine available. How much would be a question.
Read 5 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
22 Jul
1. @CDCgov's vaccine advisors, #ACIP, are meeting today. I'll try to tweet, but also writing so tweets may be spotty.
Issues are: The suspected link between the J&J #Covid vaccine & Guillain Barre syndrome & whether immunocompromised people should get an additional dose of vax.
2. On the issue of whether immunocompromised people should get +1 dose of #Covid vax, don't expect a decision today. The emergency use authorizations that allow use of the vaccines specify how many doses can be given. Until @US_FDA changes that, #ACIP can't recommend more doses.
3. J&J presented #ACIP some new immunogenicity data for their 1 dose vaccine just now, with data by variant type. The T-cell responses are similar across all variants, the company shows. Persistent humoral and cellular immune responses, over 8 months.
Read 14 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
16 Jul
1. @CDCgov announced today that a case of #monkeypox has been detected in Dallas. The person recently returned to the US from Nigeria. The person was traveling alone.
A thread.
2. @CDCgov, state/local health authorities are looking for people who traveled on 2 flights with the person who later was diagnosed with #monkeypox. The 1st was a direct red-eye flight from Lagos, Nigeria to Atlanta that arrived July 9. The second was from ATL to Dallas July 9.
3. #Monkeypox is related to smallpox. It is less dangerous, but it's not not dangerous. About 1 in 100 people infected with the strain that has infected the person in Dallas die from it.
Read 4 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
7 Jul
1. @WHO DG @Drtedros says the world is in a perilous position re: #Covid19. The global toll has topped 4M, vaccine nationalism has left many countries with little access to vaccine. That health workers in many countries are still unvaccinated is "morally abhorrent."
2. "Now is the time for the world to come together ... to end the acute phase of this pandemic," @drtedros said during today's @WHO #Covid19 press conference. "It's not charity," he said of working out ways to share vaccines & therapies. "It's the best way to end the pandemic."
3. @WHO's expert panel on vaccines, SAGE, recommends that older people & health workers around the world be vaccinated before young children, because the risk to the former is so much greater, Anne Lindstrom (spg?) from WHO tells the daily newser.
Read 6 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
23 Jun
1. The impact of #Covid19 vaccines on the US epidemic. This graphic, from today's #ACIP meeting, speaks volumes.
I will try to tweet from the meeting, but it might be intermittent. First up: myocarditis & pericarditis in some people who've received mRNA vaccines.
2. #ACIP will also be discussing #Covid19 booster shots. Committee was just told it's not yet clear *if* boosters will be needed, but that it's important to plan for boosters if it becomes clear they are needed.
3. #ACIP hearing an explanation of traditional (ie not vaccine-related) myocarditis & pericarditis. The former is mostly seen in males & rates are higher in 15-18 yos than in younger children.
Read 22 tweets
Helen Branswell Profile picture
19 Jun
1. Earlier this week @CDCgov served notice it is suspending importation of dogs from countries with a high canine #rabies risk.
An event happened this week that is a stark illustration of why CDC is taking that step.
A thread.
2. The day @CDCgov's notice appeared in the Federal Register, a Pennsylvania lab reported that a dog imported to the US from Azerbaijan on June 10 tested positive for #rabies. This is exactly what the new policy is trying to prevent.
3. The dog was part of a shipment of 33 dogs & 1 cat. Those animals will have to be found & quarantined for months. Animals that have been in contact with them may need to be revaxxed against #rabies. This is a TON of work. The animals were distributed across 8 states.
Read 5 tweets

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