1. Interesting update on #PediatricHepatitis from @ECDC_EU + @WHO_Europe. It contains the first epicurve I've seen, which is very helpful because reported cases include current & previous cases found through record searches. The 1st case here dates to Sept 2021.
2. A large majority of the European #PediatricHepatitis cases are really young — 76% under the age of 5.
3. The @ECDC_EU/@WHO_Europe#PediatricHepatitis update says as of May 13, a total of 232 cases have been reported. Puzzled by the UK number (131) because yesterday @UKHSA reported 176 cases.
This report reports 3 epidemiologically linked cases, which is interesting.
4. You can see from this screen shot that information being reported by countries is quite spotty. For instance, they report that of 98 #PediatricHepatitis cases for which there is information, 6 needed liver transplants & 1 died. What of the other 134 children?
5. Only 151 of these #PediatricHepatitis cases were tested for #adenovirus; 60% of them were positive. But a lot of the testing was done on samples that are not the best way to search for it. Best approach is whole blood.
6. Of the 176 children with #PediatricHepatitis who were tested for SARS-2 (the cause of Covid), 11.6% tested positive. This is for active infection, not testing for prior infection.
They had Covid vaccination information for 56 of the 232 cases. 47/56 or 83.9% were unvaxed.
1. @CDCgov posted FluView today after holding it back on Friday because of the incoming folks' communications pause. At some point I'd love for someone to try to make sense for me the strategic relevance of withholding flu season data.
Anyway, it's out. A 🧵 cdc.gov/fluview/survei…
2. #Flu activity had started to decline in the 2nd week of January, but it was climbing again in the week ending 1/18. 15 jurisdictions had very high flu activity; 24 had high. Montana seems to be having a very light flu season; not sure why that would be.
3. Four more pediatric #flu deaths were reported to @CDCgov, bringing this year's total to 31 so far. Far below last year's gruesome tally, but the season isn't over yet. And 31 families are going through a whole lot of heartache.
(Data CDC's; chart mine)
1. A #flu & other respiratory bugs update:
This year's flu season was pretty much exquisitely timed to coincide with the holidays, a great way to spread respiratory illness across the various age groups. Right now there's lots of flu, lots of #RSV & #Covid is on the rise again.
2. Check out the difference 1 month made. The map on the left shows #flu activity at the end of November, just after Thanksgiving. The map on the right shows the situation as of Dec. 28. The darker the color, the more flu-like illness making the rounds.
3. For the week ending 12/28, the percentage of outpatient visits for #influenza like illness (red arrow) was near the peak of activity in 2019-20, though that season (dark blue line) had 3 peaks. We're still below the peaks of 2022-23 (pink) & 2017-18. Will we have a 2nd peak? Maybe.
1. Some thoughts on #H5N1 #birdflu in cows. A 🧵
A bunch of new herds were announced by a couple of states today — Colorado and Iowa. The former reported +5 & looks like it may have another pending; It now has 18 in total, maybe 19. Iowa reported 2 more, taking it to 10.
2. To the best of my ability to keep up — and that's being challenged — I think there have been 125 herds reported in 12 states since the end of March. This graph combines @USDA's numbers from yesterday with the newly reported herds from Colorado & Iowa.
3. But @USDA threw a wrench into the works today. It updated its exceedingly wonky #H5N1 #birdflu in cows landing site. Some things work better, but the cumulative number of herds was lowered by 4 (from yday) with no explanation. USDA now says 112 herds in 12 states.
1. @USDA posted an FAQ today about the federal order restricting movement of dairy cattle infected with
#H5N1 #birdflu. Interesting information therein.
A 🧵
New to me: USDA says 8 poultry operations in 5 states have had poultry outbreaks with the virus detected in cows.
2. Minnesota hasn't reported #H5N1 #birdflu in cattle, but it has had at least 1 poultry outbreak with the cattle virus, @USDA reveals. More evidence, probably, that the virus is far more widely spread than has been realized. The FAQ is here: aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/…
3. The federal order on the movement of dairy cows goes into effect 4/29. @USDA is setting what looks like an ambitious timeline for processing of tests, especially "non-negative" tests that must then go for confirmatory testing at the USDA lab in Ames, Iowa. #H5N1 #birdflu
1. Listening to an @ASTHO - @IDSAInfo - @CSTEnews webinar on #H5N1 #birdflu in cows.
Of interest so far:
— @USDA is monitoring feral swine; no detections of H5 so far.
— in the "small number" of samples tested to date, doesn't look like cows are shedding virus thru feces.
2. @USDA Rosemary Sifford said the infections are "mostly" being seen in lactating herds.
1 herd was found to be positive despite the fact there were no clinical signs among the cows.
Sifford said USDA doesn't yet know how long infected cows shed virus.
#H5N1 #birdflu
@USDA 3. Sonja Olsen from @CDC says there've been 6 infections detected in cats on dairy farms. Not sure I've seen the exact number. #H5N1 #BirdFlu
1. A 🧵 on #flu, #Covid & #RSV (mostly flu). The
#influenza-like illness season is pretty much over. The percentage of people seeking care for ILIs is below 2.9%, that dotted line. You can catch flu at any time of the year, but chances of catching it now thru the summer are low.
2. It's not just #flu. #Covid activity now is at low levels nationally and #RSV activity has declined to the point where @CDCgov says the season is ending. Hallelujah. cdc.gov/respiratory-vi…
3. It hasn't been a particularly bad #flu season, but the estimated number of hospitalizations for flu has been pretty high — one of the highest in recent years. (red line) The 2017-18 season, which was harsh, was worse. CDC estimates there were 370K hospitalizations this year.