1. A #monkeypox π§΅
The US has surpassed the UK in #MPX cases, trailing only Spain at this point, I believe. Friday's tally from @CDCgov is 2891 cases. A couple of weeks ago the tally grew by about 50 cases a day. Now it's hundreds β nearly 400 today.
2. At a White House briefing late today, Jennifer McQuiston from @CDCgov said 99% of the US #monkeypox cases are gay, bisexual & other men who have sex with men. CDC knows of 2 cases in children (household transmission), 8 cases in cisgendered women & 5 in transgendered men.
3. In the UK, the #monkeypox case total is 2208, the vast majority of which were detected in England. @UKHSA updates its case count on Tuesdays & Fridays; today's total was only up 71 cases from what HSA reported on Tuesday.
4. In fact, @UKHSA reported Friday that it believes transmission in the UK has slowed and may be leveling off.
The percentage of cases in London, previously at about 75%, has declined & is now at about 66%.
5. @UKHSA has been watching #monkeypox cases in women as a proxy for a sign that transmission might be moving beyond gay, bisexual & other men who have sex with men. So far modeling suggests it has not, but the trend is being closely watched.
6. Of the 13 women in the UK who have been diagnosed with #monkeypox, 4 have needed hospital care for their symptoms. Women have had fever, swollen lymph nodes, genital lesions & lesions in the mouth & throat.
7. @UKHSA has surveyed some of the people diagnosed with #monkeypox in the U.K. More than 96% are gay, bisexual & other men who have sex with men. 31% have had 10 or more sex partners in the last 3 months. More than half have had an STI in the past year.
8. This is an interesting statistic that illustrates the challenge public health authorities have trying to stop #monkeypox transmission by finding the contacts of cases. Only 8% of known cases were listed as a contact of a previous case.
9. The latest @UKHSA#monkeypox technical brief has lots of interesting information, including this table on the test positivity rate by population groups. Nearly 54% of adult men tested are positive. For women, it's just over 2%.
They classify males 15 & older as adults!
1. @USDA posted an FAQ today about the federal order restricting movement of dairy cattle infected with
#H5N1 #birdflu. Interesting information therein.
A π§΅
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/β¦
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:
β @USDA is monitoring feral swine; no detections of H5 so far.
β 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 𧡠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-viβ¦
3. It hasn't been a particularly bad #flu season, but the estimated number of hospitalizations for flu has been pretty high β 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.
1. A π§΅on #flu & #Covid activity trends based on reports today from @CDCgov. Most of the data is for the week ending Feb. 3. The #influenza-like illness (ILI) season seems to have peaked at the end of Dec, with declines in flu, Covid & #RSV since then. But the season isn't over.
2. There was a bit of an uptick in #flu activity in the central & south central US. It corresponds with an increase in flu B detections there. Pre-Covid, flu B often arrived in a late season wave. We may see that again this year.
Map on left is the week ending 1/27; right is 2/3.
3. An additional 8 pediatric #flu deaths were reported to @CDCgov in the wk ending 2/3. The season's death toll in kids now stands at 74, which is awful, obviously, but not as bad as most years pre-Covid. But if there's a lot of flu B activity, this number could climb.
1. Traditionally I've done #flu updates on Fridays, but given our new reality β #Covid is here to stay β & the expansion of data on @CDCgov's website, I'm going to broaden the scope going forward. Top line news: Lotta illness out there right now. cdc.gov/respiratory-viβ¦
2. Most parts of the country are ensconced in #influenza-like illness season right now. (Minn, what are you doing to stay so healthy?) This graphic doesn't just represent #flu activity; #Covid, #RSV & other ILIs are also captured here. @CDCgov's FluView: cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
3. #Flu is the most common bug making people sick right now, but there's a lot of #Covid going around too. (I know from recent experience.) #RSV is still fairly active but declining. This breakdown of what's causing most illness is seen both in positive tests & ER visits.
1. It's fall, pharmacies are pushing you to get a #flu shot. What's going on with #influenza, you wonder? Let's break down @CDCgov's most recent FluView report, posted today. It's for the week ending Oct. 7, the first week of the 2023-24 flu season. 𧡠cdc.gov/flu/weekly/
2. Know this: #influenza "seasons" run over a period from the beginning of Oct to the end of the following Sept. To say last week was the first week of the 2023-24 season signals only that we're in a new monitoring period. It doesn't mean #flu activity has actually picked up.
3. You can see we're at the start of a new monitoring period here. The line that will depict what happens during #influenza-like illness (ILI) season 2023-24 is barely visible. (I added the arrow.) Last #flu season (orange line) started very early. Slower start this year.