Eric Feigl-Ding Profile picture
Apr 1 17 tweets 8 min read Read on X
Getting worried—Dairy cow avian flu has now infected a man in Texas—first H5N1 avian flu likely transmitted via dairy cows (second U.S. H5N1). Several states have recently reported detecting H5N1 in cattle, which only recently started carrying avian flu.🤔
statnews.com/2024/04/01/bir…
2) This is not April Fool’s—official statement:

“The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is reporting the first human case of novel avian influenza A(H5N1) in Texas. The patient became ill following contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with avian influenza. The patient’s primary symptom was conjunctivitis. This is the second case of avian influenza A(H5N1) identified in a person in the United States and is believed to be associated with the recent detections of avian influenza A(H5N1) in dairy cows announced by the Texas Animal Health Commission.”

dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/he…Image
3) “DSHS is issuing this health alert to provide awareness to healthcare providers and ask them to be vigilant for people with signs and symptoms of avian influenza A(H5N1). Suspicion for avian influenza A(H5N1) should be heightened for people who have had contact with animals suspected of having avian influenza A(H5N1).”

dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/he…
4) Signs and symptoms of avian influenza A(H5N1) infection may include:
•Fever (temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or greater) or feeling feverish or chills
•Cough
•Sore throat
•Runny or stuffy nose
•Headaches
•Fatigue
•Eye redness (conjunctivitis)
•Difficulty breathing/shortness of breath
•Diarrhea
•Nausea
•Vomiting
•SeizuresImage
5) RESPIRATORY— this is also a respiratory infection folks… which means you know what… possibly #airborne.

“Illness in humans with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus have ranged from mild to severe. Reports of severe avian influenza A(H5N1) illness in humans have included fulminant pneumonia leading to respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome, septic shock, and death.”Image
6) I see they are still invoking the “6 feet rule” & “secretions” for defining close contacts of a respiratory virus— do we never learn? Can we maybe warn people about even the possibility that it’s airborne?? C’mon. Image
7) “AIRBORNE PRECAUTIONS”—thankfully they acknowledge later the need for airborne precautions against H5N1, which is very prudent given its respiratory disease and influenza previously has shown airborne transmission too. Many cattle feeding areas have poor ventilation too. Image
8) Okay folks— I should explain why I’m worried suddenly—H5N1 has been circulating in birds worldwide for a while now, and many mammals too. But all that spread took a while in the backdrop of the last 2 years. But the dairy cow thing is VERY NEW— only last week—but suddenly in MULTIPLE DISTANT STATES — cows don’t usually fly from Michigan to Texas to Idaho and NM”” ➡️and now suddenly in human case within a week. That’s quite a sudden timeline. 💡this is why I’m suddenly worried.Image
9) I hope the @CDCgov will really step up on H5N1 and trace all the cases—there will be inevitably be more human avian flu cases. This will be just the tip of the iceberg. I hope @CDCDirector will put PREVENTION and CONTROL first above corporate interests.
@CDCgov @CDCDirector 10) there is extensive cow to cow transmission for this epidemic among dairy cows to be happening on such a large scale. Which means the virus is adapting toward mammal to mammal transmission, than just incidental bird to mammal before.
11) Apparently I just learned from conspiracy circles that I have now been “activated”. Lol.

Debunk— no I have not, nor have I ever shilled for anyone. Anyone who knows me I just worry for public health & for the world.

➡️E.g. Last time 4 years ago…
nymag.com/intelligencer/…
Image
12) if you want to understand me… just read this old piece from ~13 years ago…

archive.nytimes.com/well.blogs.nyt…
13) Some folks have asked—what signals am I looking for next? (If gets worse):

📌Community transmission with no farm contact

📌mutations that allows faster binding to human receptors

📌outbreaks of community transmission in multiple regions

📌denialism of above, despite data
14) let’s pray we don’t repeat the same mistakes as during early COVID… for example these mistakes that Fauci now admits (but which he and others at WHO/CDC had dismissed early on)… the precautionary principle saves lives.
15) The numbers— so far, 7 herds of dairy cows have tested positive in Texas for the new Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, bringing total now to 11 confirmed dairy herds in 5 states (more pending). The NVSL has also confirmed that the strain of the virus found in subsequent states is very similar to the strain originally confirmed in cattle in Texas and Kansas that appears to have been introduced by wild birds (H5N1, Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b). 

aphis.usda.gov/news/agency-an…Image
16) Cats have also tested positive in the dairy cow H5N1 avian flu probe, already previously found. ➡️But cow cases are more unusual, because **no influenza A had ever been reported in ruminants** (cattle/bison species) before. Hence cow infections unusual
cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenz…
17) excellent thread from a scientist who had studied and followed avian flu for many years. There is a real risk of virus recombination between H5N1 and a human flu strain that will merge to make a “worst of both worlds” human-avian flu strain. 👇

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More from @DrEricDing

Jun 23
📍 The New York Times Is Failing Its Readers Badly on Covid

📌“Example of ‘science opinion’ run amok in the [NY Times] is a piece… by Zeynep Tufekci, a commentator with no training in biological science or epidemiology… ➡️Tufekci plays into the hands of the anti-science politicians who now seek vengeance on the flimsiest of grounds.”

By GREGG GONSALVES and JOHN P. MOORE
thenation.com/article/societ…Image
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2) “Tufekci also adds to the ongoing pile-on about whether the directive to maintain a distance of six feet from others was needed. Although the precise distance was indeed somewhat arbitrary, there was no possibility of obtaining hard data in the relevant time frame. The six-foot distance was a reasonable assumption based on public health history, and the practice of social distancing for other respiratory pathogens, particularly those spread by droplets. It was also adopted in multiple other countries, for the same reasons.”
3) “The problem here isn’t that Tufekci is questioning the evidentiary basis of the six-foot rule—science and public health cannot progress if we don’t evaluate the results of our work. But that progress is more effective when grounded in good-faith inquiry, rather than the kinds of attacks Tufekci levels against government scientists for doing their best in desperate circumstances. This only serves to bolster the forces who seek to destroy the US public health infrastructure, not make it better.

Tufekci also leaves the impression that she alone realized SARS-CoV-2 was airborne early on. In fact, the debate about transmission was fast and furious within the scientific community at that time”
Read 9 tweets
Jun 17
⚠️Whooping cough has smashed all records in UK🇬🇧 with barely any serious govt actions. These are NEW CASES PER WEEK, not cumulative. Each week smashing previous. Other countries rising too amid anti-vax. Pertussis is also airborne!

Graph @1goodtern
gov.uk/government/pub…
Image
2) And yes it’s airborne damnit. CDC says so.

cdc.gov/pertussis/hcp/…
Image
3) Whooping cough is also extremely contagious. For up to 3 weeks. With UK govt advising staying home for 3 full weeks if no antibiotic treatment. How many people being told that and doing that?

nhs.uk/conditions/who…
Image
Read 8 tweets
Jun 12
⚠️SURGING COVID cases & hospitalizations in Madrid, Spain🇪🇸—hospitalizations for COVID has now exceeded also 2022-2023. This is the globally surging KP3 variant (US too)—it is highly evasive against past immunity—you’re not immune. Take preventive action.
comunidad.madrid/sites/default/…

Image
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2) New York City’s COVID cases are also increasing, as noted by @emmagf. June is not normal cold and flu season at all. This shows that this KP3 surging despite non-flu season means it’s a troublemaker. Image
@emmagf 3) Hawaii’s ERs also have gotten slammed hard by an off-season COVID surge. This isn’t normal at all for June. This is why we need to be on alert. Image
Read 8 tweets
Jun 11
📍Breaking—MASK BAN PASSED AGAIN—North Carolina Republicans have again voted to pass a new ban on mask wearing. Only a weak partial medical exemption added for PUBLIC areas—but, on private properties, like at grocery stores or at a workplace, the bill now says people can still be “REQUIRED TO REMOVE MASKS” if demanded by employer or owner (your health be damned). But, thank goodness Halloween masks will still be allowed.
motherjones.com/politics/2024/…Image
2) “Many healthcare professionals have expressed concerns that their patients would not be able to stay safe against the spread of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.” Image
3) the scary thing is that “The bill, which was drafted in response to people wearing masks at Pro-Palestinian protests, can be passed by the General Assembly **even if Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoes** it through an override.”
Read 8 tweets
Jun 11
⚠️Our future cancer risks of #COVID are emerging and likely real. SarsCOV2 induces several of the same carcinogenic cellular changes as other viruses known to cause cancers. Most cancers take 10-20 years to fully emerge (eg 🚬 or HPV-cervical), but some cancers may emerge sooner.
2) “We are completely under-investigating this virus,” said Douglas C. Wallace, a University of Pennsylvania geneticist. “The effects of repeatedly getting this throughout our lives is going to be much more significant than people are thinking.”
wapo.st/3Rox991
3) We know from studies that Long COVID disease burden is already on par with the burden of heart disease and cancer. Now imagine if LC further stacks additional risks to these other major disease burdens in the decades to come.
Read 5 tweets
Jun 10
Cool time lapse of a dozen rapid Covid tests—by @jeremyfaust over 11 days. Staggeringly high viral load = rapid bright test line. CDC would have said it’s okay to go out on day 2. What a load of crap, and every epidemiologist I know agrees. #COVIDisnotover
2) this is why I’ve been adamant that @CDCDirector Cohen has morally abdicated CDC’s duty to disease “control and prevention” with her horrible leadership. And yes she was on board with this—she was at the press conference for relaxing Covid rules.
3) here is the full story about how @CDCDirector Cohen has just about done the worst thing to torpedo @CDCgov’s normally stellar reputation. More than Walensky and more than Trump CDC director Redfield.
Read 4 tweets

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