2) The study examines COVID-19 mortality in Central Europe, focusing on the importance of cause-of-death certification in assessing the full burden of the pandemic. It uses detailed death certificate data from Austria, Bavaria, Czechia, Lithuania, and Poland to identify cases ...
3) ...where COVID-19 was reported as a comorbidity rather than the underlying cause of death.
The main findings are:
- Typical COVID-19 complications like pneumonia, respiratory failure, and sepsis were significantly more common in deaths with COVID-19 ...
2) Live bird markets may drive the evolution of highly virulent poultry pathogens like H5N1. Faster turnover rates and higher environmental persistence of viral particles in markets compared to farms could select for increased virulence ...
3) ...as these factors enhance transmission benefits while reducing mortality costs. Cleaning can counter this effect by decreasing environmental transmission, but high turnover may still dominate. Closely monitoring markets for the emergence of more virulent strains is critical
2) The study looks at mathematical models of disease outbreaks that take into account how people's behavior changes in response to the disease. Two main models are examined:
- A model where people become permanently immune after recovering from the disease.
3) - A model where immunity wanes over time.
The main finding is that models that include how people's behavior adapts based on the disease's spread perform much better at matching real-world disease outbreaks, like what was seen with COVID-19.
H5N1. CLOSER and CLOSER !
The new mutation in avian influenza viruses PB2-627V allowing the virus to efficiently infect both birds and humans, biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
2) Key points of the study :
- PB2-627V has become widespread globally since 2016, detected across many AIV subtypes in birds, humans, and other mammals.
- This mutation lets the virus use proteins from both avian and human cells to replicate well.
3) - In animal tests, PB2-627V maintains high levels of virus in chickens and also infects and spreads in mice.
- Importantly, PB2-627V helps the virus spread through the air between ferrets, a sign it could transmit easily between people.
2) In a recent study they found that cows can become infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 by breathing in virus-laden aerosols. However, this mode of transmission is not believed to be the main driver of the current outbreak among cattle in the United States.
3) Reference of the study :
Summary :
Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was detected in US dairy cattle in 2024, causing viral mastitis and production losses. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
2) Researchers from the Complexity Science Hub and the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna have developed a "zoonotic web" to understand the complex interactions involved in zoonoses.
3) The study highlights the importance of a holistic approach to managing zoonotic diseases, which annually affect over two billion people worldwide.