Two more bird flu cases reported in Colorado, but elsewhere a study finds no asymptomatic infections

NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Friday announced two more bird flu cases among farmworkers, but they also said a new study in Michigan suggested the virus is not causing silent infections in people. Last month, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services launched a study of workers who were around cows sickened … Read more

Inquiry finds Britain was ill-prepared for COVID-19 pandemic and failed its citizens

LONDON — The U.K. government was ill-prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and serious errors in planning failed its citizens, an inquiry found Thursday. Retired judge Heather Hallett, who is leading the ongoing inquiry, said the government wrongly believed in 2019 that it was one of the best-prepared countries in the world for an outbreak and … Read more

Dozens were sickened with salmonella after drinking raw milk from a California farm

Dozens of salmonella illnesses have been linked to raw milk from a California farm, a far wider outbreak than previously known, according to newly released state records. As of February, at least 165 people were sickened with salmonella infections tied to products from Raw Farm, of Fresno, California, according to the records. It is the … Read more

In the searing heat of the Gaza summer, Palestinians are surrounded by sewage and garbage

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza — Children in sandals trudge through water contaminated with sewage and scale growing mounds of garbage in Gaza’s crowded tent camps for displaced families. People relieve themselves in burlap-covered pits, with nowhere nearby to wash their hands. In the stifling summer heat, Palestinians say the odor and filth surrounding them is just … Read more

France’s Macron, African leaders push for vaccines for Africa after COVID-19 exposed inequalities

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron is joining several African leaders on Thursday to kick off a planned $1 billion project to accelerate the rollout of vaccines in Africa, after the coronavirus pandemic exposed gaping inequalities in access to them. The launch of the African Vaccine Manufacturing Accelerator, which will provide financial incentives to vaccine … Read more

South Africa’s health authorities report 2 deaths from mpox this week and warn of local transmission

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — South African health authorities say two people have died this week after contracting mpox, and it appears there is local transmission of the disease. The health ministry said Thursday that a 38-year-old man died in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province on Wednesday, the same day a laboratory test confirmed that he … Read more

With 100M birds dead, poultry industry could serve as example as dairy farmers confront bird flu

DES MOINES, Iowa — As the U.S. dairy industry confronts a bird flu outbreak, with cases reported at dozens of farms and the disease spreading to people, the egg industry could serve as an example of how to slow the disease but also shows how difficult it can be to eradicate the virus. There have … Read more

Man in Mexico died of a bird flu strain that hadn’t been confirmed before in a human, WHO says

WASHINGTON — A man’s death in Mexico was caused by a strain of bird flu called H5N2 that has never before been found in a human, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. The WHO said it wasn’t clear how the man became infected, although H5N2 has been reported in poultry in Mexico. There are numerous … Read more

A man in Mexico died with one form of bird flu, but US officials remain focused on another

NEW YORK — The mysterious death of a man in Mexico who had one kind of bird flu is unrelated to outbreaks of a different type at U.S. dairy farms, experts say. Here’s a look at the case and the different types of bird flu. A 59-year-old man in Mexico who had been bedridden because … Read more

Scientists are testing mRNA vaccines to protect cows and people against bird flu

The bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows is prompting development of new, next-generation mRNA vaccines — akin to COVID-19 shots — that are being tested in both animals and people. Next month, the U.S. Agriculture Department is to begin testing a vaccine developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers by giving it to calves. The … Read more