Fiona Callaghan, PhD

Chief Advisor | Public Health Agency | Ministry Health | Aotearoa New Zealand | Retweets not endorsements

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

#Marburg in Uganda is confirmed. Uganda formally reported 1 case to #WHO today. A reliable source tells me there are actually 2 confirmed cases. Developing story.
The positive: Uganda is very good at containing outbreaks.
Negative: Uganda doesn't like sharing news about them. https://t.co/Wvfr2n2wcu

[Sayed Abdel-whab (ORCID: 0000-0003-2103-0922) @Sayedabdelwhab]

🦠💉 Can your flu shot protect you from bird flu?
UK study (2021–2024) shows seasonal vaccines offer little protection against H5N1.
Experts urge better vaccines & faster action to shield the vulnerable.
https://t.co/CXIWKoMbrY

[Greg Folkers 🇺🇦☮️🇺🇸 @greg_folkers]

.@Nature : How the @NIH dominates the world’s health research — in charts https://t.co/mlKMqI9UMn

[Fiona Russell @Fiona_M_Russell]

No other country has found such high levels of anxiety as those found in Melbourne teenagers….especially girls

“responses are urgently required to address this considerable public health problem”

https://t.co/r8Qi8yukxy

[Infectious Disease Tracker @HmpxvT]

⚠️ BREAKING:

California reports 5 new cases of H5N1 bird flu in humans, bringing the statewide total to 26.

54 cases have been reported nationwide this year.

[BNO News @BNOFeed]

Update on human bird flu case in Canada:

- Patient is currently in critical condition with acute respiratory distress.
- "This was a healthy teenager prior to this, so no underlying conditions"
- Initial symptoms were conjunctivitis, fever and cough
- Went to the emergency room on November 2 but was sent home. Symptoms kept getting worse and they were hospitalized on Friday night (Nov. 8)
- The source of the infection is still unknown
- "I must caution that there is a very real possibility we may not ever determine the source"
- Patient had contact with dogs, cats and reptiles. 1 dog was sick but tested negative. No contact with birds.
- No links to any farms. Did not travel to the U.S.
- About 35-40 known contacts during the infectious period, but so far no other cases have been found
- Patient tested positive for H5 bird flu. Presumed to be H5N1 but tests are still underway.

Update from B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry

[Fiona Callaghan, PhD @Fiona_Epi]

https://t.co/b2llxIRacG Great discussion of risk-based (ie evidence of risk, consider the comparator, US approach) vs precautionary principle (potential risk, EU) for food safety

[God @TheTweetOfGod]

Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

Those who do remember it are also doomed.

[Hensley Lab @SCOTTeHENSLEY]

Wow. 7% is a big number. There are 100,000 dairy workers in the United States. 7% of 100,000 is 7,000 cases....a tad higher than the 46 H5 human cases reported in the United States. This is too many shots on goal, and I worry about a random mutation that increases human spread.

[Tom Calver @TomHCalver]

🧵 This week’s column is about vaping

Nicotine addiction is at its highest level since the smoking ban. Nearly 40% of 16-24-year-olds regularly take it in some form

This might be tolerable if smoking rates were plummeting too. They are not.

@thetimes 🔗 https://t.co/Z5fgbmnk6g

[Vinod Scaria @vinodscaria]

Interesting article in @ScienceMagazine on how researchers are trying to “inoculate” people against #misinformation by giving them small doses ahead of time
https://t.co/ZGsYtDcMZd

[God @TheTweetOfGod]

I created DNA mainly for crimefighting.

[Joanne Hewitt @joannehewittnz]

https://t.co/lnE3CKSRYq New Zealand wastewater COVID-19 surveillance. Variants tracked include XEC - noting a variation on proportions week on week can be expected especially when low concentrations of total virus levels are being detected.

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

#H5N1 #birdflu has been found in a pig in Oregon, @USDA and the state's Ag Dept announced today. The significance of this is unclear at this point, but in general, H5 in pigs would not be a good thing. https://t.co/8qFS0Ld0bp

[Susan Hopkins @SMHopkins]

The UK has detected its first imported case of #mpox clade Ib.
Detected through alert patient, alert clinicians, diagnostic testing.

Whole system response with @UKHSA and @NHSEngland

https://t.co/scTSwiM9M3

[Sulaiman Ahmed @ShaykhSulaiman]

Breaking: The IDF now formally confirms strikes on targets within Iran.

Israeli sources claim this attack won’t be as minimal as the one in April—"the public in Iran will understand" that Iran is being hit Israel in response to attacks in April and October.

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

Concerning news about the #Marburg outbreak in Rwanda: A @WHO update today reveals the newest case is not a HCW or contact of a HCW, but someone in the community. I have been worried about whether all cases in the community have been detected. They're harder to find. https://t.co/x7exhIlWwZ

[Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 @HelenBranswell]

.@CDCgov confirms 3 more of the #H5N1 #birdflu human cases from Washington state. That brings the state's total to 5 (at least 2 more pending) and the national total to 34 this year to date. https://t.co/sfTAdEir0F

[Joseph Allen @j_g_allen]

👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇👇

[CDC @CDCgov]

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) today recommended lowering the age for pneumococcal vaccination from 65 to 50 years old.

Pneumococcal bacteria can cause serious illnesses, including pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections, and older adults are at increased risk for pneumococcal disease. Adults 50 years or older should talk with a healthcare provider to make sure they’re up to date with pneumococcal vaccination.

Read full statement: https://t.co/VDUxEMoqIM