Plague News: Bird Flu, COVID, Measles - 4.15.25
Bird Flu Updates, COVID Pandemic and Long COVID, Measles in Texas and Several Other States, MMR Vaccination
In this issue:
- Bird Flu Updates
- COVID Pandemic and Long COVID
- Measles in Texas and Several Other States, MMR Vaccination
- Recommended Listening/Reading
Bird Flu Updates
Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1: history, current situation, and outlook - Journal of Virology 3.27.25
Capitalism vs. the bird flu
The bird flu is about much more than egg prices, and it’s an open question whether industry or policy can slow the spread.
Nilay Patel
Lengthy delays in H5N1 genome submissions to GISAID - Nature Biotechnology
Nature Biotechnology - Lengthy delays in H5N1 genome submissions to GISAID
Sarah P. Otto
Mexico says a 3-year-old girl has died in the country’s first human case of bird flu
Mexican health authorities say that a 3-year-old girl from the western state of Durango has died after contracting bird flu in Mexico’s first confirmed human case of bird flu.
Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year]
Arcturus Gets FDA Fast-Track Designation for Pandemic Influenza A H5N1 Vaccine - MarketWatch 4.10.25
COVID Pandemic and Long COVID
Suggesting the world is “post COVID” contributes to an unwitting shift in research priorities
Maxwell J Smith
COVID-19 may put patients at risk for other infections for at least 1 year
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk | Cornell Chronicle
Pregnancy may offer some protection from developing long COVID, found a new study led by Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, University of Utah Health and Louisiana Public Health Institute.
Bridget Kuehn
Studies: 1 in 7 US working-age adults report long COVID, with heaviest burden on the poor
Mary Van Beusekom, MS
Using a study design from the past, researchers again show COVID-19 is airborne
Stephanie Soucheray, MA
Measles in Texas and Several Other States, MMR Vaccination
US measles total passes 700 as Arkansas reports first cases
Lisa Schnirring
Personal choice has been weaponized to undermine public health
“Public health isn’t the sum of individual choices. It’s our collective agreement to protect the most vulnerable among us,” writes MeiLan Han.
MeiLan Han
Measles outbreak in west Texas worsens due to vaccine scepticism
With two measles deaths - both children - in the state, officials struggle to convince communities to vaccinate.
Measles exploded in Texas after stagnant vaccine funding. New cuts threaten the same across the US
The measles outbreak in West Texas didn’t happen just by chance. Health officials say the easily preventable disease has ripped through communities sprawling across more than 20 Texas counties in part because health departments were starved of the funding needed to run vaccine programs.
LAURA UNGAR
‘Not just measles’: Whooping cough cases are soaring as vaccine rates decline
By Duaa Eldeib and Patricia Callahan , and photography by Sarahbeth Maney , for ProPublica In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana have died of pertussis, the disease commonly known as…
Further Listening/Reading
Bird flu on the rise
Podcast Episode · The Lancet Voice · 27/03/2025 · 41m
The wellness industry is killing animals, spreading disease, and fueling the next pandemic
Cats and dogs are dying because of growth of raw pet food, which might also help create the next pandemic.
Andrea Love
I’m 18 and bed bound with long Covid
After contracting Covid Emily-May, unlike her friends, did not recover and was left with several debilitating conditions.
Guest Columnist
My Year of Rest and Relaxation
It’s been a year since I contracted COVID-19 and developed Long COVID. I’ve had to face my worst fears, but I’m still here.
Julia Doubleday
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Plague News is a round-up of pandemic and infectious disease news focusing on so-called New England and the rest of the so-called United States.