Plague News: Bird Flu Updates and Resources - 2.13.25

Grab a fistful of Valentine's Day chocolate, this post is entirely on bird flu (HPAI).

I'll cover what's going on with the CDC (spoilers: it is a shitshow), new and dangerous bird flu strains in Nevada, confirmed human cases in Ohio and how to keep up with bird flu updates on your own.

Buckle up.

• CDC Censoring and Deleting Resources
• D1.1: New Bird Flu Strain Found in Cows Also Infects Human in Nevada
• How to Find Updates and Guidance on Bird Flu
  • Ginkgo Biosecurity H5N1 Tracker
  • American Medical Association
• Recommended Reading and Listening

CDC Censoring and Deleting Resources

In recent weeks, the CDC has instructed its scientists to not to publish research and has censored and removed healthcare resources on their public websites. LIL Science does a good recap, although this article is already over a week old and information may have changed.

February 1st Has Come and Gone, US Science Remains Censored

Remember what happened last time we tried to ignore Scientists? The problems don’t disappear, they kill Americans.

LIL ScienceLIL_Science

I am not going to report on government, but for context sake, this is important to know. In January, the CDC did not publish their MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) for the first time in almost 70 years.

CDC Weekly Report Back After 2-Week Halt But No H5N1 Bird Flu Info

For the first time since 1952, publication of the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report was halted. It returned on Feb. 6, but without planned bird flu studies.

ForbesBruce Y. Lee

‘Voice of the CDC’ resumes publication, but experts worry about what they’re not hearing

A federal scientific publication has returned from a forced two-week hiatus with two papers examining the health effects of wildfires in Hawaii and California.

AP NewsMIKE STOBBE

“Outbreaks are not contained because scientists are ordered to stop talking about them,” Sen. Dick Durbin. – AP News 2/5/2025

The CDC finally published the MMWR on Feb 6th (not linking to .gov sites) omitting critical information about bird flu. The omitted information included reporting on the virus's potential ability to jump from house cats to humans.

House Cats With Bird Flu Could Pose a Risk to Public Health - California Healthline

The current strain of bird flu is spreading from wildlife and livestock to house cats. To keep pets healthy, many virologists and veterinarians say, house cats shouldn’t eat raw food and should be kept indoors. Despite no known cases of H5N1 transmission between cats and people, some public health agencies and virologists are warning cat owners to be mindful of the theoretical risks to the health of humans in their households if a pet gets sick.

California HealthlineSarah Boden

Ok. So there's that part.

D1.1: New Bird Flu Strain Found in Cows Also Infects Human in Nevada

A person in Nevada who works on a diary farm was infected with the D1.1 variant of bird flu and has reportedly since recovered. They were infected by cows they tend to. The D1.1 genotype is not the same as the the virus which has been rampant on U.S. farms through 2022.

This article explains in more detail:

Bird flu strain that just jumped to cows infects dairy worker in Nevada

The worker is said to have had pink eye and is recovering from the infection.

Ars TechnicaBeth Mole

D 1.1 is potentially more lethal to humans than the wider circulating HPAI strain. It's the same strain which infected the 13-year-old in Canada and the person who died in Louisiana.

The American Medical Association has an excellent video on this story:

Indiana is experiencing "very high" flu cases and hospitalization rates and 57 recorded deaths this flu season. I have read a few alarming posts on social media (without reliable source credit) which denote Indiana is facing a health crisis and possible human-to-human H5N1 activity. Also, yikes.

Indiana reports highest flu activity of the season with 57 deaths

Indiana Department of Health reports a surge in flu cases, with 57 deaths and hospital visits increasing. Vulnerable groups are at higher risk of serious complications.

Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana Traffic | WISH-TV |Faran Fronczak

Ohio has its first confirmed human case and is "leading" the country in bird flu cases in livestock.

Ohio Department of Health reports first human case of bird flu in the state

A Mercer County farm worker came into contact with dead poultry that was infected with the disease, the state’s health department reports.

USA TODAY, USA TODAY

Flu Activity In US Now May Be Highest Since 2017-2018

Flu test data and Tamiflu prescription fills show that influenza activity has already surpassed the past seven seasons and may soon exceed that of 2017-2018.

ForbesBruce Y. Lee

Ok. There's that too. Next, here's how to pay attention.

How to Find Updates and Guidance on Bird Flu

Ginkgo Biosecurity H5N1 Tracker

Ginkgo Biosecurity features a map tracker which pulls data from U.S. and state reporting. The U.S. map is interactive and displays animal infections in livestock, in wildlife, and yellow pins to denote human infection.

H5N1 US Tracker | Ginkgo Biosecurity

Ginkgo Biosecurity is building next-generation biosecurity infrastructure and deploying the technologies global leaders need to predict, detect, characterize, and respond to a wide variety of biological threats.

Ginkgo Biosecurity

The American Medical Association Bird Flu Resource Center

The American Medical Association has a frequently updated bird flu resource center. Including video updates on several circulating severely pathogenic diseases, such as tuberculosis and mpox. The AMA YouTube channel is amazing.

Bird flu (H5N1) resource center

Stay informed with the latest updates on highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1), or bird flu.

American Medical AssociationAmerican Medical Association

American Medical Association (AMA)

The American Medical Association (AMA) is the largest and only national association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders. Our mission is to promote the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health. The AMA is your powerful ally, focused on addressing the issues important to you, so you can focus on what matters most — patients. We will meet this challenge — together. https://ama-assn.co/FightingForDocs The AMA welcomes online comments that contribute to meaningful conversations about the videos we post. We may remove comments that: • Are off-topic, defamatory, insulting, nonsensical, or potentially compromised by conflicts of interest • Omit or obscure disclosure of identity, professional affiliations, or conflicts of interest • Make a limited contribution to meaningful or substantive conversation • Are likely spam

YouTube

I also recommend following Helen Branswell at STAT (a lot of these articles are paywalled but you get a few free ones a month). Here's a link to her BlueSky account.

Helen Branswell

Helen Branswell, a senior writer at STAT, covers infectious diseases. She won a 2020 Polk award for coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

STATHelen Branswell

Recommended Reading and Listening

We won’t avoid the next pandemic. But we can still prepare. - The Sick Times

When a pandemic begins, so does the blame game. Early days of COVID-19 pointed fingers at wild meat markets and debunked lab leak conspiracies, and that crystallized a long-running narrative that outbreaks are generally humans’ fault; roll the dice enough times with wildlife and you’re bound to land on a plague. Problem is, generalizing that narrative may be misleading, if not just wrong and racist, according to Colin Carlson, a global change biologist who studies pandemics and climate at Yale University.

The Sick Times - Chronicling the Long Covid crisisMax Levy

Episode 176: Responding to Shock, Awe, and Censorship

In “Responding to Shock, Awe, and Censorship” Dr. Osterholm and Chris Dall provide updates on the latest news in the federal government and how it is impacting public health locally and globally. Dr. Osterholm also discusses the latest developments in H5N1 avian flu and answers an ID query about the tuberculosis outbreak in Kansas. Anatomy of a Failure: Why This Latest Vaccine-Autism Paper is Dead Wrong (Jess Steier and Bertha Hidalgo, Unbiased Science, Substack) Making PEPFAR: A Triumph of Medical Diplomacy (Harold Varmus, AAAS) Follow us on Bluesky: Dr. Michael Osterholm (@mtosterholm.bsky.social) and CIDRAP (cidrap.bsky.social) Sign up for CIDRAP’s daily newsletter MORE EPISODES

CIDRAP

Also looks like Bloomberg finally threw down today. In my opinion, the most transparent bird flu coverage (and any pandemic coverage) from major news outlets, excluding medical publications, has been Forbes and Bloomberg. Think about that for a minute, everyone. You got this, and I love you.

Bird Flu Is a Big Threat. The US Needs to Start Acting Like It.

Scientists suspect a new strain is spreading via dust from bird droppings, carried by the wind.

BloombergF.D. Flam

If you want to purchase high-quality masks and PPE, I recommend Bona Fide Masks.

Hopefully bird flu doesn't go Captain Trips on us, but it's not looking good. Sorry I don't have good news. Mask up, keep reading and paying attention. This is difficult but being alive is worth it and I'm here to help. I love you all.💖

🦋Follow me on BlueSky.

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.