Plague News: Bird Flu and Massachusetts Right to Mask Bills - 2.23.25

A picture of Indiana Jones, a tenured archeology professor, punching a Nazi in the fucking face.

A large majority of H5N1 bird flu stories again because this is horrifying.

There are also strong legislative initiatives in Massachusetts proposing multiple bills securing a right to mask (use PPE) in the state and amending discriminatory and exclusionary public meeting policy changes.

All hands on deck. All Nazis punched in the face.

Bird Flu Updates
- H5N1 Bird Flu Virus Carried by the Wind
- H5N1 Bird Flu Found in Rats
- Human-to-Cat Bird Flu Transmission
Public Health Legislation in Massachusetts
- Bill S.1427 - An Act prohibiting municipal bans of face coverings for protective or medical use
- Bill H.1981 - An Act relative to the right to wear personal protective medical equipment
- Bill HD.368 - An Act to modernize participation in public meetings
Other Infectious Disease Threats in the U.S.
Further Reading

Bird Flu Update

H5N1 Bird Flu Virus Carried by the Wind

Yikes. H5N1 bird flu has an estimated mortality rate of >50% in humans. That means more than half of people infected with the virus have died from it. That's some coin-toss-odds death literally flying around.

A recent study presents compelling genetic and meteorological evidence that H5N1 can travel significant distances via wind, challenging the conventional wisdom and highlighting the need to reconsider outbreak mitigation strategies. - Forbes 2/22/25

This article is a fantastic summary of the current and quickly-escalating bird flu situation in the U.S. Lots of good charts/graphs/maps if you are into that.

So...cool. I wonder what the U.S. government is doing in response?

The Nazis (and they are Nazis) fired in-house professionals working on government bird flu response.

Awesome. Feels great.

This is going to fucking kill people:

Meanwhile in Canada:

H5N1 Bird Flu Found in Rats

Bird flu has been found in black rats in California.

The bacteria which causes Bubonic Plague (The Black Death), is carried by fleas and ticks, which often use rodent hosts, not the rodents themselves. Unfortch, this is not the case with these rats. They are infected with H5N1 and we have no idea how and if the virus can be transmitted to humans from the rats.

Rats, like mice, exist and thrive worldwide, and are found anywhere people live. The H5N1 infected rats are (were?) black rats. This is the first confirmed infection in the species.

The brown rat, the Norway rat, is the more common city rat. Black rats can't deal with cold weather and more often known as agricultural pests vs. sewer denizens. It can be speculated the rats were infected by close-contact with farm animals and/or raw milk.

Due to the rats' prevalence and close genetic relation to humans, this is more bad news. Something something like 90% common genome. This is why we test vaccines on these animals. Animals genetically close to humans infected with H5N1 bird flu is a bleeding-red warning sign that the virus is evolving to better infect humans (and more animals tbh). See pigs and swine flu.

It is unclear what agency initially identified and tested the rats — or why the rats were tested. A spokes[person] for Riverside County’s public health department said she was unable to provide a response to those questions, and directed them to the USDA. The USDA did not respond to questions Friday. - LA Times 2/21/25

Ok...cool.

Enough on rats. Let's see how the cats are doing.

Not good.

Human-to-Cat Bird Flu Transmission

Cats belonging to people who work on dairy farms have died from H5N1 although the cats had no exposure to other animals. The cats were all indoor-only cats, raising suspicion that they were infected by their caretakers bringing the virus home from dairy farms.

The fatality rate in cats with H5N1 bird flu is ~67%. That's 2-out-of-3 odds kitty is going to die if they get sick with bird flu. Cats like to catch birds and mice. Keep your cats indoors and monitored for illness.

Public Health Legislation in Massachusetts

Call and email your reps. There are at least three active state bills proposing improvements to public health standards in Massachusetts that need your support.

Two "right to mask" bills aim to protect against potential "mask bans" in Massachusetts. "Mask bans" are a horrifying fascist and eugenicists' tool.

Bill SD.245 - An Act prohibiting municipal bans of face coverings for protective or medical use
Bill HD.2968 - An Act relative to the right to wear personal protective medical equipment
Bill HD.368 - An Act to modernize participation in public meetings

The "modernize participation" act would continue to allow remote participation in public meetings. Remote participation is being threatened with an discriminatory pre-COVID revert to in-person-only public meetings. Without this amendment, the change would exclude many disabled and immunocompromised people from participating in meetings who may only be able to join remotely.

Don't know who your Massachusetts state reps are? You should, especially right now.

Here's how to find them: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Find Your Representative | house.gov

house.gov

How to find your state senators: https://malegislature.gov/Search/FindMyLegislator

If you want to purchase high-quality masks and PPE, I recommend Bona Fide Masks. Say "fuck the government" by extending your lifespan.

For the love of god and all that's holy, get your vaccines up to date, for COVID, for flu, for HPV, for tetanus. Do it. Miracles.

Other Infectious Disease Threats in the U.S.

I would argue bird flu is the biggest pandemic problem right now, possibly more of an existential threat than the five-year-old-still-on-going COVID pandemic. But it's not the only problem.

There's also measles.

And our ol' pal, Tuberculosis (TB).

And don't forget COVID (which is fucking SARS).

COVID changes and puts stress your immune system to say the least. With every new COVID infection your body can be permanently and immunologically compromised.

Now imagine how a bird flu pandemic will playout in a population of Americans who have been struggling with perpetual illness and ravaged immune systems for the past five years.

Not good.