Health
What to Know About the Bird Flu Outbreak
From Wyoming to Maine, an outbreak of the extremely contagious hen flu has swept throughout farms and yard flocks in america this 12 months, prompting tens of millions of chickens and turkeys to be culled.
Iowa has been significantly onerous hit, with disasters being declared in some counties and the state canceling reside hen reveals in an order which will have an effect on its famed state honest.
Here’s what we all know in regards to the hen flu.
What’s avian influenza?
Higher often called the hen flu, avian influenza is a extremely contagious and lethal virus that may prey on chickens, turkeys and wild birds, together with geese and geese. It spreads by way of nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings, which specialists say makes it tough to comprise.
Signs of the virus embrace a sudden enhance within the mortality of a flock, a drop in egg manufacturing and diminished consumption of feed and water.
The virus, Eurasian H5N1, is carefully associated to an Asian pressure that has contaminated lots of of individuals since 2003, principally those that had labored with contaminated poultry. Its prevalence in america is just not sudden, with outbreaks beforehand reported in Asia, the Center East and Europe.
Ought to people be frightened about being contaminated?
The chance to people could be very low, mentioned Ron Kean, a college affiliate and extension specialist within the College of Wisconsin at Madison division of animal and dairy sciences.
“It’s not not possible for people to get this virus, nevertheless it’s been fairly uncommon,” Professor Kean mentioned.
The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention mentioned it had been monitoring individuals in america who had been uncovered to contaminated poultry and different birds. To this point, no instances of H5N1 an infection have been discovered amongst them, the C.D.C. mentioned.
Is it fit for human consumption poultry and eggs?
Sure, based on the U.S. Division of Agriculture, which has mentioned that correctly ready and cooked poultry and eggs mustn’t pose a threat to shoppers.
The possibility of contaminated poultry coming into the meals chain is “extraordinarily low,” the company has mentioned. Beneath federal tips, the Meals Security and Inspection Service, a part of the united statesD.A., is liable for inspecting all poultry offered in interstate and international commerce. Inspectors are required to be current always in the course of the slaughtering course of, based on the service, which famous that the inspectors have unfettered entry to these amenities.
Egg-production amenities which might be topic to federal regulation are required to bear every day inspections as soon as per shift, based on the inspection service. State inspection applications, which examine poultry merchandise offered solely inside the state they had been produced, are moreover monitored by the united statesD.A.
Due to the mandated culling of contaminated flocks, specialists say, the virus is primarily an animal well being subject right now.
Nonetheless, the united statesD.A. recommends cooking poultry to an inner temperature of 165 Fahrenheit to scale back the potential for food-borne sickness.
Can I count on to pay extra for poultry merchandise?
Egg costs soared when an outbreak ravaged america in 2014 and 2015. Just lately, the typical value of premium massive white eggs has been “trending sharply increased,” based on a March 25 nationwide retail report launched by the united statesD.A. If infections course by means of extra flocks, specialists mentioned, there may very well be some shortages of eggs. Costs for white and darkish hen meat had been additionally rising, based on the united statesD.A. Consultants additionally warned that turkey costs might additionally turn into extra risky.
How is the virus detected?
Testing for the avian flu sometimes includes swabbing the mouths and tracheal space of chickens and turkeys. The samples are despatched to diagnostic labs to be analyzed.
Outbreaks have been detected in additional than a dozen states.
As of March 31, the extremely pathogenic type of the avian flu had been detected in 19 states, a monitoring web page maintained by the united statesD.A. confirmed.
The mixed variety of birds within the contaminated flocks — the business and yard kind — totaled greater than 17 million, based on the company. A spokesman for the united statesD.A. confirmed that these birds can be required to be euthanized to stop the unfold of the virus.
An business egg manufacturing facility in Buena Vista County, Iowa, constituted the biggest contaminated flock and was made up of greater than 5.3 million chickens, the united statesD.A. mentioned.
A producer of eggs in Jefferson County, Wis., was subsequent on the checklist, with greater than 2.7 million chickens. A business poultry flock in New Fort County, Del., was the third-largest contaminated flock, with greater than 1.1 million chickens.
How do these outbreaks evaluate to earlier ones?
The outbreak in 2014 and 2015 in america was blamed for $3 billion in losses to the agricultural sector and was thought of to be essentially the most harmful within the nation’s historical past. Practically 50 million birds died, both from the virus or from having to be culled, a majority of them in Iowa or Minnesota.
The footprint of the present outbreak, extending from the Midwest and Plains to northern New England, has raised issues.
“I feel we’re definitely seeing extra geographic unfold than what we noticed with 2014-2015,” mentioned Dr. Andrew Bowman, affiliate professor at Ohio State College’s School of Veterinary Drugs.
What could be achieved to cease the unfold of the virus?
As early as final 12 months, the united statesD.A. warned of the probability of an outbreak of the avian flu and emphasised a hardening of “biosecurity” measures to guard flocks of chickens and turkeys.
Biosecurity measures embrace limiting entry to the flocks and requiring farm employees to apply strict hygiene measures like sporting disposable boots and coveralls. Sharing of farm tools, specialists say, can contribute to spreading the virus. So can farm employees having contact with wild birds, together with when searching.
“Whether or not that’s limiting entry the place we supply feed and water, even truck routes, how will we attempt to restrict these connections that may unfold pathogens between flocks are all actually vital,” Dr. Bowman mentioned. “At this level, each individual producing poultry needs to be contemplating how one can enhance their biosecurity.”
Is it essential to kill tens of millions of chickens and turkeys?
Contaminated birds can expertise full paralysis, swelling across the eyes and twisting of the top and neck, based on the united statesD.A. The virus is so contagious, specialists say, that there’s little selection however to cull contaminated flocks.
Strategies embrace spraying chickens and turkeys with a foam that causes asphyxiation. In different instances, carbon dioxide is used to kill the birds, whose carcasses are sometimes composted or positioned in a landfill.
“It’s arguably extra humane than letting them die from the virus,” Professor Kean mentioned.
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Health
Many families take patients off life support too soon after traumatic brain injuries: study
Many patients who died after traumatic brain injuries may have survived and recovered if their families had waited to take them off life support, a new study found.
Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and other universities analyzed “potential clinical outcomes” for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who were removed from life support, according to a press release.
The study included 1,392 patients who were treated in 18 trauma centers across the U.S. over a 7½-year period.
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Using a mathematical model, the researchers compared patients for whom life support was withdrawn to similar patients who were kept on life support.
Among the group for whom life support was not withdrawn, more than 40% recovered at least some independence, according to a press release.
The researchers also discovered that the notion of remaining in a vegetative state was an “unlikely outcome” six months after injury.
When designing the study, the team didn’t know what to expect, according to study author Yelena Bodien, PhD, of the Department of Neurology’s Center for neurotechnology and neurorecovery at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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“Our anecdotal experience was that some families are told their loved ones had no chance for recovery, they would never walk, talk, work or have a meaningful relationship again — yet they chose not to discontinue life support and their loved one made a remarkable recovery,” she told Fox News Digital.
“On the other hand, clinicians are under a lot of pressure to make early prognoses and do not want to commit someone to a life that would never be acceptable to them, so it could be that those patients who died after life support was withdrawn would have had very significant impairments otherwise.”
“I think there are two stories here,” said Bodien.
“One is that some patients with traumatic brain injury who died because life support was withdrawn may have recovered, but the other is that many would have died even if life support was continued.”
A patient’s prognosis after severe traumatic brain injury is highly uncertain, she noted. “Sometimes patients with the most devastating injuries survive and make meaningful recoveries.”
“Families can advocate for delaying a decision to discontinue life support if this is aligned with what they believe their loved one would want.”
The problem, Bodien said, is that health care providers lack the tools required to determine which patients with devastating injuries will recover, to what extent they will recover — and how long that will take.
‘Very important’ study
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, was not involved in the research but said it was a “very important” study.
“Previous research shows a high-level recovery from mild TBI and a significant recovery percentage even with moderate to severe injury,” Siegel told Fox News Digital.
HEAD INJURY ASSOCIATED WITH DOUBLED MORTALITY RATE, 30-YEAR STUDY REVEALS
“After head trauma, the brain may swell, and the use of mannitol and steroids and even sometimes surgery — where the top of the skull is removed — can be used to decrease pressure on the brain and increase chance of a full recovery,” he continued.
Rehabilitation is also crucial, Siegel added.
“All of these tools should be given a chance to work in most cases.”
Based on the study findings, Bodien recommended that clinicians should be “very cautious” with “irreversible decisions” like withdrawing life support in the days following traumatic brain injury.
“Families should also be aware of our results so that they can advocate for delaying a decision to discontinue life support if this is aligned with what they believe their loved one would want,” she added.
Limitations of the research
There were some limitations to the study, Bodien said.
“The sample size of the study was small, which made it difficult to find an adequate number of participants who did not have life support discontinued and were clinically similar, or ‘matched,’ to those who had life support discontinued,” she told Fox News Digital.
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Among the participants who did not have life support discontinued, the researchers were not able to follow all of them for a six-month period.
Another limitation is that the researchers used clinical variables that were available on the day of, or the day after, hospitalization — but sometimes decisions to discontinue life support are made several days later.
“There are many considerations that may lead to a decision to discontinue life support after traumatic brain injury that we were unable to factor into our analyses,” she continued.
“For example, personal beliefs, religion and advanced directives could all affect decision-making but were not captured in our study.”
Bodien also noted that the Harvard study was focused on traumatic brain injury and cannot be generalized to other injuries and illnesses.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
Health
7 important health stories you might have missed this week: Catch up here
Every day of the week, Fox News Digital publishes a range of health pieces to keep you up-to-date on the most important wellness news.
We cover cutting-edge medical research, breakthrough medications, mental health challenges, personal medical dramas and more.
In case you missed them, here are a few of our biggest health stories from this week.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
You can see a full list of recent health pieces at http://www.foxnews/health.
1. Hunger could be tied to sleep, expert says
If you’re feeling hungrier than usual lately, your sleep routine could be the culprit. A nutritional biologist offers tips for regulating sleep and curbing unhealthy cravings. Click here to get the story.
2. Health agencies issue bird flu update: ‘Alert, not alarmed’
The CDC and WebMD teamed up this week to deliver an hour-long update on Thursday about the current bird flu outbreak. Fox News Digital breaks down the most important points. Click here to get the story.
3. Melanoma patients share their stories
For Skin Cancer Awareness Month, two melanoma patients are speaking up about their symptoms, treatment and prevention tips to help others avoid the potentially deadly disease. Click here to get the story.
4. Report reveals staggering discrepancy in health care costs
Patients with private health insurance could be charged up to 300% more than those with Medicare, a new report reveals. Doctors explain the reasons for the sticker shock. Click here to get the story.
5. Pastor shares important message about depression
A Dallas pastor who fought his own depression battle shares how he overcame the disease – and why it’s so important for those in church leadership to seek help when they need it. Click here to get the story.
6. Nurse’s depression is cured through breakthrough tech
A Chicago nurse struggled with COVID-19-related PTSD and depression for years until electrical brain tapping therapy finally gave her a new lease on life. Click here to get the story.
7. Young vaper shares warning after nearly dying
A 22-year-old man in Nebraska required a double lung transplant due to vaping. Jackson Allard shares his story as a cautionary tale. “I had a 1% chance to live,” he said. Click here to get the story.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
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