NeonPunk posted:

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/23/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-particles-in-pasteurized-milk-fda/

Cool cool cool.

quote:

But the testing, done by polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, cannot distinguish between live virus or fragments of viruses that could have been killed by the pasteurization process.

Steve Yun posted:

if there’s any way to n95 my nostrils I would do that first

Platystemon posted:

Is there anything the vaccine cannot do?

NeonPunk posted:

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/23/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-particles-in-pasteurized-milk-fda/

Cool cool cool.

Lacrosse posted:

I've always wanted chickens as pets and now that I finally have the chance I'm trying to decide if building a coop and getting a few hens would be a terrible idea or an amazing idea. Goons?

Lacrosse posted:

I've always wanted chickens as pets and now that I finally have the chance I'm trying to decide if building a coop and getting a few hens would be a terrible idea or an amazing idea. Goons?

NeonPunk posted:

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/23/h5n1-bird-flu-virus-particles-in-pasteurized-milk-fda/

Cool cool cool.

quote:

H5N1 bird flu virus particles found in pasteurized milk but FDA says commercial milk supply appears safe

Testing conducted by the Food and Drug Administration on pasteurized commercially purchased milk has found genetic evidence of the H5N1 bird flu virus, the agency confirmed Tuesday. But the testing, done by polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, cannot distinguish between live virus or fragments of viruses that could have been killed by the pasteurization process.

The agency said it has been trying to see if it could grow virus from milk found to contain evidence of H5N1, which is the gold standard test to see if there is viable virus in a product. The lengthy statement the agency released does not explicitly say FDA laboratories were unable to find live virus in the milk samples, but it does state that its belief that commercial, pasteurized milk is safe to consume has not been altered by these findings.

“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the statement said.

The document was long on assurances but short on details of what has been undertaken or found. It does not specify how many commercial samples were taken or in how many markets, nor does it indicate what percentage of the samples were PCR-positive for H5N1. The statement did not indicate if the testing suggested the amounts of viral genetic material in the milk were low or high.

The FDA, which has been dodging questions for some time about the work it is doing to assess the safety of the milk supply, said it did the commercial survey as part of its efforts to assess the federal-state milk safety system in the context of the current outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in dairy cows in at least eight states across the country. As of Monday, 33 outbreaks in herds have been confirmed.

“Some of the samples collected have indicated the presence of [H5N1] using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) testing,” the FDA wrote in a statement.

The FDA reiterated Tuesday that it believes the pasteurization process is “very likely" to inactivate H5N1, though the agency acknowledged that no studies have been done testing the impact of pasteurization on H5N1 viruses.

The virus, which has been causing outbreaks around the world for more than a quarter century, had previously not been seen to infect cows.

“Data from previous studies that serve as the underpinnings of the FDA’s current milk supply safety assessment show that pasteurization is very likely to effectively inactivate heat-sensitive viruses, like H5N1, in milk from cows and other species,” the FDA wrote.

The FDA emphasized Tuesday that testing of commercially available milk is ongoing, and this includes efforts to discern any potential differences between different dairy products, such as cream and whole milk.

Platystemon posted:

It’s a good idea.

Don’t listen to the haters.

Platystemon posted:

Is there anything the vaccine cannot do?

mawarannahr posted:

U-DO Burger posted:

this whole article is amazing lol

quote:

but it does state that its belief that commercial, pasteurized milk is safe to consume has not been altered

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-apr-13-me-hilleman13-story.html posted:

Hilleman was reading the New York Times in his basement office at Walter Reed on April 17, 1957, when he saw an article about a flu outbreak in Hong Kong that had already afflicted 250,000 people. He was struck by a reference to “glassy-eyed children,” which suggested high fevers.

In his usual earthy manner, he recalled later, “I said, ‘Son of a bitch. This is pandemic flu.’ ”

He ordered U.S. Army researchers to collect throat swabs from some of the Hong Kong victims, and his team worked nine 14-hour days to isolate the virus, which he showed to be a new strain of influenza. Blood samples from the U.S. public showed no resistance to the virus, indicating that it had the potential to cause deaths on a large scale.

Hilleman notified public health authorities about the danger and provided samples of the virus to vaccine manufacturers.

He also insisted that chicken breeders spare the lives of roosters that otherwise would have been slaughtered, allowing them to fertilize the 40 million eggs that were used to prepare the new vaccine.

https://mag.uchicago.edu/science-medicine/man-who-developed-40-vaccines posted:

Hilleman’s standards were high and his tolerance for mistakes was low. When he discovered Merck’s manufacturing division had tweaked his chemical inactivation process for the hepatitis B vaccine, creating the possibility of infecting children, he summoned the team for a legendary meeting, castigating them all as “goddamn meatheads.”

quote:

Second, no university should permit full-face masking on their campus. This would not jeopardize the health of any persons — you could wear a medical mask to prevent the spread of viruses like Covid. But entire face coverings intended to disguise an individual should not be allowed on any university environment. This is not a free speech issue. It’s a public safety imperative.

Steve Yun posted:

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7361134579987516715

dairy workers with flu symptoms are refusing to get tested

Steve Yun posted:

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/7361134579987516715

dairy workers with flu symptoms are refusing to get tested

Platystemon posted:

The US keeps millions of chickens in secret farms to make flu vaccines

Platystemon posted:

It’s a good idea.

Don’t listen to the haters.

The Oldest Man posted:

Well my mom finally got got. What's the fastest way to get a pax scrip now that test to treat is binned?

The Oldest Man posted:

for those keeping score, it's now been 3 days since my mom started having covid symptoms and a prescription for paxlovid on account of being a very old lady with a bunch of auto-immune poo poo

her pharmacy still hasn't gotten the pax in stock yet

t o o l s

no lube so what posted:

ah thats hosed

Platystemon posted:

Phew. What a relief.

quote:

In the absence of evidence of other routes of exposure, the source of infection is thought to be frozen shot wild birds or game fed to the bush dogs, although the animals could have eaten sick wild birds that landed in their enclosure, the authors said.

"Clearly the feeding of wild shot birds to captive carnivores whilst infection pressure is high in wild birds should be discouraged in line with similar recommendations given to keepers of birds of prey, or in alternative, a rigorous risk assessment should be carried out before any carcass is fed to any of these animals," they wrote.

quote:

Too underprivileged to afford the $45-a-term tuition, Maurice applied for and won a full scholarship from Montana State College and after graduating with majors in microbiology and chemistry in 1941, Hilleman won a fellowship to the University of Chicago.

Lacrosse posted:

Thanks I spoke to a bird vet about this and they said if I keep my chicken run covered they should be safe from H5N1.

Besides, if we're all about to die I might as well get a little bit of joy before the end