Mary Van Beusekom

1 month ago | m.farms.com | Mary Van Beusekom

By Mary Van BeusekomPigs are moderately susceptible to infection with a bovine-derived H5N1 avian influenza virus but don't spread it to other pigs, a non–peer-reviewed study published on the preprint server bioRxiv suggests. The investigators inoculated nine 4-week-old Yorkshire piglets through the trachea, nose, and mouth with the H5N1 B3.13 virus grown on bovine uterine surface cells. Three other uninfected piglets housed in the same pen served as sentinels.

2 months ago | m.farms.com | Mary Van Beusekom

By Mary Van BeusekomA woman living in Platte County has contracted Wyoming's first case of H5N1 avian flu and is the fourth American to be hospitalized for the virus, the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH) confirmed late last week. The infected woman is hospitalized in another state, is older, has underlying medical conditions, and was likely exposed to H5N1 through contact with her infected backyard poultry flock.

2 months ago | homelandsecuritynewswire.com | Mary Van Beusekom

VACCINESCOVID Vaccination Saved More Than 5,000 U.S. Lives in 7 Months in 2023-24, CDC EstimatesPublished 7 February 2025COVID-19 vaccination averted more than 5,000 US in-hospital deaths, 13,000 intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and 68,000 hospitalizations in 7 months in 2023-2024, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated late last week.

Jan 24, 2025 | m.farms.com | Mary Van Beusekom

By Mary Van BeusekomThe US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report today calling for the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to finalize food-safety standards for the bacteria Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria in meat and poultry. The report is an update of previous GAO reports on USDA actions to reduce foodborne pathogens and the challenges it faced in doing so.

Nov 27, 2024 | medicalxpress.com | Mary Van Beusekom

A study of 700 people who tested positive for influenza suggests that their risk of infecting household contacts was 18.8% and that the estimated effectiveness of flu vaccines against secondary infections is 21.0%. Vanderbilt University-led researchers tested nasal swabs for evidence of influenza and analyzed symptom diaries for up to seven days from 699 participants and their 1,581 household members during the 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20 respiratory virus seasons.