Ranu S. Dhillon

4 weeks ago | m.farms.com | Jamie Hansen |Ranu S. Dhillon

By Jamie Hansen and Ranu S. DhillonThe H5N1 bird flu has been making news for driving up the price of eggs nationwide, but it also has the potential to spur a major epidemic if its circulation among poultry, cattle and humans is not carefully checked. Such an outcome can be averted by taking the correct preventive steps now, said Abraar Karan, MD, a postdoctoral scholar of infectious diseases at Stanford Medicine who specializes in emerging diseases.

Sep 27, 2024 | statnews.com | Ranu S. Dhillon |Devabhaktuni Srikrishna

Robert F. Bukaty/AP Despite no known infections of H5N1 bird flu among its dairy cows, Missouri recently detected a case in a person with no apparent exposure to possibly infected animals or related products (i.e., raw milk). A close contact and two health workers who cared for the person all developed respiratory symptoms, but were never tested.

Sep 27, 2024 | everand.com | Ranu S. Dhillon |Devabhaktuni Srikrishna

Despite no known infections of H5N1 bird flu among its dairy cows, Missouri recently in a person with no apparent exposure to possibly infected animals or, but were never tested. There has not yet been a wider uptick of other potential cases in the same community to indicate efficient human-to-human transmission — the evolution of which is a prerequisite for a possible human epidemic — but this scare underscores the potential danger posed by the ongoing spread of H5N1.

Aug 13, 2024 | thelancet.com | Ranu S. Dhillon |Devabhaktuni Srikrishna

In their editorial, The Lancet Infectious Diseases editors highlight regarding the uptake of H5N1 influenza A testing on farms that: “Testing is largely voluntary, and uptake has been low, so the true extent of spread is unclear”. 1The LancetHave we learned anything?. Farm owners have been reluctant to allow testing due to fears of financial loss while farmworkers, many of whom are undocumented, are unwilling to be tested due to concerns of losing work and possible immigration issues.

Jun 12, 2024 | statnews.com | Ranu S. Dhillon |Devabhaktuni Srikrishna

Although a third U.S. dairy worker has been confirmed to be infected with the H5N1 bird flu, many dairy farms are still unwilling to use even freely offered personal protective equipment (PPE). This is cause for alarm. Working with a pathogen assigned a biosafety level of 3 — meaning it “can cause serious or potentially lethal disease through respiratory transmission” — with at best BSL 2 level protections is playing with fire.