Sooooo. ..is anything being done about possible vaccine for H5N1?

[niyad]

[SheltieLover]

1. Great question!

[niyad]

9. Just started wondering after I read about the big cat sanctuary

in Washington.

[SheltieLover]

11. CA declared emergency over bird flu

Heartbreaking about the birds, cats, & other innocent species who had nothing to do with global warming.

[niyad]

12. Exactly!!!

[SheltieLover]

14. So what is being done about it?

Who knows?

Sounds like a mqss extinctiion event to me...

[magicarpet]

26. RFK Jr. Has it all figured out,...

... drink a tall glass of 1/2 raw milk and 1/2 bleach,... you and yours will be just fine. No need for a innoculation for the bird flu.

[wnylib]

17. There is a vaccine for it. It's been around for a few years

We haven't heard about it because it was not a crisis in the US until this year.

Asia (China) dealt with this strain of bird flu as long ago as 2007. There were several human deaths there, mostly farm workers and animal handlers. It was in the news that long ago, but most of us here did not pay close attention to it. No human to human spread, so we didn't worry about it.

The vaccine is made in the same way as other flu vaccines, but some companies are now working on newer versions of their own. Moderna is working on an mRNA version. I don't know how much vaccine is currently available or if it is available to the general public. Priority is for farm workers, vets, zoo employees since they are the most exposed.

I read one article while looking up info on H5N1 which said that WHO is concerned that it *might* become a pandemic. They and other organizations are researching transmission methods and possibilities.

So far, it is transmitted to humans only from animals. No human to human infections have occurred. But, there is concern about keeping the virus out of food and water supplies.

So, milk has to be pasteurized. All meat should be cooked to 165°. No more rare steaks or prime rib. Butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream must be made from pasteurized milk.

Since waterfowl are infected, wetlands, ponds, and lakes can get contaminated. So can wells and water reservoirs. Research has been done on the amount of chlorine needed to sanitize drinking and bathing water.

Less likely but not impossible, water runoff from farms can spread viruses and bacteria to food crops. It already happens sometimes with e-coli. Some small farmers and nearly all Amish still use manure as fertilizer. If that manure comes from infected cows, the soil will be contaminated. I don't know if the virus could be taken up into the crops from their roots, but when the contaminated soil gets gets wet from rain, it can splash up onto the surface of the plants. How long can it stay active in soil? I don't know.

So far masks are not likely to be necessary for most people because most of us do not come in close contact with cows and wild birds or wild cats. But, for people who work on farms around cows, chickens, pigs, and goats in close proximity, N95 masks and gloves are recommended. The virus can be passed by inhaling air droplets and dust in barns, coops, etc. It can also be passed by touch. So farmers, vets, and zoo keepers should remove their shoes before entering their homes so they don't track the virus inside. Also, don't touch your face until after washing your hands.

Several DUers feed and rescue feral cats. BE CAREFUL not to get the flu from them or track it inside to your house pets. Consider wearing masks and gloves when you feed them and removing shoes and outer clothes before going back inside.

[niyad]

18. Thank you so much for this valuable information.

[wnylib]

25. We should probably get as much accurate information

as we can now, before the disease promoters get sworn in.

Who knows what garbage the covid denier in chief and his brainworm sidekick will be promoting? Damned bad timing for another virus.

[CrispyQ]

27. IMO, masking will be impossible to enforce this time around. -nt

[wnylib]

28. Probably won't be necessary to mask up from what I've been reading.

This bird flu strain is not being spread from human to human. Only people who work closely with animals, like farm workers and veterinarians and zoo employees, will need to wear masks.

The problem is the potential for food and water supplies to get contaminated. Since water fowl are getting infected, ponds, wetlands, and water reservoirs can get contaminated. Scientists have investigated the amount of chlorine needed to disinfect water supplies for drinking and bathing.

Only pasteurized milk is safe to drink. All milk products, from cheese to yogurt and ice cream have to be made with pasteurized milk.

Contaminated cows and chickens need to be culled from the rest. But how are their with their carcasses safely disposed of?

Runoff water from farms can spread viruses and bacteria to crops in the fields. So fresh fruits and vegetables need to be washed before eating.

Meats and poultry need to be cooked to 165° to be safe.

So, what happens if #45 and his anti regulations cabinet reduce regulations on safe food handling? What will happen if they cut budgets of federal food inspectors and researchers? Or if Oz claims to have a miracle cure? Or Kennedy insists that raw milk is safe and healthy? Or if they suppress accurate information on how to safely handle food at home and push disinformation instead, like 45 did with covid?

UPDATE: CDC just released info about a mutation in a severely ill patient in Louisiana. The new mutation could make it easier for H5N1 bird flu to attach to human respiratory cells.

No human to human spreading yet, but mutations line this increase the possibility.

https://www.kcra.com/article/h5n1-bird-flu-mutation-louisiana/63291457

[JCMach1]

2. The only good news it's a known pathogen

However if it makes the jump, it will require a new vaccine for the novel virus.

[niyad]

6. And we will have idiots and murderers in charge when it makes the jump.

[JCMach1]

8. The flip side unfortunately

[Sympthsical]

3. We have one

It isn't generally given out to the public, but if something were to occur where it would be needed, it could be produced and distributed a lot faster than Covid vaccines were.

Bird flu's been around for years, so the foundational work on vaccines for it is already done.

[elleng]

4. Thanks

[niyad]

5. Thank you. I rather figured people were working on it.

[Sympthsical]

7. If new strains arise, they'd have to make new vaccines

Think of it like the flu vaccines we get every year. Each year, they try to figure out what strain is going around or whether or not there's a new strain. So they have to make adjustments each year to account for it.

If bird flu strains mutate - which they are very much keeping an eye on - they'll use the same general process to get new vaccines out.

[NickB79]

29. I'm assuming it's an mRNA vaccine?

A lot quicker to make than using chicken eggs to grow the flu virus inside.

[Sympthsical]

30. The mRNA vaccine is something they're working on

The vaccines we currently have to protect against avian flu were developed more along the lines of the usual flu vaccine - the chicken eggs you mentioned, but also in labs using cells.

There's a stockpile of this stuff, and I believe they started stockpiling more earlier this year once the virus started appearing around.

The key difference between this and Covid is that they've already potentially seen avian flu coming, so the mRNA development has been going on for some time now. I believe, but don't quote me on this, they've already been doing trials for some of them.

Part of it is there has been work on mRNA vaccines for flu in general, including avian in that, so it's all been in the pipeline for a while.

[RockRaven]

10. There has been study of prior H5N1 vaccines to see if they still work against the

current new strain and it looks like they would, in lab tests anyway. Those are several attenuated virus vaccines from the past couple of decades.

There is a public notice by the USDA of a pilot study of a vaccine in dairy cattle, but no results forthcoming yet as far as I have seen.

And reports of a human vaccine (an mRNA one) being worked on as well, but nothing approaching availability any time soon.

So not nothing, and also not enough to be reassuring that things taking a bad turn will be nipped in the bud... Not that anything would be enough to be reassuring with these dangerous morons taking the helm.

[niyad]

13. Thank you for this helpful information.

[applegrove]

15. They have one for a very like bird flu variant but they

Last edited Fri Dec 27, 2024, 11:06 PM - Edit history (1)

have not started to mass manufacture yet.

[niyad]

21. Thank you.

[RussellCattle]

16. Thank you Dr. Fauci.

[niyad]

22. YES!!!

[Meowmee]

19. As people said there is a vaccine for the older strains

It’s only given usually to people who are at risk for exposure. The past strains were not transmitted from people to people so it’s unlikely this is going to turn into a major epidemic or pandemic for people. It’s good to know there is also an mRNA in the works in case the virus mutates and it does become more easily transmitted between people.

Please see my post I linked here for more information about bird flu. The death toll from 2003 to about 2023 is around 450 worldwide so it’s not very high, and there were only 950 or so recorded cases. The mortality rate may be lower since there could’ve been milder cases which were reported.

People who work with the infected animals are on dairy farms where it has been found need to be careful. Wear masks, gloves and so on, otherwise the general public should make sure they properly cook their food/meat and eggs properly and don’t drink, unpasteurized milk, etc. Also be careful when preparing food. Be careful in interactions with wildlife.


https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19850766

[niyad]

23. Thank you for this information. Since the Altadena Dairy scandal, I have

not even considered raw or unpasteurized milk.

[Meowmee]

31. Yw 😀

I have never drunk any raw milk. I ate sashimi years ago but I hated it 😹

In the video I watched done by a doctor he said that getting the current flu shot could help protect you against a more severe case even of the current bird flu and in addition would hopefully stop you from getting this year’s flu as well at the same time.

Honestly, after I have read more about it, I’m not as concerned about it. Unless it makes a mutation to being highly contagious and spreading person to person. The reason then I would be worried would be that we are going to have a bunch of raving lunatics in charge, who may try to block a vaccine for us or at least not require it if it were to become epidemic/pandemic. I still mask everywhere and I have high-quality masks.

At this point, I think the food chain is more of a concern possibly, I’m not sure.

[Jit423]

20. Ask Trump and RFK Jr. nt

[niyad]

24. Fortunately, they are not yet in charge.