H5N1

Bangladesh: One dies of Nipah virus in Rajshahi

Thanks to ProMED-mail for linking to this report in the Dhaka Tribune: One dies of Nipah virus in Rajshahi.

One woman died of Nipah virus in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) Wednesday afternoon.  

The deceased, Farida Yasmeen, 25, was admitted to the neuro medicine ward of RMCH with common symptoms like fever and seizures.   

Complications escalated after she was diagnosed with Nipah virus on Wednesday morning and was eventually referred to Nipah ICU. She died around 5pm while undergoing treatment.  

Besides, her mother-in-law Rahima Begum is admitted in the Nipah Suspect Ward with the same symptoms. Farida's father-in-law Abdul Haque had died at home with the same symptoms two weeks ago.  

Although the family thinks it was a natural death, however, doctors believe that her father-in-law was also infected with Nipah virus. Besides, it has been reported that their entire family eats date juice without boiling it, a common cause of the spread of this disease.  

Dr Azizul Haque, medicine specialist at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital, said: “Relatives of deceased patients are at higher risk of infection. So, they need to be extra careful. We are working in coordination with IEDCR.”  

He urged to be careful while drinking date juice.  

However, Rajshahi Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Yusuf Mohammad Farooq said that there is no need for regular care of the patient's relatives. The IECCR has collected and tested the samples of everyone who came in contact with the infected patient. However, everyone should be careful while drinking date juice.   

A total of five people have died in Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) so far. All of them have a history of drinking date palm juice. Besides, everyone was admitted to the general ward of the hospital with common symptoms like jaundice. Then suddenly the physical condition started to deteriorate. Death occurred on admission to the ICU. Nipah in one of the deceased was identified after death.

China reports new H5N1 avian flu case

Thanks to FluTrackers for alerting me to this CIDRAP report by Lisa Schnirring: China reports new H5N1 avian flu case. Excerpt:

China has reported a new human H5N1 avian flu case, marking the second case in recent months, an official with the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed today.  

Daniel Epstein, with the WHO's news media team, said China informed the WHO about the case on Feb 24. The patient is a 53-year-old woman from Jiangsu province who has a history of contact with poultry. The woman's symptoms began on Jan 31, and she was hospitalized on Feb 4.       

Genetic sequencing suggests that she was infected with the 2.3.4.4b H5N1 clade, which is currently circulating widely in birds, Epstein said. "Since 2020, an increased number of avian influenza outbreaks have been reported in wild birds and poultry globally, and we can expect additional sporadic human cases."  

The new case from China was first reported yesterday by BNO News.  

China's last H5N1 case involved a woman from Guangxi province who was sick in November and died from her infection. In a late December risk assessment, the WHO said the virus from that Chinese patient, as well as a recent case in Vietnam, also involved the 2.3.4.4b H5N1 clade.  

CDC weighs in on Cambodian H5N1 clade  

In related news, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) yesterday detailed its genetic analysis of the full H5N1 avian flu virus sequence, shared by Cambodia's health ministry, from a girl who recently died from her infection.  

The CDC said that the virus belongs to the 2.3.2.1c clade and is different from the 2.3.4.4b clade that is currently circulating in US wild birds and poultry and in domestic and wild birds across the globe. It added that the clade found in the Cambodian patient is similar to 2.3.2.1c clade H5N1 viruses that have been circulating in Southeast Asia in recent years.  

Sequencing by the CDC also suggests that an existing clade 2.3.2.1c candidate vaccine virus would offer protection against the virus. Also, the CDC found no genetic changes known to be linked to enhanced ability to spread to people or reduced susceptibility to antiviral medications.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 among Canada’s youngest surged by more than 600% in the second year of the pandemic

Via the Canadian Institute for Health Information: Hospitalizations for COVID-19 among Canada’s youngest surged by more than 600% in the second year of the pandemic. Excerpt:

The second year of the pandemic saw a surge of hospitalizations for COVID-19 and other infections among Canadian children age 0 to 4. Data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) shows that COVID-19 was the sixth most common reason kids in this age group were hospitalized in 2021–2022. This represents an increase of more than 600%, with a total of 2,315 COVID-19 hospitalizations among this cohort in 2021–2022 compared with 325 hospitalizations in 2020–2021. See Inpatient Hospitalization, Surgery and Newborn Statistics, 2021–2022 (XLSX).  

CIHI’s report shows that in addition to an increase in hospitalizations for COVID-19, respiratory infections (including pneumonia) and other viral infections returned as top 10 diagnoses that required hospitalization for Canadians age 0 to 4 in 2021–2022. The increase in hospitalizations for virus-related illnesses coincided with the easing of public health measures across the country.  

“This uptick in hospitalizations for COVID-19, respiratory infections and other viral illnesses seen among the youngest Canadians in the second year of the pandemic is concerning both for the health of our youngest and most vulnerable, and for the additional strain placed on health systems and health care workers that were already stretched thin,” said Juliana Wu, Director, Acute and Ambulatory Care Information Services, CIHI. “We are continuing to monitor hospital activity in this third year of the pandemic to understand the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians.”  

COVID-19 continued to present challenges for Canadians of all ages and was the second most common reason for hospitalization in Canada in 2021–2022, jumping from seventh in 2020–2021. This represents an increase of more than 60%, with a total of 77,344 hospitalizations in 2021–2022 compared with 47,715 hospitalizations in 2020–2021.

Long Covid in the United States

Via NBER: Long Covid in the United States. Click through to download the full report as a PDF. The abstract:

Although yet to be clearly identified as a clinical condition, there is immense concern at the health and wellbeing consequences of long COVID. Using data collected from nearly half a million Americans in the period June 2022-December 2022 in the US Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey (HPS), we find 14 percent reported suffering long COVID at some point, half of whom reported it at the time of the survey.  

It peaks in midlife in the same way as negative affect. Ever having had long COVID is strongly associated with negative affect (anxiety, depression, worry and a lack of interest in things). The effect is larger among those who currently report long COVID, especially if they report severe symptoms.  In contrast, those who report having had short COVID report higher wellbeing than those who report never having had COVID.  

Long COVID is also strongly associated with physical mobility problems, and with problems dressing and bathing. It is also associated with mental problems as indicated by recall and understanding difficulties. Again, the associations are strongest among those who currently report long COVID, while those who said they had had short COVID have fewer physical and mental problems than those who report never having had COVID.  

Vaccination is associated with lower negative affect, including among those who reported having had long COVID.

BC: The epicenter of an ‘unusual’ avian flu outbreak

Via the Fraser Valley Current: The epicenter of an ‘unusual’ avian flu outbreak. Excerpt:

An avian influenza outbreak that has plagued the Fraser Valley’s poultry farms since the spring has seemingly diminished for now. But it’s expected to return.  

Although every province except for Prince Edward Island has identified cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the Fraser Valley is the epicenter of the “unprecedented outbreak,” with millions of birds killed locally.  

The first case of HPAI in BC was detected last April. It wasn’t discovered in the Fraser Valley for another month. Since then, the virus has killed more than 3.6 million birds across the province at 103 different locations, 81 of which are in the Fraser Valley.   

The virus doesn’t usually survive the summer heat, but in this case it did, making this strain particularly unusual, said Amanda Brittain, BC Egg’s director of communications.  

The strain is particularly virulent, Brittain said, and has infected many more birds than previous outbreaks. There were 51 previously infected sites in BC that have been declared influenza-free and released from the CFIA’s watch. But another 52 locations are still considered infected and will need to meet certain criteria before they are deemed safe.  

There is some hope: it's been more than 30 days since a case was last detected in BC. The last case was on Jan. 22 at a commercial poultry farm in Chilliwack. Since then no new cases have been reported.  

But it doesn’t mean the worst is over.  

“Avian influenza follows the migratory bird season,” Brittain said. “That’s why we had a spring and then a fall outbreak… and we are anticipating more infections with the spring migration.”  

Farmers, even in uninfected areas, have been forced to take extra precautions. In the fall, farmers were ordered to keep all commercial birds indoors to keep them away from wild birds, which are one of the main transmitters of the virus.  

“Farmers are under a great deal of stress,” Brittain said. “Even if you’re not on an infected farm, there’s all kinds of rules about movements.”