H5N1

A message to the agriculture industry about H5N1

Via Bovine Veterinarian, an important article: A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1. Excerpt from the long report:

So far, H5N1 has been officially confirmed in only 32 herds in eight states, according to data from USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).    

Some veterinarians working with dairies in Texas believe the virus is more active than current data suggest. Nick Schneider, a consulting dairy practitioner, is one of them.      

“The thing is, when you get into the Panhandle of Texas, I’m not sure there’s anybody (dairy farms) that did not have it,” says Schneider.  

Texas is home to 335 Grade A dairies with an estimated 625,00 cows, according to information on the Texas Association of Dairymen website. More than 100 of those operations are in the Panhandle.  

The virus likely is being under-reported by the dairy industry because the presence of the virus in dairy cows is new, and there are no reporting requirements, Russo says.  

“It's not a foreign animal disease like it's considered in poultry, where there are reporting requirements,” she explains. “This is considered an emerging disease (in dairy cattle).”  

The dairy industry needs to be “very forward looking” now and address the virus, advises Schneider, the Texas dairy consultant.  

“Looking at what happened in the rearview mirror is great, but if you're not looking at where you're going, it's really just a pointless endeavor,” he says.  

To that end, he advises gaining  insights and expertise in preparation for whatever new information emerges next.  

“We need to think about this potentially being something we have to live with as being a part of the industry in the future,” Schneider says. “I hope I'm wrong. I would love to be wrong about that. But it's something that we definitely need to consider when we're thinking of how we're going to manage it.”

WHO: Global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years

WHO has published a news release: Global immunization efforts have saved at least 154 million lives over the past 50 years. Excerpt:

A major landmark study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives – or the equivalent of 6 lives every minute of every year – over the past 50 years. The vast majority of lives saved – 101 million – were those of infants.  

The study, led by the World Health Organization (WHO), shows that immunization is the single greatest contribution of any health intervention to ensuring babies not only see their first birthdays but continue leading healthy lives into adulthood.  

Of the vaccines included in the study, the measles vaccination had the most significant impact on reducing infant mortality, accounting for 60% of the lives saved due to immunization. This vaccine will likely remain the top contributor to preventing deaths in the future.  

Over the past 50 years, vaccination against 14 diseases (diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B, hepatitis B, Japanese encephalitis, measles, meningitis A, pertussis, invasive pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus, rubella, tetanus, tuberculosis, and yellow fever) has directly contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40% globally, and by more than 50% in the African Region.  

"Vaccines are among the most powerful inventions in history, making once-feared diseases preventable,” said WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Thanks to vaccines, smallpox has been eradicated, polio is on the brink, and with the more recent development of vaccines against diseases like malaria and cervical cancer, we are pushing back the frontiers of disease. With continued research, investment and collaboration, we can save millions more lives today and in the next 50 years.”  

The study found that for each life saved through immunization, an average of 66 years of full health were gained – with a total of 10.2 billion full health years gained over the five decades. As the result of vaccination against polio more than 20 million people are able to walk today who would otherwise have been paralysed, and the world is on the verge of eradicating polio, once and for all.  

These gains in childhood survival highlight the importance of protecting immunization progress in every country of the world and accelerating efforts to reach the 67 million children who missed out on one or more vaccines during the pandemic years.