ETIDIOH - NEW

{Abstract} This study examines how China and the United States construct national identity in multilateral settings during public health crises through strategic discourse. Drawing on National Identity Theory and the Discourse Historical Approach (DHA), it analyzes speeches delivered at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) from 2003 to 2023, covering multiple crises including SARS, H1N1, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19 . Through a longitudinal and cross-crisis comparative analysis , the study reveals evolving discursive patterns that reflect shifting self–other dynamics in global health governance . China consistently constructs an identity as a cooperative, responsible major power through inclusive and multilateral language , while the United States exhibits greater variation across administrations , often framing its identity through alliance-centered and leading position . By bridging discourse-historical analysis with corpus-based methods, this research offers one of the first ...

  {Excerpt} Time Period: December 14, 2025 - December 20, 2025 -- H5 Detection :  1 site(s) ( 0.2% ) -- No Detection :  461 site(s) ( 99.8% ) -- No samples in last week :  57 site(s) (...) Source:  Link:  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html ____

  Abstract Up-to-date estimates of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) are needed to inform COVID-19 vaccination strategies and recommendations . This target trial emulation study aimed to estimate the long-term vaccine effectiveness (VE) of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines targeting the KP.2 Omicron variant within the Veterans Health Administration . The study population (90.9% male, mean age 70.7 years) included 538,631 pairs of vaccinated (i.e., received the KP.2 COVID-19 vaccine) and matched unvaccinated (i.e., did not receive the KP.2 COVID-19 vaccine) persons enrolled from August 2024 to January 2025. Over a mean follow-up of 172 days (range 97-232) extending to April 12, 2025, VE was low against laboratory-diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection ( 16.60%, 95% confidence interval [CI], 11.92-21.44), SARS-CoV-2-associated emergency department/urgent care (ED/UC) visit ( 21.05%, 95% CI, 14.22-27.21), SARS-CoV-2-associated hospitalization ( 19.53%, 95% CI 6.56-30.10) and much higher again...

  Abstract Poultry workers in Washington, USA, were infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus and recovered. The viruses were clade 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1, closely related to viruses causing poultry outbreaks . Continued surveillance and testing for influenza A(H5) clade 2.3.4.4b viruses remain essential for risk assessment and pandemic preparedness of zoonotic influenza viruses. Source:  Link:  https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/31/12/25-1118_article ____

  Influenza at the human-animal interface  Summary and risk assessment, from 6 November to 19 December 2025 {1} -- New human cases {1,2}:  - From 6 November to 19 December 2025, based on reporting date , the detection of influenza A( H5N1 ) in one human , A( H5N5 ) in one human , A( H9N2 ) in seven humans , and an influenza A( H1N1 ) variant virus in one human were reported officially.  - In addition , one human case of infection with an influenza A( H1N2 ) variant virus was detected.  -- Circulation of influenza viruses with zoonotic potential in animals :  - High pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI) events in poultry and non-poultry animal species continue to be reported to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).{3}  - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) also provides a global update on avian influenza viruses with pandemic potential.{4}  - Additionally, low pathogenicity avian influenza viruses as well a...

  Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 poses an increasing public health risk, particularly following its spillover into dairy cows and associated human infections in the U.S. since March 2024. Here, we systematically identified critical PB2 mutations emerged during avian-to-cattle transmission and subsequent adaptation in cattle , notably PB2 M631L, which conferred pathogenicity in mice comparable to the well-characterized PB2 E627K mutation . Retrospective analysis reveals that PB2 631L also circulated in avian and human H5N1 strains during the 2013–2014 outbreaks in Cambodia and Vietnam . Additional adaptive mutations include established markers ( E627K, Q591R, D701N ), and novel variants ( I647V, G685R, K736R ). These mutations enhance polymerase activity by improving the utilization of both bovine and human ANP32A proteins , thereby increasing viral fitness and pathogenicity in mammals . The convergence of these adaptations highlights the elevated zoonotic risk of c...

  WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2025 On December 14, 2025, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced the first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd in Wisconsin .  On December 17 , the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) completed whole genome sequencing and confirmed that the virus is H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b genotype D1.1.  Analysis indicates that this detection is a new spillover event from wildlife into dairy cattle, separate from previous events. Key Points -- Most detections in U.S. dairy herds have resulted from movements linked to the original spillover event that occurred in the Texas Panhandle in late 2023, involving the B3.13 strain . -- In early 2025, through the National Milk Testing Strategy , USDA detected two spillover events in Nevada and Arizona dairy herds. Both were identified early, and no further herd infections occurred through animal movements. These events involved the D1.1 strain...

  {Excerpt} Time Period: December 07, 2025 - December 13, 2025 {*} -- H5 Detection :   3 site(s) ( 0.7% ) -- No Detection :  451 site(s) ( 99.3% ) -- No samples in last week :  37 site(s) {*} Note: The H5 detection at site 2030 in Virginia is a result of a data error and is a false detection. This will be corrected in the next update. (...) Source:  Link:  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html ____

  {Excerpt} Time Period: November 30, 2025 - December 06, 2025 -- H5 Detection :  2 site(s) ( 0.5% ) -- No Detection :  390 site(s) ( 99.5% ) -- No samples in last week :  54 site(s) (...) Source:  Link:  https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/wwd-h5.html ____

  Abstract The unprecedented 2.3.4.4b. A(H5N1) outbreak in dairy cattle, poultry, and spillover to humans in the United States (US) poses a major public health threat. Population immunity is a critical component of influenza pandemic risk assessment . We assessed the pre-existing cross-reactive immunity to 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1) viruses and analyzed 1794 sera from 723 people (0.5–88 yrs) in multiple US geographic regions during 2021–2024. Pre-existing neutralizing and hemagglutinin (HA)-head- binding antibodies to A(H5N1) were low , but there were substantial cross-reactive binding antibodies to N1 neuraminidase (NA) of 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1). Antibodies to group 1 HA stalk were also prevalent and increased with age . A(H1N1)pdm09 infection and influenza vaccination did not induce neutralizing antibodies to A(H5N1) viruses but induced significant rise of functional NA inhibition (NAI) antibodies to N1 of 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1), and group 1 HA stalk antibodies . Moreover, pre-pandemic stockpiled 2.3....

  5 December 2025 Situation at a glance On 15 November 2025, WHO was notified of the 71st confirmed human case with influenza A(H5) since early 2024 in the United States of America — the first human case reported in the United States of America since February 2025 .  On 20 November, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) laboratory sequencing verified the virus as influenza A(H5N5), representing the first globally reported human case caused by an influenza A(H5N5) virus.  The investigation by health authorities in the United States of America is ongoing.  Contact tracing identified no further cases amongst contacts, and there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission .  Due to the constantly evolving nature of influenza viruses , WHO continues to stress the importance of global surveillance to detect and monitor virological (including genomics), epidemiological and clinical changes associated with emerging or circulating influenza vi...