ETIDIOH - NEW

  Abstract Since March 2024, HPAI H5N1 virus has infected dairy cattle in the U.S., prompting concern about novel transmission routes . During an outbreak in California , HPAI H5N1 RNA was detected in an asymptomatic bull's semen . Although infectious virus was not isolated , questions remain about semen-associated transmission risks and biosecurity practices. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. Source: BioRxIV,  https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.16.682947v1 ____

  {[ Common Raven ] By Accipiter (R. Altenkamp, Berlin) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6806927 } ___ Note 16/10/2025 : The case reported in this event was confirmed to be H5 but was negative for N1 and N5. Therefore, it is assumed that a new serotype has been detected in the country. The raven was found sick with a broken wing, emaciated and with diarrhea. It was euthanized. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6868 ____

  {[ Mallard duck ] By This picture was realized by Richard Bartz by using a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6449086 } {[ Common Teal ] By Shantanu Kuveskar - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78923110 } ___ A wild mallard in Veneto Region. A wild common teal in Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6896 ____

  Summary Background For more than three decades, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) has provided a framework to quantify health loss due to diseases, injuries, and associated risk factors . This paper presents GBD 2023 findings on disease and injury burden and risk-attributable health loss, offering a global audit of the state of world health to inform public health priorities. This work captures the evolving landscape of health metrics across age groups, sexes, and locations, while reflecting on the remaining post-COVID-19 challenges to achieving our collective global health ambitions. Methods The GBD 2023 combined analysis estimated years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 375 diseases and injuries , and risk-attributable burden associated with 88 modifiable risk factors. Of the more than 310 000 total data sources used for all GBD 2023 (about 30% of which were new to this est...

  Abstract The SARS outbreak and influenza A(H5N1) infections (2003–2004) prompted WHO to establish a global influenza antiviral stockpile , enabling rapid distribution to 72 countries during the 2009 A(H1N1) pandemic. To improve access in low- and middle-income countries, WHO added antivirals to the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines and included them in the Prequalification Programme . The 2011 Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework refined strategies for equitable access and rapid response. Lessons from COVID-19 led to a new WHO-led mechanism—the Interim Medical Countermeasures Network (i-MCM-net)— which supports integrated supply chains, real-time data sharing, research and development, and equitable access. WHO continues to emphasise equity and global solidarity , highlighting the need for accessible, effective, and affordable antivirals alongside vaccines to protect vulnerable populations and mitigate the impact of future pandemics. Source: Journal of Infectious Disease...

  Abstract This supplement contains 17 articles addressing various aspects of advances in influenza therapeutics and related strategies (e.g., diagnostics, rapid access strategies , and resistance monitoring ) for preventing and treating seasonal, zoonotic, and pandemic influenza . In addition to briefly introducing each article, we highlight shortcomings in current use, knowledge gaps requiring further study, and therapeutics of interest entering or advancing in clinical development. Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases,  https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/232/Supplement_3/S169/8287899?login=false ____

  Abstract Influenza antivirals play an important role in the prevention and control of influenza. We reviewed data on the effectiveness of influenza antivirals for reducing influenza transmission . We found that antiviral prophylaxis , whether given pre- or postexposure , has been shown to reduce the risk of symptomatic influenza in a variety of settings and populations . During pandemic responses, antiviral prophylaxis could play an important role, as demonstrated by the use of amantadine in the 1968–1969 influenza A(H3N2) pandemic and oseltamivir during the 2009–2010 influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 pandemic. Antiviral treatment reduces symptom severity, prevents complications, and can reduce onward transmission of infection. However, resistance, accessibility, and timing pose challenges. Future research directions include innovative therapies and combination treatments. Continued research and stewardship are crucial to optimize antiviral impact. Source: Journal of Infectious Diseases,...

  Abstract SARS-like betacoronaviruses (sarbecoviruses) endemic in bats pose a significant zoonotic threat to humans . Genetic pathways associated with spillover of bat sarbecoviruses into humans are incompletely understood. We previously showed that the wild-type spike of the rhinolophid bat coronavirus SHC014-CoV has poor entry activity and uncovered two distinct genetic pathways outside the receptor-binding domain (RBD) that increased spike opening, ACE2 binding , and cell entry. Herein, we show that the widely studied bat sarbecovirus WIV1-CoV is likely a cell culture-adapted variant whose progenitor bears a spike resembling that of Rs3367-CoV, which was sequenced from the same population of rhinolophid bats as SHC014-CoV. Our findings suggest that the acquisition of a single amino-acid substitution in the ‘630-loop’ of the S1 subunit was the key spike adaptation event during the successful isolation of WIV1-CoV, and that it enhances spike opening, virus-receptor recognition, a...

  Abstract Wastewater surveillance of respiratory pathogens can provide timely estimates of viral activity and disease trends in a population . Indoor air surveillance could be used similarly with some advantages but remains largely unvalidated at the community-scale. Here, an indoor air surveillance program was employed as part of public health environmental surveillance in Chicago, Illinois , USA. Ten air samplers were placed in healthcare and congregate living settings across the city. Weekly air samples were evaluated for influenza A, influenza B, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV- 2 over two respiratory virus seasons. Citywide, aggregated air sample positivity and viral load were closely correlated with local clinical case and wastewater surveillance data across all respiratory viruses. Virus trends in air data often preceded clinical and wastewater, although this varied across pathogens and respiratory virus seasons. Further, whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 show...

  ALBANY, N.Y. (October 14, 2025) — The New York State Department of Health today announced that a case of locally acquired chikungunya has been confirmed in New York State . Laboratory testing at the Department's Wadsworth Center confirmed the case in Nassau County on Long Island . This marks the first locally acquired case of chikungunya reported in New York State . No locally acquired cases have been reported in the U.S. states and territories since 2019. An investigation suggests that the individual likely contracted the virus following a bite from an infected mosquito . While the case is classified as locally acquired based on current information, the precise source of exposure is not known. The Aedes albopictus mosquito , known to transmit chikungunya, is present in parts of downstate New York. Local transmission can occur when an A. albopictus mosquito bites an infected traveler, becomes infected and bites another person. The disease cannot be spread directly from one person...

  Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5) viruses globally impact wild and domestic birds, and have caused severe infections in mammals, including humans , underscoring their pandemic potential . The antigenic evolution of the A(H5) haemagglutinin (HA) poses challenges for pandemic preparedness and vaccine design . Here the global antigenic evolution of the A(H5) HA was captured in a high-resolution antigenic map . The map was used to design immunogenic and antigenically central vaccine HA antigens, eliciting antibody responses that broadly cover the A(H5) antigenic space. In ferrets , a central antigen protected as well as homologous vaccines against heterologous infection with two antigenically distinct viruses. This work showcases the rational design of subtype-wide influenza A(H5) pre-pandemic vaccines and demonstrates the value of antigenic maps for the evaluation of vaccine-induced immune responses through antibody profiles. Source: Nature,  https://www.nature.c...

  {By Charles J. Sharp - Own work, from Sharp Photography, sharpphotography.co.uk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=144193067 } ___ Two wild  black swans in Karpoš Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6891 ____

  A poultry farm in Niedersachsen Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6892 ____

Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5Nx viruses are an emerging threat for global health, especially clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 virus which causes panzootic infections . Here we describe the isolation and characterization of broadly cross-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against diverse H5Nx viruses from individuals who received a monovalent H5N1 vaccine 15 years ago . By screening over 500 mAbs, we identified 5 mAbs that neutralized the majority of H5 clades including 2.3.4.4b and target three distinct conserved epitopes within the HA globular head. Cryo-electron microscopy structures of these mAbs in complex with HA, deep mutational scanning and neutralization escape studies define the sites of vulnerability of H5 HA. These mAbs mediated stronger prophylactic protection against clade 2.3.4.4b H5N1 infection in mice than the best-in-class mAb targeting the HA stem. Our study identified several highly potent broadly neutralizing H5 mAbs from humans that either alone or in com...

  Abstract Avian influenza A viruses pose ongoing threats to human and animal health, with H7 subtypes causing outbreaks globally . In Mexico , highly pathogenic H7N3 viruses have circulated in poultry since 2012, causing sporadic human infections . Here we analyzed genetic markers in hemagglutinin sequences from Mexican H7N3 isolates and conducted serological assays on human populations with poultry exposure . Our results show conserved avian-like receptor binding sites , thus limiting human adaptation , alongside antigenic drift and acquisition of glycosylation sites likely driven by vaccination. Serological testing of 1103 individuals revealed no detectable antibodies against H7N3, indicating a naïve population . Phylogenetic analyses revealed multiple virus clades circulating regionally. These findings suggest that while current H7N3 viruses have limited capacity for sustained human transmission, the lack of population immunity underscores the importance of continued surveillan...

  Abstract Biodiversity loss is one of the greatest challenges facing Earth today. The most direct information on species losses comes from recent extinctions . However, our understanding of these recent, human-related extinctions is incomplete across life, especially their causes and their rates and patterns among clades, across habitats and over time. Furthermore, prominent studies have extrapolated from these extinctions to suggest a current mass extinction event . Such extrapolations assume that recent extinctions predict current extinction risk and are homogeneous among groups, over time and among environments. Here, we analyse rates and patterns of recent extinctions (last 500 years). Surprisingly, past extinctions did not strongly predict current risk among groups. Extinctions varied strongly among groups , and were most frequent among molluscs and some tetrapods , and relatively rare in plants and arthropods . Extinction rates have increased over the last five centuries , b...

  ABSTRACT SARS-CoV-2 is under strong evolutionary selection to acquire mutations in its spike protein that reduce neutralization by human polyclonal antibodies. Here, we use pseudovirus-based deep mutational scanning to measure how mutations to the spike from the recent KP.3.1.1 SARS-CoV-2 strain affect cell entry, binding to the ACE2 receptor, RBD up/down motion, and neutralization by human sera and clinically relevant antibodies. The spike mutations that most affect serum antibody neutralization sometimes differ between sera collected before versus after recent vaccination or infection, indicating that these exposures shift the neutralization immunodominance hierarchy. The sites where mutations cause the greatest reduction in neutralization by post-vaccination or infection sera include receptor-binding domain (RBD) sites 475, 478, and 487, all of which have mutated in recent SARS-CoV-2 variants . Multiple mutations outside the RBD affect sera neutralization as strongly as any RB...

  A poultry farm in Hauts-de-France Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6875 ____

  A poultry farm in Brandenburg Region. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6878 ____

  {By © Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=77548177 } ___ On 12 October, the owner informed the State Food and Veterinary Service that the birds had fallen ill and mass mortality had begun in one of the four poultry houses. On Sunday, around 2,000 of the 5,380 turkeys in one poultry house suddenly died. On 13 October 2025, official veterinarians visited the farm and collected samples from all the turkey houses for passive surveillance of avian influenza. These samples were sent to the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute (National Reference Laboratory) for avian influenza testing. Temporary restrictions were imposed on the farm immediately until the laboratory results were available. On 14 October 2025, highly pathogenic avian influenza was confirmed in all samples. Source: WOAH,  https://wahis.woah.org/#/in-review/6885 ____