COVID Thread

[Zeedox]

U.S. to offer another round of free at-home Covid tests starting Monday

Starting Monday, American households can request four additional free at-home Covid-19 test kits through the Biden administration's website.

www.cnbc.com

 

[Gomez Adams]

A bit late for that, but OK.

 

[Zeedox]

There May Be a Treatment for Covid Loss of Smell

Some patients given a kind of nerve block experienced a substantially improved sense of smell afterward.

gizmodo.com

 

[Gomez Adams]

Smell training.

I wonder if that can be parlayed into making shit not stink.

 

[Zeedox]

Remember:

Bird flu killed hundreds of seals in New England

The virus ripped through seal populations in the region in summer 2022, researchers say.

www.birdguides.com

Four dead seals test positive for bird flu in Scotland

Experts warn of ‘step-change’ in avian flu spread as number of cases in mammals continues to grow globally

www.theguardian.com

There are two possibilities:

1. Because of media attention, we're hearing about this more.
2. It's becoming more common because the virus is learning to adapt better.

If it's the latter, in about 15 to 20 years, we're screwed.

Well...

Polar bear dies from bird flu as H5N1 spreads across globe

Current outbreak, which started in 2021, is estimated to have killed millions of wild birds and thousands of mammals globally

www.theguardian.com

The death was confirmed in December by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. “This is the first polar bear case reported, for anywhere,” Dr Bob Gerlach, Alaska’s state veterinarian, told the Alaska Beacon.


It was found near Utqiagvik, one of the northernmost communities in Alaska, two years after this latest strain was detected in North America. Gerlach said it was likely the bear was scavenging on the carcasses of infected birds.

I see your 15 to 20 and raise you a 6 to 9.

 

[Gomez Adams]

Holy shit.

 

[Zeedox]

 

[Zeedox]

2020 -



We've come a long way

 

[Gomez Adams]

I don't get it. My cart still looks like that.

 

[Zeedox]

Dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas test positive for bird flu

Federal officials say milk from dairy cows in Texas and Kansas has tested positive for bird flu. The virus has also been detected in New Mexico.

apnews.com

Officials with the Texas Animal Health Commission confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus is affecting older dairy cows in those states and in New Mexico, causing decreased lactation and low appetite.

It comes a week after officials in Minnesota announced that goats on a farm where there had been an outbreak of bird flu among poultry were diagnosed with the virus. It’s believed to be the first time bird flu — also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza — was found in U.S. livestock.

Man, even my 6-9 was way off.

 

[Zeedox]

And then this appeared...

Mystery dairy cow disease confirmed as highly pathogenic avian influenza

Two dairies in Texas, two in Kansas have tested positive for virus.

www.feedstuffs.com

 

[Gomez Adams]

Which means it's only a matter of time before it gets to us.

Brilliant.