Latest Flu News
Alaska fair cancels poultry exhibits amid bird flu concerns
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Officials with the Alaska State Fair have decided against the usual array of poultry exhibits this year amid avian flu concerns. Fair CEO Jerome Hertel in a statement said officials believed it was best "to err on the side of caution." The...
Swine flu investigated after people sickened at WVa fair
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Health officials said they are investigating after several people developed a flu-like illness after working closely with pigs that exhibited respiratory symptoms and fever at a county fair. The state Department of Health and Human Resources said the H3N2v...
'Unusual': Feds investigate seal deaths linked to avian flu
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The deaths of dozens of seals off the coast of Maine has been deemed an “unusual mortality event,” sparking a federal investigation into strandings that appear linked to avian influenza. The seal strandings began in June and 159 have been reported through...
Ban on North Dakota poultry events lifted, too late for fair
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota animal health officials are ending a ban on poultry events that was instituted when bird flu was on the rise. However, the decision by the State Board of Animal Health comes too late for State Fair poultry exhibits this year. The...
West Nile detected in Massachusetts for 1st time this summer
BOSTON (AP) — The potentially dangerous West Nile virus has been detected in a mosquito in Massachusetts for the first time this year, state public health officials said. The presence of the virus, which is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito, was...
High number of seal deaths linked to bird flu, feds say
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An unusual number of seals are becoming stranded and dying off Maine this summer, and avian influenza is to blame, the federal government said Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed that samples from four Maine seals tested positive for the...
For now, wary US treads water with transformed COVID-19
The fast-changing coronavirus has kicked off summer in the U.S. with lots of infections but relatively few deaths compared to its prior incarnations. COVID-19 is still killing hundreds of Americans each day, but is not nearly as dangerous as it was last fall and winter. ...
Dead and dying seabirds identified off Maine coast
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A Maine Audubon scientist is alarmed by reports of more dead seabirds — this time in Casco Bay. Shannon Silverson, who lives on Peaks Island, noticed about 30 dead and dying birds this week. “It was just a dreadful feeling,” she told WGME-TV. ...
CDC panel recommends US seniors get souped-up flu vaccines
NEW YORK (AP) — Americans 65 and older should get newer, souped-up flu vaccines because regular shots don't provide them enough protection, a federal advisory panel said Wednesday. The panel unanimously recommended certain flu vaccines that might offer more or longer protection for...
Hundreds of birds wash up on island, officials fear bird flu
BOSTON (AP) — Hundreds of dead birds have washed up on Martha's Vineyard and animal control officials there think a highly contagious strain of avian flu may be responsible. The Tisbury Animal Control posted an “avian influenza warning” on social media Monday, telling residents...
