Author Archives: ceopate

Part III The A(H5N1) avian influenza outbreak investigation continues to unfold, and we are rapidly gaining new information. This is the third in a series of current updates on the avian influenza outbreaks on U.S. dairy farms. 1.      A study planned for publication in July was released early by the CDC (kudos for that!) entitled:Continue reading “Avian Influenza Update”

Part II This is the second part of an update on the outbreaks of HPAI A(N5H1) in at least 33 dairy farms in eight states. I am going to try to explain some very complicated matters in simple terms, so I will apologize in advance to all the cell biologists, microbiologists, virologists, anatomists, laboratory scientistsContinue reading “Avian Influenza Update”

Part I I have previously written about the outbreak of avian influenza among mammals, and particularly the dairy farm outbreaks that were first noted in late March. We now have a lot more information. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the CDC as well as state agenciesContinue reading “Avian Influenza Update”

This blog post continues a blog series providing a comprehensive update on COVID-19 and the virus that causes it. The last blog post in this series addressed the effectiveness of ivermectin in treating COVID-19. We reviewed well-designed, well-conducted studies that clearly established: As I concluded, while I question the motives of many of the physiciansContinue reading “Comprehensive Update on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19”

This is a major change for me today. I have used my blog to share medical science, health law analyses, public health information, and health care policy for more than a decade. I try to minimize its use as a soapbox or opinion page. But, today is different. My heart is heavy. I see thingsContinue reading “We’re having the wrong conversations”

I am returning to my blog series on a comprehensive update on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 after a brief interruption caused by urgent developments relating to avian influenza outbreaks on U.S. dairy farms. Even so, I wasn’t planning to cover treatments for COVID-19 just yet, but I am addressing this now, because like the vampire Dracula,Continue reading “Can We Finally Put the Stake Through the Heart of Ivermectin as a Treatment for COVID-19?”

UPDATE If you have not read my two prior blog posts on avian influenza (bird flu), you will want to do so before reading this update because I am just going to jump into it without providing an refresher. For the first time to our knowledge, an avian influenza virus [in this case A(H5N1)] isContinue reading “Bird Flu Outbreak in U.S. Dairy Farms”

Dr. Ted Epperly and I wrote a book that was released one year ago in which we provided 117 recommendations based upon lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that should better prepare us for the next pandemic. https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12896/preparing-next-global-outbreak. One only has to review the recent history of global outbreaks and pandemics to see that weContinue reading “What Should Our Public Health and Health Care Organizations be Doing in Response to the HPAI A(N5H1) Outbreak in Cattle in the U.S.?”

Less than a week ago, I interrupted my blog series on a comprehensive update on COVID-19 to bring you breaking news about an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that was occurring in cattle on dairy farms in the U.S., including Idaho. This was especially of note and concern because: Breaking News As IContinue reading “Avian Influenza Outbreak”

Technical Briefing from the CDC Let’s examine the last technical briefing from the CDC (Ref. 2) before these latest developments. It was updated on December 29, 2023. It reported, “A small number of sporadic human cases of A(H5N1) have been identified since 2022, despite the panzootic of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) viruses inContinue reading “Breaking News (continued)”