Excerpt: The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it had been testing milk samples throughout the dairy production process and confirmed the detection of viral particles “in some of the samples,” but declined to provide details.
The presence of genetic fragments of the virus in milk is not unexpected. Pasteurization typically works to inactivate pathogens, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. Pasteurization generally does not remove genetic material, but it typically renders pathogens unable to cause harm to people, Nuzzo said.
Excerpt: For decades, public health experts have warned of the danger of H5N1, also known as the avian flu, crossing over to humans. That fear became a reality when earliest this month, a dairy farm worker in Texas tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza. This is the first reported cow-to-human spread of the virus. The U.S. has only ever recorded a handful of cases but there is mounting concern that mutations in the virus will allow it to spread to more mammals and possibly, more people. Are we ready for an influenza pandemic of this kind? Joining us today on AirTalk to talk about this latest outbreak and the threat it poses to humans is Jennifer Nuzzo, Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University.
Excerpt: For a virus to have pandemic potential, it needs to be able to pass easily from person-to-person. H5N1 does not have the ability to do so, but scientists fear it could develop this feature.
“The bigger picture is that this virus is not cooling off,” CFR Senior Fellow Jennifer Nuzzo told Politico. “We’ve been worrying about this virus for twenty years, more than twenty years. And in the last year, it has really been remarkable in how far across the globe it has been spreading, and how many species it’s been affecting.”
Excerpt: “The bigger picture is that this virus is not cooling off,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health. “We’ve been worrying about this virus for 20 years, more than 20 years. And in the last year, it has really been remarkable in how far across the globe it has been spreading, and how many species it’s been affecting.”
Excerpt: "I worry a little bit that the perceived speed with which we were able to develop safe and effective vaccines has given people unrealistic expectations," said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health. "Nevertheless, we did something remarkable, and we proved to ourselves that we can do hard things," she added.
A new exercise, highlighting the ability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to meet pandemic threats, will be tested this week at the Munich Security Conference.
Excerpt: If this change takes place, it shouldn't be interpreted to mean that COVID-19 is less contagious, says Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
"The science of COVID has not changed," Nuzzo says. If you test positive for COVID-19, you're likely contagious for a few days at least and risk spreading the coronavirus to others.
Excerpt: The proposed recommendations also seem not to take into account older Americans, or those who are immunocompromised or otherwise at risk of severe outcomes from Covid, said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.
Dr. Nuzzo said she has an aunt with cancer who had twice contracted Covid in a health care facility. “I do feel for people who now feel even less protected,” she said.
At the very least, the C.D.C. should advise that people who end isolation after one fever-free day also wear N95 masks or the equivalent when leaving their homes, she added.
A new exercise, highlighting the ability of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to meet pandemic threats, will be tested this week at the Munich Security Conference.
The Advance Warning and Response Exemplars (AWARE) project will identify positive outliers in successful early warning and response to significant public health events, including outbreaks of pathogens of pandemic potential as well as climate-sensitive infectious diseases
The Pandemic Center sat down with Mr. Ledesma to dive into the results of his recent paper on pandemic preparedness, its impact on mortality rates during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what it can tell decision makers.
To mark the anniversary of the onset of the 2022 outbreak, the Pandemic Center sat down with Dr. Philip Chan, MD, MS, to discuss the public health response, what we learned, and how we can better prepare for future emergencies.
The Pandemic Center partnered with the Horizon Institute for Public Service to co-host the Game Changers Workshop for Biosecurity Policy, a three-day event in Washington, D.C. to help early- and mid-career professionals explore a career transition into the field of biosecurity policy.