Health
Omicron variant found in almost one-third of U.S. states
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The Omicron variant of the coronavirus has spread to about one-third of U.S. states, but the Delta version remains the majority of COVID-19 cases nationwide, U.S. health officials said on Sunday.
Though the emergence of the new variant has caused alarm worldwide, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, told CNN “thus far it does not look like there’s a great degree of severity to it” but he added that it was too early to draw definitive conclusions and more study is needed.
Fauci also hoped the United States would lift its ban on travelers from southern African countries in a “reasonable period of time.”
The South African government has complained it is being punished – instead of applauded – for discovering the new variant and quickly informing international health officials.
Fauci praised South Africa for its transparency and said the U.S. travel ban was imposed at a time “when we were really in the dark” and needed time to study the variant.
“We all feel very badly about the hardship that that might have put upon not only South Africa but the other African countries,” he added on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
At least 15 U.S. states have reported Omicron cases: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin, according to a Reuters tally.
Many of the cases were among fully vaccinated individuals with mild symptoms, although the booster shot status of some patients was not known.
Despite several dozen Omicron cases, the Delta variant still accounts for 99.9% of the 90,000 to 100,000 new cases of COVID each day in the United States https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told ABC News in an interview.
“We are everyday hearing about more and more probable cases so that number is likely to rise,” she said.
Louisiana’s Department of Health said on Saturday that a Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd cruise ship set to dock in New Orleans with more than 3,000 passengers has detected 10 cases of COVID-19 on board.
The Norwegian Breakaway left New Orleans on Nov. 28 and had stops in Belize, Honduras and Mexico, officials said, adding everyone on board would be tested and provided with post-exposure and quarantine public health guidance by the CDC.
COVID-19 vaccine makers are looking to quickly tweak their shots to target Omicron and U.S. regulators have vowed speedy reviews, but that could still take months.
“Certainly, FDA (Food and Drug Administration) will move swiftly and CDC will move swiftly,” Walensky said.
Moderna Inc has said it could seek U.S. approval for an updated vaccine as soon as March, but company officials in television interviews on Sunday said it still take time to increase output.
Moderna Co-founder and Chairman Noubar Afeyan told CNN it would take another seven to 10 days to gather key Omicron data. Then, it “will take a good 60 to 100 days” to deploy an Omicron-specific shot, although other options like a higher dose of the current booster are being explored, he said.
U.S. government officials are also working with vaccine makers Pfizer Inc and Johnson & Johnson on updated shots.
Pfizer and Merck & Co Inc are also pursuing COVID-19 pill treatments.
(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick and Susan Heavey; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Health
RCMP warn about benzodiazepine-laced fentanyl tied to overdose in Alberta – Edmonton Journal
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Grande Prairie RCMP issued a warning Friday after it was revealed fentanyl linked to a deadly overdose was mixed with a chemical that doesn’t respond to naloxone treatment.
The drugs were initially seized on Feb. 28 after a fatal overdose, and this week, Health Canada reported back to Mounties that the fentanyl had been mixed with Bromazolam, which is a benzodiazepine.
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Mounties say this is the first recorded instance of Bromazolam in Alberta. The drug has previously been linked to nine fatal overdoses in New Brunswick in 2022.
The pills seized in Alberta were oval-shaped and stamped with “20” and “SS,” though Mounties say it can come in other forms.
Naloxone treatment, given in many cases of opioid toxicity, is not effective in reversing the effects of Bromazalam, Mounties said, and therefore, any fentanyl mixed with the benzodiazepine “would see a reduced effectiveness of naloxone, requiring the use of additional doses and may still result in a fatality.”
From January to November of last year, there were 1,706 opioid-related deaths in Alberta, and 57 linked to benzodiazepine, up from 1,375 and 43, respectively, in 2022.
Mounties say officers responded to about 1,100 opioid-related calls for service, last year with a third of those proving fatal. RCMP officers also used naloxone 67 times while in the field, a jump of nearly a third over the previous year.
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Health
CFIA continues surveillance for HPAI in cattle, while sticking with original name for disease – RealAgriculture
The Canada Food Inspection Agency will continue to refer to highly pathogenic avian influenza in cattle as HPAI in cattle, and not refer to it as bovine influenza A virus (BIAV), as suggested by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners earlier this month.
Dr. Martin Appelt, senior director for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in the interview below, says at this time Canada will stick with “HPAI in cattle” when referencing the disease that’s been confirmed in dairy cattle in multiple states in the U.S.
The CFIA’s naming policy is consistent with the agency’s U.S. counterparts’, as the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has also said it will continue referring to it as HPAI or H5N1.
Appelt explains how the CFIA is learning from the U.S. experience to-date, and how it is working with veterinarians across Canada to stay vigilant for signs of the disease in dairy and beef cattle.
As of April 19, there has not been a confirmed case of HPAI in cattle in Canada. Appelt says it’s too soon to say if an eventual positive case will significantly restrict animal movement, as is the case with positive poultry cases.
This is a major concern for the cattle industry, as beef cattle especially move north and south across the U.S. border by the thousands. Appelt says that CFIA will address an infection in each species differently in conjunction with how the disease is spread and the threat to neighbouring farms or livestock.
Currently, provincial dairy organizations have advised producers to postpone any non-essential tours of dairy barns, as a precaution, in addition to other biosecurity measures to reduce the risk of cattle contracting HPAI.
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Health
Toronto reports 2 more measles cases. Use our tool to check the spread in Canada – Toronto Star
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Canada has seen a concerning rise in measles cases in the first months of 2024.
By the third week of March, the country had already recorded more than three times the number of cases as all of last year. Canada had just 12 cases of measles in 2023, up from three in 2022.
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