Here is Dr. Klotman’s Week 241 video update. The highlights summary is:

  • The most recent Texas wastewater data show
    • Persistently high Enterovirus D68 (an upper respiratory infection)
    • Persistently high levels of Clade 2 mPox virus (the version from West Africa)
    • The early beginnings of rising Influenza A virus levels – similar to this time last year
  • The CDC has detected H5N1 bird flu in a pig. That’s problematic because pigs can host the recombination of flu viruses making the resulting virus better adapted to infecting people and causing human epidemics
  • Bird flu is causing the deaths of domestic cats presumably from infection contracted by eating infected birds and/or drinking unpasteurized milk.
  • Thus far, there have been no reported cases of cat to dog or cat to human H5N1 transmission.
  • Texas COVID activity is very low, but there is significant activity in Oregon, Wisconsin, and New England
  • The dominant COVID strains are still KP.3.1.1 and XEC.
  • Surveillance of airport wastewater shows that XEC is becoming the dominant strain outside the US as well.
  • The CDC recommends a second dose of the current COVID vaccine 6 months after the most recent dose for people 65+ years old as well as for younger folks who have any condition that causes immunocompromise.

My editorial commentary regards mPox. You may recall from prior posts in this series that there are two Clades of the mPox virus. Clade 1 occurs in Central Africa (the DRC is the epicenter), and is transmitted by rodents; affects children disproportionately, and has a mortality risk of 1-10%. Clade 2 is endemic to West Africa, spreads mostly among individuals who have multiple sex partners, engage in anonymous sex, and/or are MSM (men who have sex with men). Clade 2 infection is less severe, and mortality is rare albeit not unknown.

You may recall that in 2003, there was an outbreak of Clade 2 mPox in our mid-Western states. That outbreak was traced to Giant Gambian pouched rats that were imported and sold as pets. If you are in a committed, monogamous relationship, your risk of contracting mPox through casual contact is virtually zero unless, of course, you acquire a Giant Gambian pouched rat on the black market.

By: llcPosted on