Crypto News: Bird flu summer?

Hi, it's Kristen. This week, a reader wonders how worried they should be about bird flu. But before we get to that...

A beer boom is being driven by health-conscious drinkers.
US regulators are raising concerns about an ecstasy treatment.
Covid's aftereffects can last more than three years.

How worried should I be about bird flu? Is there a vaccine yet? — Kevin, Albuquerque, New Mexico

This past week, a worker at Michigan dairy farm was infected with bird flu, the third US farmworker to contract the virus and the first to show respiratory symptoms. The patient likely contracted the virus from an infected cow, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. His symptoms were more severe than the previous two workers, who were treated with Tamiflu and recovered in a day.

This particular strain of avian flu, known as H5N1, can jump between species. It originated in birds but has shown up in more than 60 cattle herds across several states. There have also been traces of it found in the commercial milk supply.

"Anytime a virus jumps, species epidemiologists are concerned," says Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

So far, though, there have been no known human-to-human cases.

"After Covid, it's understandable why people are nervous hearing about avian flu in the news, but at this time the risk of H5N1 to the general population is very low," says Wallace. "H5N1 has not evolved to the point where it will easily infect humans."

The CDC, Wallace explains, has a widespread influenza surveillance system in place and has so far not reported any unusual human activity. At the end of April, the FDA said that one in five commercial milk samples they tested were positive for H5N1. But they also said that milk did not contain infectious virus.

"What was being found in the milk is actually just inactive viral fragments," explains Wallace, similar to how some people might test positive for Covid for weeks after an infection.

"At this time, H5N1 remains mostly an animal health issue, but is being monitored closely," Wallace says.

There is an H5N1 vaccine, but the prevailing strain was not included in the most recent version. As my colleagues reported, the US is in talks with Covid-shot makers Moderna and Pfizer about the development of messenger RNA bird flu vaccines for humans. Another vaccine maker, CSL Seqirus, is also working on a candidate, and expects to deliver doses of a vaccine that is well-matched to one of the components of H5N1 by the end of summer.

The government has also offered farms help in preventing the spread of the virus, including offering personal protective equipment and reimbursements for veterinary expenses and sample-shipping costs. The CDC has released guidelines for people who keep farms animals, like backyard chickens, at home.

As for the rest of us, Wallace says you can minimize your risk of bird flu by avoiding unprotected exposures to sick or dead animals and undercooked foods and raw milk. — Kristen V. Brown

The first new post traumatic stress disorder drug in over 20 years will require US regulators to do something they've never done before: Greenlight the mind-altering party drug known as ecstasy.

The new drug is a version of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, made by Lykos Therapeutics — an unusual drugmaker started by a nonprofit that has for decades advocated to bring psychedelic therapies to the masses. On June 4, the public will gain the first hint of how regulators are leaning, write Robert Langreth, Tiffany Kary and Fiona Rutherford.

Attacks on health-care workers in conflict zones are at the highest level ever, reports the Guardian.

An ancient skull with brain cancer hints at how the Egyptians treated it, the New York Times writes.

Private equity is to blame for a lot of enormous doctor's bills, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Ask us anything — well, anything health-related that is! Each week we're picking a reader question and putting it to our network of experts. So get in touch via AskPrognosis@bloomberg.net.