COVID-19 Coronavirus, Measles, HPAI H5N1 and other virus UK and World News Update 30th May 2025
Until it left the World Health Organisation, the US paid them $2.1b a year.
"$2.1 billion is the equivalent of global military expenditure every 8 hours;
$2.1 billion is the price of one stealth bomber;
$2.1 billion is 1/4 of what the tobacco industry spends on advertising and promotion every single year.
It seems somebody switched the price tags on what is truly valuable in our world."
Dr Tedros, head of WHO
Norovirus cases in the UK are still incredibly high. Over the last 5 years 31st March to 27th April we've averaged 6,446 confirmed cases (which doesn't include anyone who isn't tested, which is Loooooooads), and this year that figure is 14,959. UK Gov remind us to pretty please STAY AT HOME for 48 hours AFTER you are last ill. Do not prepare food for others, do not go to school or work, do not pass go, do not risk spreading this to the very young, the very old or other vulnerable people who may become very seriously ill.
"So far this year, nearly 2.9 million COVID cases have been reported in the U.S., causing 200,465 hospitalizations and 14,213 deaths."
BNO News
In the UK around 160 people a day are still currently being admitted to hospital with COVID, and it is officially responsible for around 70 UK deaths a week.
The UK had a fairly bad Winter for flu, especially as Flu A came first and then Flu B took over. Modelling suggests that despite the flu vaccinations only preventing 30-70% of infections (depending on age etc), they prevented severe illness in somewhere between 96,000 and 120,200 people - so those much needed hospital beds remained free for someone else to use.
The to and fro over NHS pay awards continues. Wes Streeting (UK Health Secretary) proudly announced:
“...despite the difficult financial situation the nation faces, we are backing our health workers with above-inflation pay rises for the second year in a row.”
The English pay offers:
- Nurses and other agenda for change staff 3.6%
- Resident Doctors (previously Junior Doctors) 5.4% average (4% plus £750 one-off payment).
- Other Doctors and Consultants 4%
The British Medical Association and GMB union said it still doesn't bring pay back to 2008 levels and members are being balloted for strike action.
It's been a while since new COVID variants were making the news, but we have a couple which are of note at the moment.
- JN.1 was the most prevalent variant for a while, and it's offspring LP.8.1 has taken over - accounting for about 40% of sequenced cases worldwide. This family lineage is already well-known in many places, including the US, UK and China. It can cling on to human cells better, and sneak past previous immunity, which is why the UK had wave of infection last Summer and Autumn. We don't see any more severe illness than other variants, but there have been waves in other countries, and it’s currently affecting parts of Asia.
From what I see and hear personally, these variants may not be causing more hospitalisations, but are giving more people a really rough week or so. It's not fun.
Although current vaccinations are effective, the European Medicine's Agency recently advised updating to LP.8.1 rather than the current JN.1, in order to better future-proof immunity.
But hold that thought...
- NB.1.8.1 has recently arrived in the USA. This variant, another offspring of JN.1, is under monitoring by WHO, because of it's speed. It has doubled the number of people needing medical care in China, where it is already the dominant strain. It is also dominant in Hong Kong, rising in Taiwan and Singapore, and wastewater monitoring in Australia suggests it's already the dominant strain in some areas there, including Perth.
NB.1.8.1 is increasing rapidly - from 2.5% of worldwide sequences in week 14 to 10.7% in week 17. In Europe it's gone from 1% to 6% in the same period of time.
Again NB.1.8.1 has an advantage when binding to cells, making it more catchy. It's believed the increase in infections in turn means more people need medical care, but there are no signs it's actually any more severe. Lab tests on mice show current vaccinations should still work effectively to help prevent symptomatic and severe illness.
Aside from NB.1.8.1, all other variants under monitoring by WHO, including LP.8.1, are decreasing or just plodding along at a similar rate.
- XFG is the only other variant people are really talking about. It's brand new and at incredibly low levels. This has mutations which make it great at bypassing our immunity, but it’s not good at binding to human cells, which has been the downfall of many a variant in the past.
NB.1.8.1 is the one to watch, and it's likely to hit the UK in about 2-3 months, so we may well have another large Summer COVID wave.
"Calling medical journals "corrupt," Kennedy says gov't scientists may be barred from publishing in Lancet, NEJM, etc going forward. NIH may establish its own journals, he said.
Meanwhile CDC 's Emerging Infectious Diseases journal is on the budget chopping block."
Helen Branswell, Science Editor at STAT News.
Yep, RFK Jr is not impressed with prestigious medical journals which publish papers, and says he isn't happy they publish papers from pharmaceutical companies. Of course they do, or else we'd struggle to find trial results.
Hospitals and medics also publish papers, students, universities, academics, professors - they all publish papers, which are peer-reviewed and given a critical once-over. Flaws are challenged, amendments made, most of the garbage retracted, and you are left with the best the scientific and medical community can present. Kennedy (well qualified in Law, American History and Literature) believes he knows better.
Entirely different, but the same. In March US parks and museums were told to make changes to remove items relating to race and gender. 'Executive Order 14253 - Restoring Truth And Sanity To American History' demanded that anything showing America or Americans in a bad light be removed - plaques, statues, memorials etc - even items relating to colonial history. People have now been asked to report anything they see which goes against that.
When your government calls the best science the world can offer 'corrupt', removes museum exhibits and rewrites history to suit their own agenda, you do not have "freedom of speech", and you are not "redressing the balance".
I wish you the best in the future, please do not take all of your information or learning from US-based sources.
Some more hopeful news for Long COVID people. Researchers from Griffith University in Australia have discovered that 'TRPM3 ion channels', essential for transporting calcium into cells, are faulty in Long COVID patients. Treating patients with a low-dose of naltrexone helps correct this. Naltrexone is a safe, tried and tested drug which is often used to treat opioid addiction, so trials for Long COVID patients are already recruiting. Fingers crossed.
The UK COVID Inquiry continues debating Test and Trace. We have already heard that universities and public labs, including the Crick Institute, offered their services, but were turned down in favour of private lab project management (and profit for someone related to government).
The health departments for other UK nations did not always agree with central government, the Health Secretary and NHS England. It appears back in mid March 2020 there was one heck of an argument when Northern Irish Ministers discovered all community testing was to be stopped, the opposite of the WHO advice to "test, test, test". Northern Ireland only had 20 cases at the time, and were well placed to keep COVID out.
Many people worldwide wondered why the entire island of Ireland didn't unite to protect themselves. It seems they simply weren't allowed that option...
Tim Spector, professor of epidemiology at Kings College London and the co-founder of the ZOE App., gave evidence at the COVID Inquiry that not launching ZOE UK-wide had "undoubtedly led to hundreds of thousands of excess infections, thousands of extra long covid-19 cases and could have saved at least £10 bn if used properly in conjunction with testing".
Apparently the UK Government 'didn't want the public to confuse ZOE with the NHS App.' but ZOE tracked symptoms and was incredibly valuable. Mr Spector explained that by 24th March 16% of people using ZOE reported loss of smell or taste as the only symptom, but couldn't access NHS testing without a cough. It took 2 more months for the NHS to list it.
Within 1 month ZOE found healthcare workers were between 11 and 60 times more likely to be infected than the general public - so more could and should have been done to protect them right from the beginning.
Frustrating for everyone.
The UK COVID Inquiry has also been discussing isolation for people who tested positive. Former head of NHS Test and Trace Baroness Dido Harding told the inquiry that she was also frustrated, by her efforts to convince Rishi Sunak to pay people to isolate.
"If we had allocated more of the NHS Test and Trace budget to isolation support, I strongly suspect that fewer would have died and infection rates would have been lower with all the benefits that would have brought."
As former Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Valance made clear, Rishi and other senior Government officials 'preferred the stick, rather than the carrot'.
I said at the time, If you can't actually afford to self-isolate or you'll lose your house, can't feed your kids or put fuel in the car to go to work, then there is no choice. 2 weeks of statutory sick pay would be financially crippling for millions of low wage earners.
The UK Government in September 2020 did bring in a £500 payment for low income people self-isolating, and of course everybody had the option of a discounted restaurant meal with Eat Out To Spread Virus (well, that's what we called it)...
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have announced that they will be limiting annual COVID booster vaccinations to people aged 65 or over, or at high risk of serious illness.
They say: "the benefit of repeat dosing — particularly among low-risk persons who may have previously received multiple doses of Covid-19 vaccines, had multiple Covid-19 infections, or both — is uncertain".
They also suggest that the COVID vaccinations may have caused "a ripple effect: public trust in vaccination in general has declined, resulting in a reluctance to vaccinate that is affecting even vital immunization programs such as that for measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccination, which has been clearly established as safe and highly effective".
(It is great they clarify the MMR is safe, but I'd blame social media misinformation for the decline in public trust in vaccinations.)
Going forward, except for the over 65's and more vulnerable people over 6 months, the FDA will require manufacturers to conduct randomised clinical trials against a placebo before licences are granted. They must show benefits - ideally reducing symptomatic COVID by 30%.
On Tuesday RFK Jr announced:
"Today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from CDCgov recommended immunization schedule. Bottom line: it’s common sense and it’s good science. We are now one step closer to realizing POTUS’s promise to Make America Healthy Again."
Well, this is ermmmm... worse than anticipated... and it appears to have been done without any recommendation from the ACIP committee (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices), and when the CDC doesn't even have a permanent director.
Evidence has proven beyond any doubt that pregnancy does not mix well with COVID, either for the baby or the person carrying it, and that vaccination in pregnancy is safe for all involved. I really hope this does not backfire horribly.
And Kids. Those precious little people who we send to sit in small rooms with 30 other people, some of whom are especially vulnerable to COVID, then move about and sit in a different group of 30 people, and repeat, for several years. Why on Earth would they need a bit of protection? Shall we mention Long COVID? Or shall I leave that one unsaid?
I don’t think these changes make anyone healthy again, and they aren't backed by science, in fact the opposite.
"NHS England and local government have announced the world’s first Gonorrhoea vaccine programme for eligible patients, with support from UKHSA.
The vaccine, already used for meningococcal B, could protect against gonorrhoea by up to 40% and help fight Antibiotic Resistance."
There is a UK and worldwide issue with antibiotic-resistant Gonorrhoea, so this seems a very sensible move.
Gay and bisexual men with a history of multiple sexual partners or an STI will be the first to be eligible. England reported over 85,000 cases in 2023 – the highest figure since records began in 1918.
The Measles situation in the USA has really slowed down massively, no state has 10 new cases since my last report, most only have 1-3. The latest CDC report from 23rd May says at that point 126 of 1,046 confirmed cases were hospitalised, and only 2% of patients had both doses of their MMR.
Local health teams really do deserve credit for this. There has been a lot of work on vaccination clinics, contact tracing and sharing information about where the public may have ben exposed, and who should take care or isolate. They've done a great job. In theory Measles should also hopefully be running out of people to infect.
In Canada the situation isn't yet so rosy. The latest total on the dashboard to 17th May was 2,515 measles cases (2,197 confirmed, 318 probable), which is double 2 weeks earlier. Hopefully that has been improving over the last fortnight.
I cannot find updated information on the Measles outbreak in Mexico, so obviously fingers crossed on that one. Morocco also has an outbreak and has reported around 1,000 cases this year, so best of luck to them too!
Of all the places which shouldn't really be considering how to make it easier for more children to slip through the vaccination net, you'd maybe have Texas at the top of the list. Well, surprise... or not. Texan rulemakers have sent an order to the Governor Greg Abbott to sign, which means parents can download a form from a website to apply for exemptions on religious, conscience or medical grounds, rather than have to discuss it with health officials and receive a form by post.
There's a worldwide warning about the increase in numbers and spread of dangerous fungus. Climate change has already led to an overall increase in temperatures of around 1.5⁰, which is enough for quite a few things to spread (including mosquitoes). It also increases extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, both of which can help spread fungal spores great distances.
Aspergillus is making the news this week, due to a study by University of Manchester. This can cause a very serious lung infection in humans, but more than that, it can infect crops, making them inedible. We aren’t really prepared, dangerous fungus have in the past mostly been a problem for poorer nations with damp, hot, tropical climates - and the Northern Hemisphere has not put enough money and effort into solutions. We are already seeing an increase in infections of around 5% a year. Within our children's lifetime we may pay heavily for our inaction.
Latest HPAI H5N1 bird flu stats in the USA - and it has slowed down a lot. Phew!
There have been no human infections for a considerable while, so the total remains at 70 with 1 fatality.
There have now been 1,072 cattle herds infected across 17 states, including 23 across 3 states in the last 30 days - half the number reported 2 weeks ago.
Four people have now died from H5N1 Avian Flu in Cambodia this year. The latest victim was an 11 year old boy who lived near to ducks and chickens which had become ill and died a week earlier. 2 very young children and a 28 year old man previously succumbed.
It's not yet known which strain of H5N1 the young boy succumbed to, but testing from the victim previous to him found a mix or 'recombinant' of an older 2.3.2.1c clade and the newer 2.3.4.4b clade. The newer clade 2.3.4.4b strain of H5N1 is the one we are all concerned about right now because it's mutated to infect mammals (including thousands of dairy cows in the USA).
The 11 year old Cambodian child is the 1,000th human to have been confirmed to have H5N1 Avian Flu since the first outbreak in 1997. The newer clade 2.3.4.4b strain of H5N1 is confirmed to have infected 92 humans to date. In April this year India and Mexico both reported the deaths of young children, meaning there have been a total of 6 human H5N1 fatalities in 2025 so far.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has cancelled a $600m Moderna contract for testing H5N1 and other potential pandemic mRNA vaccines.
mRNA vaccines really were victims of social media misinformation and vaccine mandates, when in fact they have been proven safe and effective, are amazing technology and incredibly quick to make. Traditional bird flu vaccines need eggs for manufacture and it takes a while to grow them. This is a real blow not only for currently known vaccines and potential pandemics, but also for the future of mRNA technology.
The UK Health Security Agency (HSA) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have confirmed the first detection of West Nile virus in mosquitoes collected in the UK back in July 2023 (they collected 32,000 samples, and clearly had an impressive backlog).
West Nile Virus is spread by mosquitoes and is in the same family as dengue and yellow fever. "It is usually found in birds, and typically circulates through bird-biting mosquitoes. In rare cases mosquitoes can transmit the virus to humans or horses."
Only fragments of virus were found, using random testing on mosquitoes from 200 pools of water in wetlands on the River Idle near Gamston (Retford), Nottinghamshire. 2 were positive. Based on available surveillance there is no sign it spread to other mosquitoes, or that UK mosquitoes have it now.
The UKHSA has assessed the risk to the general public as very low, and no UK-caught cases have been detected in humans or horses (there have only been 7 travel-related cases since 2,000).
Global warming has allowed West Nile to spread, and it is now endemic in areas of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, West and Central Asia, the Americas and Australia. This was always on the cards.n
Human infection is quite rare. Around 1 in 5 people infected will develop West Nile Fever and have flu-like symptoms, a rash and swollen glands. Around 1 in 150 develop severe illness, which is nasty and can include neurological symptoms such as meningitis, encephalitis, convulsions, paralysis and coma.
New World Screwworm has been making the news in the USA, and it looks like the situation is becoming urgent. This is a particularly grim fly which embeds it's larvae into the tissue of living animals. In the 1960's it was beaten back by introducing irradiated sterile male flies and strict protocols, including keeping a close eye on wounds on cattle, although it remained endemic in Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and some other areas of South America. Over the past months it has been spreading back up through South America, including Mexico, and despite closure of the Southern US border to any movement of cattle, bison and horses, it is expected to arrive in Texas very soon.
Texas agricultural specialists are demanding a facility be built there urgently to sterilise male flies, or the results could be catastrophic for beef farmers.
Humans are rarely affected, but in areas with screwworm flies, sensible precautions should be taken, such as putting a fly net over sleeping babies. Panama reported an average 25 human cases a year until 2023, when they reported over 6,500. This year already Nicaragua has reported human infections and Costa Rica has reported fatalities.
Mauritania has eliminated trachoma as a public health problem, the seventh country in the WHO AFRO region to achieve this milestone.
"As of April 2024, trachoma remains a public health problem in 38 countries with an estimated 103 million people living in areas requiring interventions against the disease."
WHO.
Trachoma is the world's leading cause of blindness, affecting the sight of around 2 million people alive today. Caused by a bacteria (Chlamydia trachomatis), it is sometimes spread by eye-seeking flies (barf), but often human to human through infected eye and nose secretions (e.g. kissing, dirty fingerprints on surfaces and then someone rubs their eye, sharing towels etc).
Eradicating the disease is very much about public health messaging - washing hands and faces!
Elon Musk, ex-head of DOGE, was a "Special Government Employee" who was only allowed to serve 130 days. That time elapsed today. Tarah then Elon, your period in office will doubtless never be forgotten. Don't let the door hit you in the face on the way out.
One of the most highly secure US research labs, Fort Detrick Integrated Research Facility, has been put on pause by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) following repeated safety incidents. These 'incidents' appear to mostly concern a couple (or ex-couple) who were having a tiff, and one of the two poked holes through the protective suit of the other. This would be more comical if they didn't deal with some of the world's most deadly diseases. The poker has been fired.
Most bizarre thing about this whole incident? HHS are blaming ex-President Joe Biden...??!?
On 20th May, after over 3 years of intense negotiations, the World Health Organisation's Pandemic Agreement was officially adopted by all 194 member nations at the World Health Assembly.
"The Agreement aims to enhance global coordination and cooperation, equity and access for future pandemics, all while respecting national sovereignty."
WHO member nations will participate in the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS), to allow rapid spread of information about pathogens, including new pathogens and potential pandemics. Wealthier nations also pledge to fairly support poorer nations with vaccinations and therapies.
Good stuff.
It is the weekend! Hurrah! It's also my partner's birthday, so I'm a bit early with the news today. We have cake and celebrations planned, so our weekend is looking good, I hope yours is too. Don't forget to do something nice for yourself. The weather may not be as sunny as lately, but the plants appreciate the rain and a walk outside is still free, and good for your heart and soul. Have a splendid couple of weeks, and I'll see you back here...
Play Outdoors, Look After Your Head As Well As You Look After Your Body, Save The NHS...
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Sources COVID
Reference pages H5N1
https://www.paho.org/en/topics/avian-influenza
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
Measles Sit Rep
Kansas
Texas
New Mexico
UK cases Measles
Canada Measles
ECDC Weekly Report
Images
West Nile image UK HSA
Uk launch Gonorrhoea vaccine image
Norovirus image UK Gov
Sources
The US used to pay $2.1b a year. Thats the shortfall for WHO
Norovirus
UK GOV Norovirus stats
COVID USA
COVID UK
UK Flu Winter 24/25
Nurses Pay awards in England:
Nurses and other agenda for change staff. 3.6%
Resident docs 5.4% average. 4% plus £750
Other docs and consultants 4%
Wes Streeting: “despite the difficult financial situation the nation faces, we are backing our health workers with above-inflation pay rises for the second year in a row”.
BMA say not enough and ballot starting next week. GMB also planning ballot
NHS workers awarded real terms pay rises for second year in row - GOV.UK
UK Gov pay awards NHS
Streeting urges doctors to vote no in strike ballot
New Covid variant NB.1.8.1 hits US
LP.8.1
NB.1.8.1
JN.1 Covid variant driving fresh rise in infections across Asia
Who variant monitoring
The CDC's airport screening program has detected multiple cases of the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1, which has been linked to a large surge of the virus in China.
https://x.com/outbreakupdates/status/1925955179477627354?t=PDMP9m7TW3YTniNO1GovKw&s=09
Christina Pagel variants
America rewrites history and science
WAPO RFK Jr potential ban on science journals
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1927557825791742113?t=RgHNH2DuZcjcJ8J9mDT__w&s=09
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_14253
Politico RFK JR
UK COVID Inquiry
Crick Institute Test and Trace
COVID Inquiry week 1 Northern Ireland test test test
Zoe app. Covid inquiry
Covid inquiry footage Tim Spector track and trace video
https://x.com/timspector/status/1924785005844136084?t=yK3kIGVhan4ahCpYNOpoHg&s=09
Cash to isolate 'would have cut Covid deaths'
Drug typically used for opioid addiction could be long COVID treatment
Naltrexodone for Long COVID
US FDA limiting recommendations for COVID vaccinations
https://www.statnews.com/2025/05/20/fda-vaccine-framework-new-covid-shot-recommendations-vinay-prasad-marty-makary/
An evidence based approach to covid vaccines framework
RFK Jr COVID vaccinations struck
https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1927368440811008138?t=VhpzVQ0BBq9Q3koukq1YaQ&s=09
The HHS announcement on May 27, 2025, removing COVID-19 vaccines from the CDC schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, cited "lack of clinical data" but provided no specific scientific papers. A 2022 Lancet study supports vaccine safety in pregnancy, showing no adverse outcomes. Critics cite 2023 ACIP data indicating benefits across groups. Without direct HHS citations, the decision's basis remains unclear.
Grok response
Americas new COVID vaccine framework - q&a STAT NEWS
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1925258407918866781?t=rm2F5c5Cw54aR9AloywsRA&s=09
Uk launch Gonorrhoea vaccine
Measles
Morocco
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON568
Texas and children's vaccine exemptions.
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1927794961786843570?t=1i0g4SSKyXQNyxOtsE_Pxw&s=09
Fungal spread warning
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/health-news/global-pandemic-warning-aspergillus-deadly-fungus-mirrors-hbos-the-last-of-us/articleshow/121438926.cms
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/24/climate/deadly-fungi-aspergillus-spread
H5N1
Cambodia Bird Flu H5N1
BNO update on human H5N1
Moderna contract cancelled
https://x.com/HelenBranswell/status/1927848100292423977?t=yXyOxeHzQemhmu-coFytSw&s=09
West Nile Virus UK
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/west-nile-virus
Updated info on West Nile Virus
Texas braces for an imminent screwworm infestation, a threat to the state’s cattle industry
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cattle/ticks/screwworm
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cattle/ticks/screwworm/outbreak-central-america
Mauritania eliminates Trachoma -
https://x.com/WHO/status/1924481009531187294?t=UFH4Yf6fNnbXKDWYPh-DPQ&s=09
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/trachoma
US lab handling world's deadliest diseases is shut down after 'lover's spat' led to spiteful act
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-14711269/ebola-lab-placed-shutdown-halting-disease-research.html
World Health Organisation's Pandemic Agreement
https://x.com/DrTedros/status/1924735901722157505?t=X13_m_r3G7Rpxn5VPyZRYQ&s=09
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