COVID-19 Coronavirus, HPAI H5N1 Bird Flu, Measles, Tropical Imports and Other Virus UK and World News Update 22nd August 2025
In the UK the number of people in hospital with respiratory symptoms who test positive for COVID has risen by almost 1/3 in the last fortnight.
Although that's not good, thankfully we began at low levels, so it is actually still considered relatively 'low' - although you'd hope not to see a rise during Summer and before the kids all go back to school. Latest variants and waning immunity may well be to blame.
The steady COVID wave is continuing in the US. Hospital admissions were up another 15% last week (on top of 18% 2 weeks ago), with 98,600 new cases reported. Medics and emergency room staff are noting a visible rise and commenting on social media.
An average 206 people in the US have died from COVID each week this year (227 were reported last week).
On 15th August the UK's DEFRA raised England's risk level for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI bird flu) "in response to a change in the pattern of wild bird findings and an increase in cases in poultry and captive birds".
Risk level in any areas with 'sub-optimal biosecurity' is now MEDIUM (event occurs regularly).
Risk in wild birds remains HIGH.
From 26th August nationwide biosecurity measures are increased, including for game birds. E.g. footwear and vehicle tyres need to be disinfected.
DEFRA's last report on 11th August confirms 9 additional infected commercial and backyard poultry flocks detected since 21st July (including 2 in Breckland, Norfolk), and 78 infected wild birds of 20 different species, across 36 separate British sites in 26 counties (England 48, Scotland 29, Wales 1).
This outbreak began on 5th November 2024, and since then across the whole UK 79 farmed or backyard flocks have been confirmed infected with avian flu:
- 1 low pathogenic avian flu (Wales)
- 1 HPAI H5N5 (England)
- 77 HPAI H5N1 (England 68, Scotland 3, Wales 2, Northern Ireland 4)
In addition a total of 848 collected wild birds have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The UK NHS has announced a change to the way pregnant people access maternity care - going forward, if you are in good health you won't have to see your GP, you’ll register online for maternity services and progress directly to midwife care.
It should save around 30,000 GP appointments a year.
The UK NHS is in trouble, and it isn't getting better. Latest figures show a slight decrease in the number of people waiting for non-emergency treatment, but even the Royal College of Surgeons are warning that doesn't actually mean more people are being treated.
It seems in April and May there was a massive admin push on removing people from lists - those who no longer need treatment, recover, move, pay privately or die waiting. So it looks better, but it doesn't mean the NHS is actually coping...
Previously we heard that Resident Doctors can't get work in the UK NHS, turns out it isn't just doctors. The College of Paramedics has warned that up to 40% of new paramedics can't get work in England. The Welsh Ambulance Service requested 87 paramedics, 67 were trained (in Wales), but only 20 will be hired.
The UK Government do seem to be starting to address the issue of trained medical staff being unemployed after graduation - at least with Nurses and Midwives. They have announced they'll 'unlock thousands of new jobs', removing some of the barriers to employment and giving a 'Graduate Guarantee' of work. Seems like a place they can start is GP surgeries, where according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) nearly a quarter (23%) of nursing roles are vacant.
Sadly there is no mention of extra money in the announcements, so it's not clear exactly how these extra roles will be funded...
I didn't mention it last time, because it just happened and there wasn't a lot of information, but a lone gunman attacked the CDC Headquarters in Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. At least 181 rounds hit various buildings on site, smashing around 150 windows. A responding Police Officer and the suspect died. No CDC staff were harmed.
Media report that the gunman had mental health problems and believed COVID vaccination made him ill. He targeted areas of the CDC campus related to vaccinations. Ironically the very security staff who are trained to spot and deal with people like the CDC gunman are among those laid off by the recent DOGE cuts.
Some CDC staff immediately began calling for RFK Jr to resign, as misinformation has led someone to violence, and RFK Jr is doing nothing to make clear to the public what is provable fact, what is opinion, and what is nothing more than Facebook copy/paste conspiracy theory.
You'd hope after something so horrific, everyone would use their brains before they speak, and stop stoking a fire to win political points. Nope.
Within hours National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya was on a podcast with MAGA's former Trump strategist Steve Bannon, suggesting COVID vaccines weren't effective or safe, and "the mRNA platform is no longer viable” because people distrust it.
(People distrust mRNA because of podcasts where people say other people don't trust it...)
Since the CDC incident people are speaking out. A new group 'Defend Public Health' has stepped up to try and stop us from being distracted by irrelevancies and 'solutions to problems that don’t actually exist', and they've called for RFK Jr to be removed.
Defend Public Health have written their own "Make America Healthy Again" report, built on evidence-based science and achievable goals.
"The report from Defend Public Health, a new organization of about 3,000 health professionals and allies, is an attempt to get ahead of misinformation and lack of information from health officials".
A group of over 750 current and former US Department of Health and Human Services staff have also sent a letter to RFK Jr and Members of Congress basically begging that RFK Jr "stop spreading inaccurate health information", "Affirm CDC's scientific integrity" (if you recall, he called the CDC a “cesspool of corruption”) and "Guarantee the safety of the HHS workforce"
“The attack came amid growing mistrust in public institutions, driven by politicized rhetoric that has turned public health professionals from trusted experts into targets of villainization – and now, violence.”
"The deliberate destruction of trust in America's public health workforce puts lives at risk. We urge you to act in the best interest of the American people—your friends, your families, and yourselves."
Best of luck to everyone...
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The UK Government have released figures for 'travel-associated infections' for the first half of the year. This covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland to 30th June, and tells us what unwanted souvenirs people accidentally bring back...
- Chikungunya 73 - mostly from Sri Lanka, India and Mauritius (up from 27 same period last year)
- Cholera 8 - 4 from Ethiopia
- Dengue 161 - mostly from Thailand, Brazil and Indonesia (down from 490 during the same period last year)
- Rickettsial infections 18 - mostly from South Africa and Thailand (down from 23 in the same period in 2024)
- Zika virus disease 4 - mostly from Thailand (down from 9 same period last year)
- Oropouche virus disease was reported for the first time, with 3 imported cases linked to Brazil
- No cases of Japanese encephalitis or yellow fever were reported
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have noted a rise in tropical diseases across Europe, with records broken for several mosquito-borne viruses. They've published an article looking at how Europe can be supported to adapt to deal with the changes in disease that climate change is bringing with it.
These changes aren't only affecting Europe, and it isn’t just diseases from other countries being imported. In some cases we had control, and we have lost it - Screwworm is one example, another is a New Jersey resident in the US who has tested positive for malaria, with no history of travel...
Meanwhile the Pacific Islands have the largest outbreak of mosquito-borne illness Dengue Fever in a decade. Health authorities have reported 16,000 confirmed cases and 23,500 suspected cases this year. 18 people have died, 6 of whom were in Samoa, which reported 1,900 new Dengue cases just last week.
Dengue is 'mild' for most people, with up to a week of flu-like symptoms, vomiting and a rash. Anyone who appears to be recovering and then worsens is at risk from severe Dengue, and needs medical care.
CIDRAP have a great article discussing why Long COVID will continue to be under or over-reported until it has a standard definition - a test, an accurate measure or a uniform standard.
The symptoms are massively wide-ranging, they can improve or worsen over time, and much relies on patient reporting. The only thing that is mostly agreed on is that to qualify as Long COVID it has to persist for 3 months/ 12 weeks after infection - although some use 4 weeks and some 6 months.
A study released last week looked at 4,575 US patients, and 5 long-COVID definitions published in accepted studies (UK, US, Netherlands, Sweden). The studies varied in how many symptoms they listed, from 9 to 44. The percentage of patients getting a positive diagnosis using each definition varied at 3 months from 32% to 42% and at 6 months from 15% to 22%.
“Up to one third of the variation in the published studies may stem from the fact that they use different definitions for Long COVID.”
If the expert scientists can't even agree, it's little wonder your regular general practitioner (GP) will struggle. The study also suggests multiple symptoms are key to understanding if it is Long COVID, and really there is nothing clearer or more accurate right now than the patient's self-reporting.
"One year ago, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros declared the upsurge of mpox a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
Since then, 28 countries in the African region have reported nearly 50,000 confirmed cases of mpox."
World Health Organisation
The latest on the New York outbreak of Legionnaires Disease is that unfortunately it has claimed more lives. A total of 111 people have now been confirmed positive, with 7 remaining in hospital, and the loss of 6 people.
12 cooling towers have been found to be infected, including one covering a sexual health clinic. They have all been cleaned.
RFK Jr and his hand-picked CDC panels are not proving popular with anyone.
THE US CDC vaccine panel decided that healthy children of any age shouldn't be recommended COVID jabs, but for the first time in 30 years, the American Academy of Paediatrics have not agreed with their advice and have released their own "Evidence-Based Immunisation Schedule".
AAP President Susan J. Kressly, MD, FAAP:
“The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunisations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children and adolescents.”
Although older children have gained immunity via vaccination and/or infection, young children and infants are completely unprotected, the same as we all were back in 2020. When they catch COVID, even when they are otherwise healthy, hospitalisation rates are similar to adults aged 50-64.
It seems likely the US FDA won't renew the Pfizer COVID vaccine's authorisation for use in American children under age 5, leaving no options for vaccinating young healthy children against COVID. Pfizer themselves are sending out letters, in which they say they are still expecting authorisation for age 5-17.
Moderna did get their authorisation for 6 months to 5 years renewed earlier this year, but currently only for children with health conditions.
The Novovax vaccine is authorised in the US for children aged 12 and over.
(The UK do not allow vaccination of young children unless they appear on the 'recommended' lists i.e. Immunosuppressed children aged 6 months of over. Children aged 12 or over can be given a COVID jab, but you'll have to pay around £90 privately, usually at a chemist.)
Some good measles news, as US authorities have declared the West Texas measles outbreak to be over. It has been 42 days since the last locally acquired case, which is twice the accepted measles incubation time. The Texas Department of State Health Services summed up the outbreak:
"As of Aug. 18, 762 cases of measles have been confirmed in the outbreak since late January. More than two-thirds of the cases were in children. Ninety-nine people were hospitalized over the course of the outbreak, and there were two fatalities in school-aged children."
As of 8th August, The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says 10,139 measles cases had been confirmed across 10 countries in North and South America, and 18 people had died. This is 33 times the figure last year, when it was 311 cases.
71% are unvaccinated individuals and a further 18% have unknown vaccination status.
"Countries with the highest case numbers include Canada (4,548 cases), Mexico (3,911 cases), and the United States (1,356 cases). Other countries reporting confirmed cases are Bolivia (229), Argentina (35), Belize (34), Brazil (17), Paraguay (4), Peru (4), and Costa Rica (1). Paraguay is the latest country to report an outbreak this year. Deaths have been reported in Mexico (14), the United States (3), and Canada (1). In Mexico most deaths have occurred in indigenous people between 1 and 54 years of age. Canada reported a fatal congenital measles infection in a newborn."
Your reminder that a runny nose and bit of a cough does not equal 'flu'.
The US CDC has reported the influenza-associated deaths of 270 children during the 2024-2025 flu season (over last Winter). 90% of these children were not fully vaccinated against flu.
Indian researchers have for 30 years been studying H5N1 Avian Flu, including the current Clade 2.3.4.4b which is infecting birds and mammals worldwide.
Using human flues H1N1 and H3N2 as a guide, they've developed a computer programme to track current mutations, and estimate which are most likely to develop next - most common, often follow, 'selection-pressure' etc. (This is not yet peer-reviewed.)
Despite spreading through non-human mammals, Clade 2.3.4.4b is right now still developing mutations that make it closer to becoming a serious human threat.
According to the research, the branches of the family tree circulating in bears, cattle, dolphins and foxes show "higher human adaptive potential than other hosts".
The authors recommend serious surveillance of mammals, with an emphasis on those which can act as a 'stepping stone' to humans.
This week's H5N1 Avian Flu figures are, as we saw at the beginning of the post, rising in the UK sadly. Meanwhile it is incredibly quiet in the USA, with no new dairy herds infected in 2 weeks, only 1 poultry flock infected in the last month, and no newly reported wild mammals. It's also fairly quiet in the rest of the world comparatively, so shhhh... nothing to see here...
The New World Screwworm is still on its path towards Central America, and the lack of action is infuriating everyone involved.
DOGE cuts stalled creation of a US facility to produce sterile screw worm flies - a proven method to curb breeding. This Texas facility now has the go-ahead, as does one in Mexico, and they should be operational in a year. The only existing facility is in Panama, and unfortunately the previously successful 'biological border' was breached in 2022.
The fly has been spreading North. Since November there have been 2,258 (as of 6th August) reported Mexican animal infections, and over 30 confirmed human infections. There are also reportedly 2 US herds being tested for potential infestations - 1 in Oklahoma and 1 in Texas, and farmers are furious that the results of the tests haven’t yet been disclosed.
Screwworm is, as you'd expect, horrific. It can be treated, but the earlier you seek treatment the better, and having no treatment is universally eventually fatal.
Called 'The Vaccine Games' by University of Calgary political scientist Lisa Young, Alberta in Canada seems to be running a bizarre COVID vaccine experiment, led by Premier Danielle Smith. Last year they administered 750,000 COVID jabs, this year they ordered 485,000. Residents have to go online and apply to be considered for vaccination. It's not clear how the lucky recipients will be chosen, nor what the jabs will cost, but if successful, they will have to pay for them. Apparently flu jabs will also be allocated using the same system, but they will at least be free.
We have known for 5 years that COVID can cause inflammation to your blood vessel walls. We have known for some time that COVID can cause lesions and plaque build up on the inside of blood vessels much more quickly than naturally occurs (early vascular aging or EVA). These both increase your risk of blood and artery problems such as strokes, heart attacks, high blood pressure and blood clots, and aren't being taken seriously enough. A massive study has just been published in the European Heart Journal which has investigated this in depth.
Over 2,000 participants were studied for a year - in 28 centres across 18 countries.
Using 'carotid artery pulse wave velocity (PWV)', the flexibility of their artery was measured to assess early (accelerated) vascular aging (EVA).
The results were not good.
Patients who had tested positive for COVID were found to have EVA of around 5 years, whether hospitalised or not. Patients who were severely ill with COVID in the ICU had EVA of around 10 years.
This effect was significantly found in women, and far less in men.
More severely ill men don't survive COVID, which does adjust figures slightly, but overall this seems related to the X chromosome, and female hormones and triggers. Around twice as many women report Long COVID as men, and around 80% of autoimmune diseases occur in women, which ties up with these results. Next step is further research to see if these figures can be tested, replicated, and work out what we can do to try and prevent it or rectify it.
There is good news. In some patients by the end of the year follow up, the EVA had resolved itself. More good news is that vaccinations were definitely a protective factor.
At some point Governments are going to have to accept that offering annual COVID jabs is going to save a fortune in the long run.
In better long term COVID news, and this is actually very exciting - promising future news. Researchers from universities in Swansea and Berlin have created a synthetic glycosystem - a sugar-coated polymer nanoparticle - that mimics natural sugars found on human cells, and can block COVID from infecting them. In lab tests using human cells, infection rates were reduced by almost 99%. The imposter 'synthetic glycosystem' attracted the virus, which then bound onto it fruitlessly.
This is potentially really big news. It’s the first time a 'shield' has shown such promise, so the team is going to do further studies with different viruses.
This technology is not likely to have problems with funding either, because it is easily made into a nasal spray, could be protective against an absolute host of viruses, and has enormous potential outside the human body too - as a cleaning product.
You heard it first here...
I keep mentioning STDs, but they keep on rising. Syphilis is nasty, including for pregnant people, and it has caused the deaths of 3 infants in New York state already this year. Those are the children who died, many more will have been born with serious and potentially permanent health problems.
Good news is that these days Syphilis is easily treated with antibiotics. Look after yourselves.
A Californian resident has tested positive for plague after camping at Lake Tahoe. It is assumed to have spread via a flea bite, rather than a rodent bite. They have received antibiotics and are recovering at home.
An Arizona resident died from plague earlier this year. Early treatment is vital for full recovery. It’s rare, but it's still out there...
Around 500 people from 7 different countries, who went camping in cabins at in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming this year, may have been exposed to rabid bats that were living in the attic space. Congratulations, you all win a 5 jab rabies vaccine course.
Nepal has eliminated rubella as a public health problem, becoming the 6th country in WHO South East Asia region to do so.
Rubella, or German measles, is highly contagious and particularly serious for pregnant women and their unborn children.
Nepal introduced rubella-containing vaccine in its immunization programme in 2012, with mass vaccination campaigns around every 4 years. In 2024 Nepal achieved over 95% coverage.
(Rubella is the R in MMR.)
Researchers hypothesising why children don't tend to get ill from COVID as often as adults have looked into common colds as an answer, wondering if having frequent colds and runny noses 'primes' the immunity, ready for action.
They did regular nasal swabs on 1,156 people and tested them for 21 respiratory pathogens. The results are pretty cool actually.
- Participants with rhinovirus infection (a cold) in the previous 30 days were at 48% lower risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
- Among participants with SARS-CoV-2 infection, recent rhinovirus infection was associated with 9.6-fold lower SARS-CoV-2 viral load (waaaay less virus in the body, and being breathed out).
- Higher levels of 57 genes lowered SARS-CoV-2 viral load - including 24 antiviral defense genes; 22 of which are caused by a rhinovirus infection.
- Relative to adults, children had higher levels of the 'antiviral gene signature' and were more than twice as likely to test positive for rhinovirus infection.
I think that's pretty conclusive. Sadly having a cold 24/7 isn't a sensible option, but there are 171 different human rhinoviruses, so it's likely you'll spend several weeks of each year benefitting from that added COVID protection. Something to look forward to...
It is the weekend! We are back at school already (booo), so very much looking forward to a couple of days off. England and Wales have a Bank Holiday, so 3 days to treat yourself to something special and take a proper break - I've no doubt you've earned it!
If you need non-emergency medical assistance in the UK over a Bank Holiday, or indeed at any time, call 111 for advice and they'll send you to the best place. Have a good one, I'll be back in 2 weeks...
Wear A Hat, Wash Your Hands, Save The NHS...
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Sources COVID
UK Health Data
US CDC respiratory dashboard
Reference pages H5N1
https://www.paho.org/en/topics/avian-influenza
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html
Images
UK HSA childhood vaccination schedule collage images
UK vaccinations protect image
Nepal rubella image
WHO mpox 1 year and image
UkHSA vacccinate before Uni image
Famine confirmed in Gaza WHO image
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Health warning issued as Covid cases surge | The Independent
Slight increase, but remains at relatively low levels.
Full story
US emergency rooms seeing more COVID - wave in progress.
COVID emergency room patients.
UNOFFICIAL COVID dashboard US
Week 1
Week 2
H5N1
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Agriland nice article
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DEFRA sit rep
Midwife appointments: NHS announces big change to how expectant mothers access maternity care | The Independent
Decrease in waiting lists NHS
Statistics » Cancelled Elective Operations
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancelled-elective-operations/
"While it is still down on last year's figure of 7.62 million, internal documents seen by the BBC, suggest one factor is patients being removed from the list without being treated. This can happen legitimately when patients pay for treatment privately or recover – but experts say it shows the NHS is struggling to keep up."
English Paramedics can't find jobs
Welsh Paramedics.
Plan to boost jobs for newly qualified nurses and midwives - but no funding
Job boost for newly qualified nurses and midwives
NHS to open up thousands of roles for new graduates | The Independent
Nursing roles vacant
New Sheffield nursing course aims to plug NHS workforce gaps - BBC News
The US CDC Shooting Incident
‘Distracting the public’: group of health professionals call for RFK Jr to be removed | Trump administration | The Guardian
Report calling to remove RFK Jr
Atlanta CDC HQ attacked
CDC attack
CDC gunman fired at least 181 rounds, breaking about 150 windows
CDC shooting
Man who fired hundreds of rounds at CDC HQ was angry at Covid vaccines - BBC News
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Lone gunman had issues with vaccinations
HHS cuts affect security personnel
Quote CIDRAP
Some CDC staff are now calling for Kennedy to resign, saying he has fostered dangerous misinformation about vaccines in the United States. During a CDC meeting over the weekend, many said this incident is the culmination of Kennedy's decades-long campaign against vaccines and the CDC, an agency he has called a "cesspool of corruption," and the COVID-19 vaccines in particular, which he has said are the deadliest vaccines ever made.
Jerome Adams, MD, MPH, who served as surgeon general during President Donald Trump's first administration, spent the weekend urging officials to speak out against vaccine misinformation. In a Stat op-ed, Adams wrote, "This tragedy is not an isolated event. It is a dire reflection of ever-escalating threats public health workers face in a climate increasingly shaped by misinformation, politicization, and inflammatory rhetoric."
Quote ends
https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/public-health/public-health-officials-face-grim-new-reality-after-cdc-shooting?s=09
CDC shooting what happened next Steve Bannon Jay Bhattacharya
HHS staffers implore RFK Jr. to ‘stop spreading inaccurate health information’ in wake of CDC shooting | CNN
HHS Read the letter
Travel associated infections UK
TAI 2025 First half UK
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Text
https://www.reddit.com/r/ContagionCuriosity/s/jKWsGlB8qu
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NBC
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Pfizer Covid vaccine for young children may not be renewed by FDA | US news | The Guardian
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Measles
West Texas measles outbreak over
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Good little PAHO measles write up
US 2024-25 flu season paediatric mortality
This number could rise further; pediatric deaths are often reported months later.
Most weren't vaccinated.
This is beyond tragic.
H5N1
How ready is H5N1 for humans.
Study research square
HPAI Detections in Mammals
New World Screwworm
New World Screwworm Outbreak in Central America
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/cattle/ticks/screwworm/outbreak-central-america
https://x.com/MeriwetherFarms/status/1957176994426478851?t=PC3mXKYbNDLSkmHpacml1Q&s=19
Mexican ranchers hit by flesh-eating screwworm want action on cattle smuggling
https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/the-pandemic-discussion-forum/1017816-discussion-on-new-world-screwworm
Beef news screwworm US
Associated press screwworm
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Alberta’s Bizarre and Dangerous Vaccine Experiment Begins
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Covid and our arteries study
COVID-19 accelerates aging especially in women
Swansea Berlin University glycosystem COVID block
Study news Swansea Uni
Lab-made sugar-coated particle blocks Covid-19 infection — Possible new treatment on the horizon - Swansea University
Syphilis US
Plague Lake Tahoe
Rabies disaster in the USA.
Nepal eliminates Rubella
Rhinovirus vs COVID
Rhinoviruses
Rhinovirus PHS
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