WORLD NEWS FLASH
UNITED STATES
A person in the United States has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 bird flu”), as reported by Texas and confirmed by CDC. This person had exposure to dairy cattle in Texas presumed to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses. The patient reported eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis), as their only symptom, and is recovering. The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu.
This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low. However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection. CDC has interim recommendations for prevention, monitoring, and public health investigations of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses.
CDC is working with state health departments to continue to monitor workers who may have been in contact with infected or potentially infected birds/animals and test those people who develop symptoms. CDC also has recommendations for clinicians on monitoring, testing, and antiviral treatment for patients with suspected or confirmed avian influenza A virus infections.
This is the second person reported to have tested positive for influenza A(H5N1) viruses in the United States. A previous human case occurred in 2022 in Colorado. Human infections with avian influenza A viruses, including A(H5N1) viruses, are uncommon but have occurred sporadically worldwide. CDC has been monitoring for illness among people exposed to H5 virus-infected birds since outbreaks were first detected in U.S. wild birds and poultry in late 2021. Human illnesses with H5N1 bird flu have ranged from mild (e.g., eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms) to severe illness (e.g., pneumonia) that have resulted in death in other countries.
H5 bird flu is widespread among wild birds in the U.S. and globally. These viruses also have caused outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry flocks, and sporadic infections in mammals. HPAI in dairy cows was first reported in Texas and Kansas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on March 25, 2024. Unpasteurized milk from sick cattle collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, as well as a throat swab from a cow in another dairy in Texas, tested positive for HPAI A(H5) viruses of the genetic clade 2.3.4.4b, which is the same clade that is widespread among birds globally.
On March 29, 2024, USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed HPAI in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas. The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is providing regular updates on detections in dairy herds, as well as information on epidemiological findings and biosecurity guidance for farmers and veterinarians. Preliminary analysis of A(H5N1) viruses has not found changes that would make these viruses resistant to current FDA-approved flu antiviral medications, so these are believed to be effective against these viruses. Candidate vaccine viruses (CVVs) developed against related clade 2.3.4.4b viruses are available for vaccine manufacturing if necessary and preliminary analysis indicates that they may provide reasonable protection against H5N1 influenza viruses. Seasonal flu vaccines do not provide protection against these viruses. Analysis of virus samples is ongoing.
CDC is working closely with state and federal agencies, including USDA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and local health authorities to further investigate and closely monitor this situation.
MASS SHOOTING UPDATE
Information recent as of 4-2-2024 at 12 p.m.
2024 Mass Shooting Stats: (Source: Mass Shooting Tracker – https://www.massshootingtracker.site/data/?year=2024)
- Total Mass Shootings: 124
- Total Dead: 199
- Total Wounded: 426
- Shootings Per Day: 1.33
- Days Reached in Year 2024 as of March 26: 86
MIDDLE EAST
ISRAEL REBUKED FOR DEATHS OF AID WORKERS
The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials who on April 1 reiterated repeated concerns that “there is no safe space left in Gaza.”
“This is not an isolated incident,” said Jamie McGoldrick, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). “As of March 20, at least 196 humanitarians had been killed in the OPT since October 2023. This is nearly three times the death toll recorded in any single conflict in a year.”
Mr. McGoldrick repeated appeals to “all parties to the conflict, including the Government of Israel,” to respect international humanitarian law, which prohibits the targeting of humanitarian personnel.
“The role of aid workers is to alleviate the suffering of people in crisis. Their safety, along with that of the civilians they serve, must be guaranteed,” he said.
The senior UN official’s comments came after World Central Kitchen reported that an Israeli airstrike was responsible for the deaths of its aid workers in Deir Al-Balah. Following those reports and images of the non-governmental organization (NGO) vehicle showing a large hole in its roof, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths expressed his outrage at the attack and described the victims are “heroes, killed while trying to feed starving people.”
From the UN World Health Organization (WHO), spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris maintained that the NGO mission had been agreed with the Israeli authorities ahead of time and that the organization’s car was “well marked, it was very clear: it was World Central Kitchen.”
“How many more lives will be lost until there is a ceasefire?”, said UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a tweet. He said WHO was outraged by the killing of humanitarian workers, and safety must be a basic requirement for all who do relief work.
The key UN agency providing relief to Palestinians, UNRWA, tweeted that it was devastated by the killing of seven humanitarians, pointing out that 176 of its own workers have been killed since the violence erupted on October 7.
In a video statement released on the morning of April 2, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the killing of the aid workers by an Israeli strike was unintended and tragic.
Earlier, World Central Kitchen released a statement saying its convoy had been hit “despite coordinating movements” with the Israel military, after the team had unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid at its Deir-al-Balah warehouse brought to Gaza along its newly devised maritime route.
Turning to the destruction of Al-Shifa Hospital following a two-week siege by the Israeli military, Dr. Harris said that it had “ripped the heart out of healthcare” in the enclave.
In a stark assessment of the closure of 750-bed Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, WHO maintained that aid teams had been waiting for “days and days” for Israeli permission to reach the stricken facility, where staff and patients endured “horrific levels of violence.”
“We’ve had contact with the staff; the (hospital) directors told us that Al-Shifa has gone, it’s no longer able to function in any way, shape or form” as a medical Center, said Dr. Harris.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Dr. Harris said that the facility was now “in ruins” and that at least 21 patients had died during the Israeli Defense Forces siege.
As the situation deteriorated at Al-Shifa, medical staff had to move patients to an office space within the hospital grounds without toilets and where there was no water or food; “they were sharing one bottle of water between 15 people by the end,” the WHO spokesperson continued.
She noted that medical staff “had no means of looking after patients, many of whom were severely injured (or) intensive care-level patients” fitted with urinary catheters but lacking urinary bags. “You can imagine the horror that has been going on,” Dr. Harris said.
If permission is granted on Tuesday to reach Al-Shifa and northern Gaza’s last few remaining health facilities, priorities for WHO teams include bringing medicines, fuel and food and assessing what other supplies are needed and how to provide relief to the most severely injured and sick.
“We’ve been trying to go for days and days and days, and most of our missions have been rejected,” Dr. Harris said. “We’re not going to be able to provide the things that, say, a functioning hospital needs, but first of all, we need to do an assessment to understand what we can do. Secondly…who needs to be evacuated…where can they go and what can we do to save the lives of those patients (who are) remaining.”
To date, hundreds of healthcare workers have been killed “doing their job”, the WHO official noted, along with 32,000 of civilians, 70 percent of whom are women and children, amid constant Israeli bombardment launched after Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel on October 7 that left some 1,200 dead and more than 250 taken hostage.
“We are struggling to understand the mortality numbers beyond the numbers that are reported of people who are killed in the bombardment because many people don’t even get to hospital,” the WHO spokesperson said.
UNITED KINGDOM
UK CHIDES ISRAEL
In the aftermath of a stunning event, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He said he was appalled by the killing of aid workers, including three British nationals, in an airstrike in Gaza and demanded a thorough and transparent independent investigation into what happened.
The Prime Minister said far too many aid workers and ordinary civilians have lost their lives in Gaza and the situation is increasingly intolerable. The UK expects to see immediate action by Israel to end restrictions on humanitarian aid, deconflict with the UN and aid agencies, protect civilians and repair vital infrastructure like hospitals and water networks.
The Prime Minister reiterated that Israel’s rightful aim of defeating Hamas would not be achieved by allowing a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Netanyahu also caught heat from Minister for Development and Africa Andrew Mitchell, who said, “I summoned the Ambassador of the Israeli Embassy in London to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
“I set out the government’s unequivocal condemnation of the appalling killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, including three British nationals. I requested a quick and transparent investigation, shared with the international community, and full accountability.
“I reiterated the need for Israel to put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism immediately and urgently to scale up humanitarian access. We need to see an immediate humanitarian pause, to get aid in and the hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable ceasefire.”
UK & US TEAM UP
On April 1, the UK and US have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which will see them work together to develop tests for the most advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models, following through on commitments made at the AI Safety Summit last November.
Signed by Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan and US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, the partnership will see both countries working to align their scientific approaches and working closely to accelerate and rapidly iterate robust suites of evaluations for AI models, systems, and agents.
The UK and US AI Safety Institutes have laid out plans to build a common approach to AI safety testing and to share their capabilities to ensure these risks can be tackled effectively. They intend to perform at least one joint testing exercise on a publicly accessible model. They also intend to tap into a collective pool of expertise by exploring personnel exchanges between the Institutes.
The partnership will take effect immediately and is intended to allow both organizations to work seamlessly with one another. AI continues to develop rapidly, and both governments recognize the need to act now to ensure a shared approach to AI safety which can keep pace with the technology’s emerging risks. As the countries strengthen their partnership on AI safety, they have also committed to develop similar partnerships with other countries to promote AI safety across the globe.
UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, Michelle Donelan said, “This agreement represents a landmark moment, as the UK and the United States deepen our enduring special relationship to address the defining technology challenge of our generation.
“We have always been clear that ensuring the safe development of AI is a shared global issue. Only by working together can we address the technology’s risks head on and harness its enormous potential to help us all live easier and healthier lives.
“The work of our two nations in driving forward AI safety will strengthen the foundations we laid at Bletchley Park in November, and I have no doubt that our shared expertise will continue to pave the way for countries tapping into AI’s enormous benefits safely and responsibly.”
United States Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo said, “AI is the defining technology of our generation. This partnership is going to accelerate both of our Institutes’ work across the full spectrum of risks, whether to our national security or to our broader society. Our partnership makes clear that we aren’t running away from these concerns – we’re running at them. Because of our collaboration, our Institutes will gain a better understanding of AI systems, conduct more robust evaluations, and issue more rigorous guidance.
“By working together, we are furthering the long-lasting special relationship between the U.S. and UK and laying the groundwork to ensure that we’re keeping AI safe both now and in the future.”
The UK and the United States have always been clear that ensuring the safe development of AI is a shared global issue. Reflecting the importance of ongoing international collaboration, the announcement will also see both countries sharing vital information about the capabilities and risks associated with AI models and systems, as well as fundamental technical research on AI safety and security. This will work to underpin a common approach to AI safety testing, allowing researchers on both sides of the Atlantic – and around the world – to coalesce around a common scientific foundation.
