For The San Diego Union-Tribune
One moo over the cuckoo’s nest
More and more dairy cow herds are becoming infected with the H5N1 bird flu, with documented cases of the flu being transmitted to humans working with the animals. Veterinary vaccine manufacturers are working to develop a bird flu vaccine for bovines, not only to better protect cows but potentially to reduce the transmission threat to humans.
Since 2022, U.S. health authorities have documented 9,725 wild birds infected by H5N1, more than 100 million domestic chickens, 191 dairy herds and 13 humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide, there have been 889 known cases of human bird flu infections since 2003, half of which proved fatal.
Body of knowledge
Studies have shown that when women become pregnant and after they give birth, physical changes occur in their brains that scientists suggest help them prepare for motherhood. Something similar appears to happen for new fathers as well, primarily changes within the cerebral cortex that manages executive functioning, such as memory, reasoning and emotional processing.
These alterations appear to boost motivation and engagement toward parenthood and bonding with offspring. The downside, some research suggests, is that the brain changes increase the risk of postpartum depression, anxiety and poor sleep quality.
Get me that. Stat!
The majority of residential care community residents are female (67 percent), White non-Hispanic (92 percent) and age 85 or older (53 percent), according to the CDC. Three in five residents had a diagnosis of high blood pressure and two in five had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.
Stories for the waiting room
The FDA has approved the first epinephrine nasal spray for treating anaphylaxis, the sometimes-life-threatening allergic reaction to things like bee stings, crab or peanuts. The spray, dubbed Neffy, is a needle-free alternative to the EpiPen. Both use the same drug compound. Neffy is expected to cost $199 for two doses for people without insurance. Patients with commercial insurance can get two doses for $25. On average, retail prices for EpiPen and EpiPen Jr packages range from $650 to $750 without insurance.
Mania of the week
Klazomania — a compulsion to shout
Never say diet
The Major League Eating speed-eating record for garlicky greens is 7.5 pounds in 5 minutes, held by Pete Davekos. For aromatic reasons, Davekos was not warmly embraced by others following his feat and reportedly could not get a date for three years.
Best medicine
A pirate visits a dermatologist.
“Aaarrrgh, doc. I have moles on me back.”
“They’re benign.”
“Count again, doc. I think there be ten.”
Observation
“What you eat in private will show up in public.”
— Unknown
Medical history
This week in 1999, the death of an 83-year-old man stung by a swarm of Africanized “killer” bees marked the first fatality by that cause in the state of California. The victim, Virgil Foster, was a beekeeper who was mowing his lawn in Los Angeles County. He was stung at least 50 times by the aggressive bees, receiving a high dose of toxins. He was not breathing when paramedics arrived, and went into cardiac arrest. He was kept alive on a respirator for two weeks before passing.
Foster’s three hives had been taken over by wild Africanized honeybees.
Originally hybridized in Brazil in the 1950s, the Africanized bees had migrated north through Mexico. They were first seen in the U.S. in Texas in 1990 before spreading outward. They are now found in parts of the American Southwest, though their spread appears to have substantially halted.
Occasionally, a death is attributed to killer bee swarms, but they are rare.
Medical myths
A notion persists that women who live together will eventually menstruate at the same time. It’s called menstrual synchrony, and while it does occasionally occur, it’s not due to proximity or the release of chemical pheromones but rather mathematical coincidence. It’s a consequence of statistical characteristics of cycles.
Last words
“Money can’t buy life.”
— Jamaican musician and reggae pioneer Bob Marley (1945-1981)
LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute.