Introduction by Croakey: This week we bring news on the avian influenza outbreak, World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement and the devastating destruction of valuable habitat and woodlands on Larrakia Country, Northern Territory.
We also report on new Indigenous research and sexual health resources.
The Conference Watch section features a selection of tweets from the Preventive Health Conference and National Suicide Prevention Conference, highlighting discussions on the commercial determinants of health, artificial intelligence and cultural safety.
The quotable?
Up there in the canopy, can you hear the birdsong?”
Not “nature positive”
Independent Senator David Pocock has called for reform of Australia’s national environmental laws as land clearing commenced this week at Darwin’s Lee Point, on Larrakia Country, to make way for a Federal Government-owned Defence housing development.
Government failing to protect
Torres Strait Traditional Owners Paul Kabai and Pabai Pabai will deliver their closing arguments this week “seeking orders from the court that require the Federal Government to take steps to prevent further harm to their communities, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions in line with the best available science”.
At time of publication, no verdict had been delivered.
Avian influenza
The US Food and Drug Administration has issued advice that pasteurisation is effective in inactivating the H5N1 virus.
Professor Devi Sridhar, Chair in Global Public Health, at University of Edinburgh, shared her takeaways about the avian influenza outbreak on X/Twitter following attendance at several briefings:
- 36 herds in 9 separate U.S. states now have confirmed H5N1. These seem to all have originated from 1 cow getting infected and then virus spreading cow to cow. First time avian flu detected in cattle.
- One dairy farm worker is confirmed to be infected from a cow. Samples were taken and tested against current antivirals & vaccine candidates in the U.S. Medical counter-measures look effective.
- This is a serious virus for humans. Since 2023, 889 confirmed cases have resulted in 463 deaths globally – roughly a 52% case fatality rate.
- Some species have mild to asymptomatic disease with H5N1 (ducks and cows) while in others the virus is quite lethal (chickens and cats).
- Other countries should be doing surveillance (ie testing) in their cattle populations- just to have line of sight on the virus if it’s present or not. If a U.S. cow got H5N1 from infected birds, this could be happening anywhere in the world. We know H5N1 has been detected in birds all across the globe.
- The risk is still low to the general public. Those in close contact with cattle/poultry/farms are current focus. But this risk assessment would change if there is human to human transmission esp unrelated chains. This would require several mutations in H5N1.
Read previous recent editions of ICYMI and The Health Wrap for more on avian influenza.
Pandemic agreement
The final negotiations for the World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement occurred this week, with final decisions to be made at the World Health Assembly 27 May – 1 June.
The Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network, Public Health Association of Australia and Médecins Sans Frontières called on Australian negotiators to “avoid mistakes of the COVID-19 pandemic and support stronger commitments for equitable access to medicines in future pandemics”.
Science: A pandemic agreement is within reach
COVID-19
Read thread here.
A cross-sectional study published in Vaccine last week showed that individuals who received a COVID-19 booster dose – third or fourth dose in the United States where the study was conducted – had 25 percent lower chance of experiencing long COVID.
While important findings highlighting the benefits of staying up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations, the authors note some limitations of the study, including its self-report nature and inability to collect information about previous infections.
mpox
The Victorian Department of Health issued an alert on 28 April advising of three new locally acquired cases of mpox in Victoria.
The World Health Organization issued their latest mpox situation report this week, showing that 466 new global cases of mpox were reported to WHO in March 2024 – “illustrating that low-level transmission continues across the world”.
Self-determination
Members of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry and First Nations Treaty Institute Council in Queensland have been announced. The Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry will:
conduct inquiries into, and document the impacts and effects of, colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, increase community awareness and understanding of the impacts and effects of colonisation and provide advice and make recommendations to the Queensland Government in accordance with the Inquiry’s Terms of Reference.”
Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry – Walking together in friendship: Learning about cultural safety in mainstream mental health services through Aboriginal Participatory Action Research
Key takeaway from this new research – “Embedding cultural safety into research design allows for authentic community engagement and facilities knowledge sharing around ways to improve cultural safety in mental health services”.
Watch the new Young Deadly Free videos here.
Vale Emeritus Professor Lyndall Ryan AM
Conference watch
The National Suicide Prevention Conference is on Kaurna Country, South Australia, this week, 30 April – 2 May. Follow #NSPC24 on X/Twitter for discussions.
The Preventive Health Conference is also this week, 30 April to 2 May, on Larrakia Country, Northern Territory. Follow #Prevention2024 for discussions.
Upcoming events and consultations
