Episode 25 - What’s all this fuss about Bird Flu (Influenza A) – with Dr Andrew Pavia

In this episode of Going anti-Viral, Dr Michael Saag speaks with Dr Andrew Pavia from the University of Utah about influenza A, specifically the H5N1 strain. Dr Pavia describes the progression of H5N1 and its recent impacts on poultry and other animal populations, including an overview of a recent outbreak among dairy cattle and whether there is a risk to humans exposed on farms and the milk supply at large. They discuss how influenza vaccines are determined each year and the timing of when best to recommend vaccination. They describe treatment options for influenza and their effectiveness against H5N1. Finally, they address public health measures taken during influenza outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic, offering lessons learned for future influenza outbreaks in humans.0:00 – Introduction1:32 – Overview of influenza2:54 – Human susceptibility to influenza5:20 –Types of influenza and evolution of H5N1 from birds to mammals9:24 – Natural history of transmission in humans12:34 – Current outbreak of H5N1 in dairy cattle and risk to the milk supply      16:48 – Overview of influenza vaccines and immunity 18:47 – Optimal time to get the influenza vaccine and combined vaccination for COVID-19 23:36 – Treatment options with onset of influenza symptoms and H5N1 is resistance  30:00 – Lessons learned from public health measures taken to protect against outbreaks of influenza and COVID-19 __________________________________________________Produced by IAS-USA, Going anti–Viral is a podcast for clinicians involved in research and care in HIV, its complications, and other viral infections. This podcast is intended as a technical source of information for specialists in this field, but anyone listening will enjoy learning more about the state of modern medicine around viral infections.Going anti-Viral’s host is Dr Michael Saag, a physician, prominent HIV researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and volunteer IAS–USA board member. In most episodes, Dr Saag interviews an expert in infectious diseases or emerging pandemics about their area of specialty and current developments in the field. Other episodes are drawn from the IAS–USA vast catalogue of panel discussions, Dialogues, and other audio from various meetings and conferences. Email [email protected] to send feedback, show suggestions, or questions to be answered on a later episode.Follow Going anti-Viral on: Apple Podcasts YouTubeXFacebookInstagram...