Daniel Summers
LightNews LightNews
banner
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Daniel Summers
@danielrsummers.bsky.social
2.2K followers 160 following 550 posts
International development professional focused on rights advocacy, civil society, and global health. Following emerging infectious disease threats.

H5N1 Dashboard: https://tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/danielrsummers
Posts Replies Media Videos
danielrsummers.bsky.social
A few pictures from r/washingtondc this evening:
August 25, 2025 at 12:30 AM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Weekly H5N1 Bird Flu Update:

⚠️ Ongoing ILI/wastewater anomalies in the Bay Area
📉 Calling attention to steep decline in number of reported commercial poultry outbreaks, unclear if 'real' (similar decline in wild birds/mammals...)
💩 H5 WW detections in OR, CA, MD, and NJ

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US for the period of March 1, 2025 to April 9, 2025, showing H5N1 detections in livestock, poultry, wild birds and mammals, along with H5 wastewater detections, plus places with high seasonal Flu A wastewater levels. Location identified through regression modeling as major anomalies in terms of predicted versus actual influenza-like illness activity level based on wastewater prevalence of disease circled in red. "Animals" tab of H5N1 dashboard, three maps of the continental US arranged in a grid showing H5N1 detections in poultry, wild birds/mammals, and livestock respectively by state and county (where available for livestock). Reported poultry outbreaks, disaggregated by production type (commercial/non-commercial), by month since 2024.
April 11, 2025 at 7:12 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Looking at 2025 overall, it's been a pretty messy year for H5N1 bird flu:

🐔 ~38M poultry affected YTD (32.8M of which are egg layers)

🐄 82 affected dairy cattle herds YTD across CA, NV, AZ, ID, MN, and MI

🦆 793 wild/bird mammal detections across every state except MT, MN, and GA
All H5N1 animal detections and H5 wastewater detections in the continental US (minus Alaska) in 2025. All H5N1 poultry outbreaks (by production type), wild bird/mammal detections, and livestock outbreaks in the continental US (minus Alaska) in 2025.
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Seasonal Flu A levels declining across the US, with the majority now experiencing moderate or low levels with sporadic high levels in CA, TX, KS, GA, most centered in the Midwest (IA, WI, IL, MI, OH) and mid-Atlantic through the NE. I think reassortment remains a persistent threat:
Map of the continental US showing all influenza-like illness activity levels plus all seasonal Flu A wastewater levels (note that these are not responsive to date, only showing most recent levels)
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
ILI / Wastewater Anomalies (Δ = multiple regression residual):

Major 🔴 (Δ ≥ 2.5)
• Santa Clara, CA
• Orleans, LA
• Muscogee, GA
• Summit, OH
• Monmouth, NJ
• Essex, NJ
• Penobscot, ME

Moderate 🟡 (1 ≤ Δ < 2.5)
• Monterey, CA
• Ada, ID
• Grand Traverse, MI
• Isabella, MI
• Macomb, MI
• Fairfield, CT
Map of the continental US showing all H5N1 animal detections, H5 wastewater detections, seasonal Flu A levels, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity levels (Very High, High, and Moderate only), and major ILI / wastewater anomalies circled in red. Map of the continental US showing all H5N1 animal detections, H5 wastewater detections, seasonal Flu A levels, influenza-like illness (ILI) activity levels (Very High, High, and Moderate only), and moderate ILI / wastewater anomalies circled in yellow.
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
💩 Notable H5 wastewater detections + backdates (* = new detection):

3/29
➜ Coos, NH*
➜ Newark, NJ
➜ Klamath, OR
➜ Marion, OR
➜ Jackson, MI
➜ Nicollet, MN*
➜ Blue Earth, MN

3/22
➜ Henderson, NC*
➜ Tillamook, OR

3/15
➜ Polk, OR
➜ Washington, OR

3/8
➜ Umatilla, OR
➜ Kent, MI*

3/2
➜ Mackinac, MI*
CDC H5 wastewater detection map of the US for the week of March 23 - March 29. All H5 wastewater detections in the continental US (minus Alaska) from March 1 - April 2.
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Finally have new CDC data up and a lot to cover (🧵 to follow):

💩 Lots of new H5 wastewater detections + new backdated entries

⚠️ More major influenza-like illness (ILI) / wastewater anomalies, where predicted ILI is much lower than actual

😷 Seasonal Flu A is declining

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US for the period of March 1, 2025 to April 2, 2025, showing H5N1 detections in livestock, poultry, wild birds and mammals, along with H5 wastewater detections, plus places with high seasonal Flu A wastewater levels. Location identified through regression modeling as major anomalies in terms of predicted versus actual influenza-like illness activity level based on wastewater prevalence of disease circled in red.
April 4, 2025 at 7:42 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Bird flu updates!

💩 Continued H5 wastewater detections in Newark, NJ (as of 3/31) + new detections in:
➜ Blue Earth Co., MN (3/28)
➜ Jackson Co., MI (3/27)

🐈 H5N1 infected cats identified in IA, IL, and PA (3/19 - 3/24)

🐔 2.1M poultry affected in Mar. (vs 12.6M in Feb.)

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US for the period of March 1, 2025 to April 1, 2025, showing H5N1 detections in livestock, poultry, wild birds and mammals, along with H5 wastewater detections, plus places with high seasonal Flu A wastewater levels. One location identified through modeling as an anomaly in terms of predicted versus actual influenza-like illness activity level based on wastewater prevalence of disease in Santa Cruz, CA. Zoomed in map of the continental US highlighting domestic cats recently reported infected with H5N1 with circles highlighting those reported in Iowa, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Map of the continental US showing H5N1 poultry outbreaks, by production type, for the month of March. Fewer large-scale outbreaks (these centralized along Indiana/Ohio border + Iowa), but many more small-scale WOAH Non-Poultry outbreaks, vast majority west of the Rockies. Live bird market outbreaks centralized in NE (15 total outbreaks, ~7,000 bird affected). Map of the continental US focusing only on H5N1 outbreaks in livestock in March. 22 total herds affected, 10 in CA, 11 in ID, and 1 in MN. Known outbreaks in San Bernardino County, CA, and Stearns County, MN outlined in red.
April 3, 2025 at 10:32 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Added some cool functionality to this 'H5N1 Animals' tab, I've scoured the internet documenting every known bird flu outbreak in livestock by county since 2024, and now you can contextualize these by date/proximity with reported poultry and wild/bird mammal detections! 🕵️

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
"Animals" tab of H5N1 dashboard, three maps of the continental US arranged in a grid showing H5N1 detections in poultry, wild birds/mammals, and livestock respectively by state and county (where available for livestock).
March 31, 2025 at 4:54 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Growing number of bird flu-infected cats this year (49), NVSL is I think still working through a backlog, so probably not a full accounting.

If you have an indoor/outdoor cat in any area indicated on the second map (probably also SE), please reconsider the outdoor part:

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of continental US with domestic cat infections highlighted (PNW, Rockies, New Jersey) from February 1 - Present. Map of continental US showing H5 and H5N1 detections in March, regions highlighted include the western US (excl. Arizona), southern rockies + southern plains with arrow pointing north, the midwest (+ KY), and NE.
March 27, 2025 at 4:27 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
I'm less and less confident the Newark H5 wastewater detections are driven by birds. Miami as example of "classic" bird-driven detection. Two straight months is ridiculous, the only place outside of CA experiencing something like and clearly unattributable to dairy (unless NMTS is whiffing badly)
H5 wastewater detection heat map (November 22, 2024 to March 27, 2025) with Newark, NJ H5 wastewater detections highlighted. Consistent detections starting January 24 with almost no "off" days up to March 24
March 27, 2025 at 3:58 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
I added the ability to see known locations of H5N1 (bird flu) outbreaks in livestock today. Very few states provide county-level data so I'm relying on media sources, but it's important to contextualize these outbreaks with poultry, wild bird, mammal, and water detections!

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US highlighting H5N1 livestock outbreaks by state (and where available, by county) for the period of Dec. 1, 2024 - Mar. 24, 2025.
March 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
USDA, in livestock data released today, didn't include the H5N1 infected dairy cattle herd in MN (announced Monday). This is due to MN BAH classifying this as a reinfection of the same herd from July 2024.

Nevertheless, I've done them both a favor and included it myself:

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
H5N1 influenza has been confirmed in a Stearns County dairy herd from samples collected as part of Minnesota’s milk surveillance plan. The USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the results March 21, and the Board of Animal Health has quarantined the herd until they meet testing requirements indicating it’s no longer infected. There is no concern for the safety of the public milk supply, as all milk sold in stores is pasteurized to kill bacteria and viruses, and pasteurization has been shown to effectively eliminate active H5N1 virus present in milk. “While under quarantine, the herd will be able to apply for movement permits for animals and animal products such as waste milk and manure. Milk sold for pasteurization does not need a permit and is allowed to go to processing to facilitate business while keeping the risk of the spread of disease low,” said State Veterinarian, Dr. Brian Hoefs. “Our surveillance and response approach to H5N1 is a team effort to ensure we’re covering all angles where it’s detected and limiting its ability to spread.” The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is conducting testing of pre-pasteurized, or raw, cow milk samples already collected from each of Minnesota's approximately 1,600 dairy farms on a monthly basis. These routinely collected bulk milk samples, which are taken before the pasteurization process, are subsampled by industry labs and sent for H5N1 testing to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the University of Minnesota.      The Board will report any new detections and updates on cow cases in Minnesota on its website. Please note, this herd was previously infected in July 2024 and will not be categorized as a new herd on the website dashboard. Instead, it remains categorized as “Stearns MN 010” and any new information will be posted in that row of data.
March 25, 2025 at 4:44 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Great piece from @jennifernuzzo.bsky.social on the critical need to sustain *and* expand wastewater monitoring for bird flu.

Left: NWSS sites currently testing for bird flu (blue and purple).
Right: all H5N1 detections since 2024.

Huge wastewater surveillance gaps.

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
NWSS sites reporting H5 detections, no detections, or otherwise not reporting or not having submitted samples in the last week, as of March 8th. All H5N1 detections in the continental US (excluding wastewater) inclusive of livestock, poultry, wild birds, and mammals, 2024 to-date.
March 21, 2025 at 2:37 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
USDA recently announced funding priorities for the $100M "HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge" (part of the $1B initiative to "address" bird flu/rising egg prices).

"Innovative solutions to improve response strategies or minimize depopulation of poultry."

www.aphis.usda.gov/funding/hpai...
APHIS will consider project proposals that clearly and directly support one or more of the topics described below. Regardless of the priority topic, applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that: Topic 1. Develop novel vaccines to protect poultry from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Topic 2. Develop novel therapeutics to address HPAI in poultry. Topic 3. Conduct research to further understand avian influenza in poultry and to improve response strategies. Topic 3. Conduct research to further understand avian influenza in poultry and to improve response strategies. Priority will be given to projects that address gaps in understanding of: • HPAI virus introduction and transmission routes, including but not limited to the role of ventilation systems in transmission. • HPAI virus circulation on commercial poultry premises, including but not limited to within infected and/or vaccinated poultry flocks. • HPAI virus persistence in the environment or wildlife in areas with high poultry density. Projects may address new technologies that support early detection in wild birds that disseminate the virus. 10 • Strategies to enhance flock-level immunity for HPAI, including but not limited to vaccines or vaccine regimens that will reduce or halt disease spread. • Strategies or methods to improve virus elimination on impacted poultry premises. • Innovative strategies to improve biosecurity on poultry premises. Projects may include developing, evaluating, and delivering products or applied training to help poultry producers develop, implement, and monitor enhanced biosecurity plans. • Innovative solutions to improve response strategies or minimize depopulation of poultry. • Novel or improved diagnostics to detect HPAI in poultry, including those that differentiate vaccinated from infected animals.
March 20, 2025 at 3:27 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Tried registering for this USDA webinar to learn more about the voluntary biosecurity risk assessments for commercial poultry facilities.

Not great!
March 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Just to illustrate how bad it is, here's every detection since 2024:

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of H5N1 detections in livestock, poultry, wild birds, and mammals, as well as H5 wastewater detections, by county in the continental US since Jan. 1, 2024. Map of human cases of H5N1, by infection source, in the continental US since April 1, 2024.
March 20, 2025 at 2:07 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
I think this one is spring migration, maybe blue-winged teals (plenty of sightings this month in the Miami area). Coincides with those three late-Feb poultry outbreaks in southern FL.

Also not a fan of everyone wanting backyard chickens!
March 18, 2025 at 12:50 AM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
We're almost 1 year since bird flu was discovered in US dairy cattle, so how are we doing? 😅

1/1/24 - 3/14/24
• 2.37M poultry affected

1/1/25 - 3/14/25
• 36.1M poultry affected
• 69 infected dairy cattle herds across 6 states
January 1 - March 14, 2024 January 1 - March 14, 2025 January 1 - March 14, 2024 January 1 - March 14, 2025
March 17, 2025 at 8:46 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
A few interesting updates today:
• New H5 wastewater detection in Miami, FL (3/12)
• Two more live bird market H5N1 outbreaks in NYC-area (Hudson Co., 3/12) + a third in central NJ (3/12)
• Two live bird market outbreaks in Allentown (3/13) and Philadelphia, PA (3/12)

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Regional map of the northeast, centered on NYC. Highlighting recent H5N1 outbreaks at live bird markets in March 2025. H5N1 reassortment risk map of the continental US for the period of Feb. 1 - Mar. 14.
March 17, 2025 at 8:32 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Just added new CDC H5 wastewater data:
• Confirms all previous WastewaterSCAN detections this week
• Lots of hits in NJ again (see picture)
• First detection in Camden, NJ (3/8)
• 8 new detections in OR (3/8)

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US with migratory flyways and all H5 wastewater detections for the period of March 1 - 13. Detections in Camden, NJ and Oregon highlighted. March 8th CDC H5 wastewater detections as a table.
March 14, 2025 at 9:24 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
➜Two more infected dairy herds in Idaho, still unclear if late-Feb was D1.1 spillover.

➜Three more live bird market H5N1 outbreaks in NYC. Up to now seven market outbreaks across NYC, >1,510 poultry affected, since the start of the month. Gov. Hochul needs to act (again):

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the western continental US, with a table displayed showing H5N1 infected dairy cattle herds, by count, by date in Idaho. One infected herd on February 28, two more infected herds on March 11. Regional map of the northeast, centered on NYC. Highlighting recent H5N1 outbreaks at live bird markets in Brooklyn and Queens.
March 12, 2025 at 11:23 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
More H5 wastewater detections outside CA, several for the 1st time (*):
• Newark, NJ
• Red Wing, MN
• Provo, UT*
• Louisville, KY*
• Montpelier, VT*
• Strafford, NH*

Most of these are probably driven by migrating H5N1 infected birds, will increase with spring migration:

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US with migratory flyways and H5 wastewater detections highlighted in the counties named in the post, for the period of March 1 - 10.
March 12, 2025 at 12:33 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
An additional two H5N1 outbreaks reported at live bird markets (1,310 affected) in NYC on Mar. 7, one in the Bronx and the other on Staten Island.

Total of now four live bird market outbreaks in NYC since the lifting of Gov. Hochul's temporary order suspending operations in early-Feb.
Regional map of the northeast, centered on NYC. Highlighting recent H5N1 outbreaks at live bird markets in the Bronx and on Staten Island.
March 10, 2025 at 4:33 PM
danielrsummers.bsky.social
Big weekly update with new CDC data (H5 wastewater, ILI activity, seasonal Flu A):

• CDC H5 detections in Newark, NJ (disagreement with WastewaterSCAN) and Hampden, MA on Mar. 1
• Backfilled Jan./Feb. H5 detections for 23 counties in OR
• Slight decline in ILI activity

tinyurl.com/H5N1Dashboard
Map of the continental US for the period of February 1 to March 4, with H5 and H5N1 detections (wastewater, poultry, livestock, wild birds/mammals) and seasonal Flu A wastewater levels. Map of the continental US for the period of February 1 to March 4, with March 1 updated Influenza-like illness activity levels, overlayed with H5 and H5N1 detections. CDC H5 wastewater detections for March 1, 2025. CDC H5 wastewater detections (backfilled) for 23 counties in Oregon.
March 7, 2025 at 5:18 PM