are doing the same freaking thing they did with covid.
Xitter post by Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, epidemiologist:
From the article at the link:
nother upload of genetic sequence data from the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in dairy cattle has exacerbated the scientific community’s frustration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the agency again failed to include basic information needed to track how the virus is changing as it spreads.
Like a large tranche of sequences that the USDA uploaded to a public database on April 21, this week’s data dump did not include information about where and when the sequenced samples were obtained from cows or other sequenced animals. All are simply labeled with “USA” and “2024.”
A key goal of monitoring genetic sequences in an outbreak is to track the evolution of a spreading virus, in this case to see if transmission among a new mammalian species is leading to changes that could make H5N1 more transmissible to and among people. Without the equivalent of a time stamp on the individual sequences, that’s much more difficult to do, scientists told STAT.
“We know what was happening a month ago, but we don’t know what’s happening now. Or it’s less clear what’s happening now,” said Thomas Peacock, an influenza virologist at the Pirbright Institute, a British organization that focuses on controlling viral illnesses in animals.