Author Archives: ellensarahmartinsen

Just published in Emerging Infectious Diseases, (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/8/24-0481_article), community members in Point Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost tip of the United States, found a dead polar bear in August 2023. Brain tissue from this young male bear then tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus genotype A3, a Eurasian strain of the avian influenza virus,Continue reading “High Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) Discovered in a Polar Bear in far northern Alaska”

Yes, you read that right! A new study just out in Nature Communications (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-39782-x) shows that white-tailed deer across the US and Canada are infected with multiple variants of SARS-CoV-2. Infection in wild deer was documented as early as January of 2020 in just a few states and now a diversity of human variants ofContinue reading “White-tailed deer as potential reservoir hosts for SARS-CoV-2”

Each spring and summer, as the migratory birds return from their southerly wintering grounds, I am amazed at the tremendous diversity of warblers. The Family Parulidae (Wood- Warblers) is amazingly diverse and colorful with over 20 species found in the northeastern US. Here are a few pictures of various warbler species we have had theContinue reading “Warbler diversity”