Activists marched from the Capitol to the DNR Monday to demand the agency rescind its permit for Enbridge Line 5. | Photo courtesy Ian Phillips
A group of about 50 activists occupied the lobby of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Monday to protest the agency’s approval of a permit to construct a 41-mile reroute of Enbridge’s Line 5 oil pipeline through northern Wisconsin.
Several members of the group tried to enter further into the building and one activist was arrested and put in jail, according to a news release from the coalition of indigenous and environmental groups who planned the protest. Two others were warned they’d be arrested if they tried to enter the building again.
For years, the Bad River band of Lake Superior Chippewa have fought against the pipeline, 12 miles of which crosses the tribe’s reservation, raising concerns about the pipeline’s effect on local water and the broader effects that fossil fuels have on the environment.
After declining to renew the easement that allowed the pipeline to cut across their land, the tribe sued in federal court to have it removed. In 2022 a judge ruled that Enbridge was trespassing and would have to reroute the pipeline.
The tribe is opposed to the proposed route for the new pipeline because it would be directly upstream of the reservation.
Late last year, the DNR granted a crucial permit approval for the relocation just days after another of Enbridge’s pipelines, Line 6, was found to have leaked more than 69,000 gallons of oil in the Jefferson County town of Oakland.
On Monday, the group of activists marched from the state Capitol to the DNR offices to deliver a letter demanding that the agency revoke its permit approval and support the decommissioning and removal of Line 5.
“Enbridge Line 5 abets mayhem all around the world: deforestation and water pollution in Alberta, where companies scrape tar out of sand; oil spills across Wisconsin and Michigan; and the global heating equivalent of detonating hundreds of atomic bombs in the atmosphere every single day,” Greg Mikkelson, an organizer with the Cross Border Organizing Working Group, said in a statement. “The proposed expansion of this pipeline would lock in dependence on this disaster-genic source of energy for decades to come. Meanwhile, Wisconsinites consume virtually none of the oil or gas carried in Line 5. Shame on the DNR for approving the expansion, even while covering up a brand-new spill from Line 6, another Enbridge pipeline in Wisconsin.”
A doctor takes a blood pressure reading for a pregnant woman. Wednesday is the deadline for signing up for individual health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. (Getty Images)
Wednesday is the final deadline this year for people who want to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Wisconsin has already set a new record for enrollment, according to preliminary information from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The health care marketplace,https://healthcare.gov, was established as part of the Affordable Care Act for consumers who don’t have affordable health insurance through work or through government programs such as Medicaid. Individuals and families can purchase health insurance policies at Healthcare.gov.
The most recent federal data from CMS shows sign-ups through Jan. 4. On Friday, Gov. Tony Evers announced that in Wisconsin, 306,470 residents had signed up as of that date — an all-time high for the state.
Through 2025, plans purchased through the marketplace are also supported by enhanced federal subsidies, lowering their monthly insurance premium cost depending on a family’s income.
The future of the subsidies beyond this year is uncertain. Advocates are trying to pressure Republicans in Congress to maintain them as they negotiate other tax changes in the coming months.
Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) haveintroduced legislation to extend the enhanced subsidies and make them permanent.
The ACA advocacy group Protect Our Care cheered the legislation when it was introduced last week. “If Republicans succeed in taking away these tax credits, health care costs will increase by an average of $2,400 for working families, and five million people will lose their health care altogether,” said Leslie Dach, the group’s chair.
For people seeking guidance in how to choose coverage, Covering Wisconsin, at https://coveringwi.org/, is a federally funded navigator to help people to assess their health insurance options, including through the federal health insurance marketplace.
The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) and the Department of Health Services (DHS) also outline options through WisCovered, a joint website. OCI also has a website that consumers can visit to find which ACA-approved insurers are operating in their region of the state: https://oci.wi.gov/Pages/Consumers/FindHealthInsurer.aspx.
Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum participates in a swearing-in ceremony of state lawmakers on Dec. 2, 2024, in Bismarck, North Dakota, shortly before completing his term as governor. (Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
WASHINGTON — Utah Sen. Mike Lee announced Monday he had postponed the confirmation hearing for two days for President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Interior Department.
Lee, chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, delayed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s hearing, which had been scheduled for Tuesday, until Thursday.
“Governor Doug Burgum has been fully cooperative throughout the confirmation process, promptly submitting his paperwork to the Office of Government Ethics,” Lee wrote in a statement. “Despite his compliance and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee noticing the hearing in accordance with all rules, OGE has yet to complete its review. This bureaucratic delay is unacceptable.”
Lee wrote the extra 48 hours was meant to give the Office of Government Ethics a bit more time to wrap up its work, but cautioned the agency should work quickly.
“To ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of this process, the committee will postpone Governor Burgum’s hearing until Thursday,” Lee wrote. “However, we expect OGE to act with urgency and complete its review without further unnecessary delays. The American people deserve a government that operates efficiently to advance their priorities, and we remain committed to ensuring these critical confirmations move forward as quickly as possible.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, and Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., both raised concerns last week about Burgum’s hearing taking place before certain paperwork was filed with the committee.
“The Senate has a constitutional duty to advise and, if it determines, consent to the President’s nominees. This requires careful consideration of each nominee,” Heinrich wrote in a statement released last week. “To achieve this, for decades, nominees that have come before the ENR Committee have submitted responses to a standard questionnaire and a completed financial disclosure form, approval from the Department’s ethics office, and completion of an FBI background check. Until these steps have been completed, I will not consent to notice of nomination hearings.
“Every nominee, every party, every administration should be subject to the same standards. I would urge Chairman Lee to reconsider his decision.”
Heinrich and seven other Democrats on the committee and one independent released a letter Monday morning, urging Lee to delay the hearing until the panel received “the standard financial disclosure report, ethics agreement, or the opinions from the designated agency ethics officer and the Office of Government Ethics stating that the nominee is in compliance with the ethics laws.”
“In view of the fact that the Committee still does not have these documents, which are essential for us to faithfully discharge our constitutional advice-and-consent responsibilities, we respectfully request that you postpone the scheduled hearing on Governor Burgum’s nomination for at least a week to give Members sufficient time to receive and review these materials,” the lawmakers wrote.
Those lawmakers included Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Angus King, a Maine independent, Alex Padilla, D-Calif. and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, led by Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, later on Monday postponed its Tuesday hearing for Trump’s pick to lead the VA, citing an uncompleted background check.
“Congressman Doug Collins has submitted all his paperwork in a timely manner and has been transparent and forthcoming with the committee,” Moran wrote in a statement. “At this time, the FBI has not completed its customary background check of Congressman Collins. In accordance with long-standing practice, the committee should have an opportunity to review Congressman Collins’ FBI file before the confirmation hearing. I expect the FBI to complete its review quickly so that the committee can move forward with its role of evaluating the President’s nominee.”
Trump announced in November that he had selected the former Georgia congressman to lead the VA.
Young girl staring out her window | Getty Images creative
Hannah Brecke, a youth leader and student at Port Washington High School, said she has dealt with mental health issues for “as long as I can remember,” but her troubles were exacerbated in middle school when her mother was placed in the hospital due to an illness. She said she started attending school less because of her anxiety about her mom, and when her mother passed two weeks later, she didn’t know how to handle it.
“I cried every night for my mom for two years. I wanted to die… I slept all day, didn’t talk to anybody and disappeared from society. I didn’t want to get better. I wanted to suffer like this because if I didn’t, I felt that it meant I didn’t miss and love my mom,” Brecke said.
It wasn’t until her sophomore year, Brecke said, that she realized she “wanted to live” for her mom. It was then she said that she started attending therapy and was prescribed medication to help her with her mental health.
“Even if the meds didn’t help, at least I could say, I was trying. About six months into taking my meds, I began to notice that I wanted to do things more. I wanted to talk to people more,” Brecke said. “My grief will never go away, but at least now it is manageable.”
Brecke and Kayla Winston, a student at Case High School, told their stories of dealing with mental struggles during the Office of Children’s Mental Health (OCMH) annual briefing Friday.
Brecke and Winston are just two Wisconsin youths, who have dealt with mental health struggles in recent years. This year’s annual briefing provided an opportunity to assess 10-year trends in youth mental health and to discuss solutions Wisconsin could try to address ongoing challenges. The Office of Children’s Mental Health was created by 2013 Wisconsin Act 20 and launched its work in early 2014 to help coordinate mental health initiatives across the state and track data about children’s mental health to inform its efforts.
OCMH Director Linda Hall said listening to young people’s stories and their answers about how to address what’s happening with youth mental health is essential for tackling ongoing concerns.
“Our young people are living through so much and it’s very different from the world that most of us grew up in,” Hall said during the briefing.
Amy Marsman, OCMH’s senior research analyst, highlighted a number of concerning trends to notice over the last 10 years. They included a 42% increase in the number of youth reporting symptoms of depression, a 29% increase in those reporting anxiety with two-thirds of female
high school students reported having problems, a 21% increase in those reporting self-harm and a 41% increase in those reporting that they’ve considered suicide.
“Sometimes, in an effort to diminish emotional pain, people purposely hurt themselves. It may be cutting, burning or bruising oneself without wanting to die, and these self-harm rates have increased statewide since 2014,” Marsman said.
Other areas of concern highlighted by the report include half of children age 3 to 17 with a mental health condition not receiving treatment; an increase in the number of young adults age 18 to 25 with mental health illnesses; the majority of doctors not asking parents with children age 0 to 5 about learning, development or behavioral problems; a decline in the number of teens with a trusted adult at school and a decline in the number of teens who feel like they belong in school.
Winston of Racine Case High School highlighted some of the ways she was able to find support when she began having mental health problems after starting high school a couple years into the COVID-19 pandemic. She said joining band helped give her a sense of belonging at the school. She said her peers helped support her through some of the struggles that she dealt with and that having a trusted adult in school was also important.
Winston said that she also eventually started therapy to help with her depression.
“I had to do a lot of learning about myself,” Winston said.
Hall highlighted some of the stressors affecting Wisconsin youth, including academic pressures, gun violence, political divisiveness, racism and discrimination and climate change.
The annual briefing highlighted some areas of improvement over the last five years, including that the number of psychiatrists in Wisconsin and the number of school-based mental health professionals have increased.
“Though the number of school-based mental health professionals has increased, totals are still below recommended levels and their services are not reimbursed at sustainable rates,” Marsman said. “Fixing school mental health reimbursement rates is key to addressing Wisconsin’s youth mental health crisis since the majority of Wisconsin kids who receive services get them at school.”
Potential policy solutions
At the briefing, Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Weston), who chairs the Assembly Children and Families Committee and sits on the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention Committee, along with Sen. LaTonya Johnson (D-Milwaukee) highlighted several potential policy proposals that could help address ongoing mental health issues among children.
One proposal, which Snyder said he spoke with a pediatric psychologist about, is implementing universal wellness screenings starting at the age of 5. He said a screening could serve as a “great opportunity” to allow young children to speak to someone, and that if they continue until the age of 18, the program could be connected to schools.
“As we’ve seen from the data, a lot of the data points we get come from kids that just go through puberty or in their teens, but what was going on before that? Snyder said.
Snyder added that he is interested in providing more mental health funding for schools as well as investments in adult care.
“If somehow we get the child back on the road to recovery, you don’t want to send them back into an environment that hurts the work you were able to accomplish,” Snyder said.
Snyder and Johnson both discussed creating psychiatric residential treatment facilities — or PRTFs — in Wisconsin. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau has described them as long-term facilities that typically offer treatment for children diagnosed with psychiatric conditions, including bipolar disorder, disruptive behavior disorders, substance use disorders, severe emotional disturbance or post-traumatic stress disorder.
The lawmakers participated in a study committee in 2024 that examined the current state of Wisconsin’s emergency detention and civil commitment laws as they applied to children and came up with some suggestions for improvement. The creation of these facilities was one major point of discussion, along with the issue of youth being sent out of state for treatment.
Wisconsin does have three youth crisis stabilization facilities, but those are short-term facilities with a maximum of eight beds. There are currently no residential psychiatric treatment facilities in the state.
“We need to do better of ensuring that we have these residential treatment centers right here in this state where [youth are] closer to home, they’re closer to their families and once they get out, they can continue that continuum of care without it being piecemealed and in some cases just missed all together,” Johnson said.
Johnson said she also wants to see more mobile crisis response teams across Wisconsin to take some of the burden of dealing with mental health crises off law enforcement.
“Mental health is a crisis, but it’s a crisis that’s too often met with law enforcement — individuals that don’t necessarily have the training to adequately address these issues due to no fault of their own.” Johnson said. “It puts a strain on our police department, but it also teaches our minors that having mental health [struggles] isn’t necessarily in some cases acceptable.”
Johnson said resources for these initiatives need to be statewide and not just concentrated in one part of the state.
“In some cases,…we may do a good job in Milwaukee but not necessarily a good job in the rural areas and our kids matter, no matter where they’re at,” Johnson said.
Education software company PowerSchool is the latest major American company to be targeted by hackers, who accessed the personal data of millions of parents and students. (Photo illustration by seksan Mongkhonkhamsao/Getty Images)
The sensitive data of millions of American adults and children have been compromised after hackers targeted California-based education software company PowerSchool, the company confirmed last week.
The breach happened at the end of December, and new information confirmed by TechCrunch Thursday morning says that hackers were able to access student addresses, Social Security numbers, grades and medical information on the platform, which schools use for student records, grades, attendance and enrollment.
The names, phone numbers and emails of parents and guardians were also potentially compromised, the company said. Hackers were able to use a stolen credential, or login, to access the internal customer support portal, the company said. PowerSchool currently has 16,000 customers, and is used by more than 50 million students across North America, the company confirmed.
The incident is the latest large-scale data breach in the U.S., as year after year, the number of cybercrimes continues to rise. The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center recorded 880,418 complaints in 2023, a 10% increase from the complaints registered the year prior, and nearly double the number of crimes reported in 2019. The agency estimates potential monetary losses due to cybercrime since 2019 to be $37.4 billion.
PowerSchool’s breach is an example of how cyber criminals profit — the company said it was extorted into paying a sum to prevent hackers from leaking the stolen data, though it did not say how much.
The hackers’ method of using legitimate credentials to access the internal software is much more common than you might think, said Rob Scott, Dallas-based managing partner of technology law firm Scott & Scott LLP. When people think about hacking, they likely picture automated attacks that pass through logins and passwords, he said.
Many breaches come from accounts purchased on the so-called Dark Web, a vast expanse of the internet that is inaccessible to most conventional browsers, Scott said.
“Or employee negligence situations … poor password management, or IT policies around managing and keeping passwords safe and confidential,” he said.
This incident was not an example of a ransomware attack, where hackers use software or malware to encrypt data on a computer, and prevent users from accessing their device. There were 2,835 ransomware crimes in 2023, and healthcare, manufacturing and government facilities were most targeted.
But the motivation for the majority of cyber crimes is financial, Scott said.
“People used to pickpocket, right? People used to rob banks,” Scott said. “Cybersecurity is the modern equivalent of those types of activities.”
As these data breaches become more common, you’re likely right in assuming that your data has been compromised in some way by now, said Chandler, Arizona-based Kiran Chinnagangannagari, cofounder and chief product and technology officer at cybersecurity firm Securin.
The advancements of generative AI systems have made the internet a data hungry place, Chinnagangannagari said, because these systems need tons of information to learn and get better.
While about 20 states have consumer data privacy laws, and all 50 states have data breach notification laws, Chinnagangannagari and Scott said they don’t find legislation is a big help in fighting this growing problem. Many of the laws put responsibility on the company to inform consumers, Scott said, but it places extra burden on a company that was just the victim of a crime.
Chinnagangannagari said laws that encourage proactive safeguarding against unnecessary data collection are more helpful. HIPAA, for example, sets strict rules on how healthcare providers can collect, store and share health data. The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, includes purpose limitation and data minimization rules.
While there’s little an individual can do in the wake of these large-scale attacks on a corporation or organization, users can take some actions toward proper “cyber hygiene,” Chinnagangannagari said.
Be protective of where you are putting your information, and learn what you can about terms and conditions of large platforms or apps you sign up for. You should set up a system of not reusing passwords, and utilize multi-factor authentication when you can. There are also services that will seek out your data and warn you when it’s been part of a widespread breach, the cybersecurity pro said.
And while it can feel helpless, Chinnagangannagari admits, taking these actions and keeping your eye on your accounts for strange online or financial transactions will prepare you well for our “new reality.”
“It’s not something we were taught growing up,” he said. “It’s a very different world. And so we just need to still adapt and live within this ecosystem.”
In Wisconsin, undocumented immigrant workers contribute significantly to the workforce, performing labor that often goes unseen. But the exact number has proven difficult to determine.
From outdated and cautious estimates to a lack of monitoring by state agencies, it is difficult to say for certain how many immigrants without legal status work in each industry. Quantifying the undocumented population through surveys and studies is also a challenging task. The U.S. Census doesn’t ask about or estimate the number of undocumented immigrants. The Department of Homeland Security estimates the U.S. total at 11 million as of 2022.
An estimated 70,000 undocumented immigrants live in Wisconsin, about 47,000 of whom are employed, according to the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. About two-thirds of those had lived in the U.S. for 10 years or more. But that information is now over five years old.
The top industries that employ undocumented workers in the state are:
Accommodation and food services, arts, entertainment and recreation — estimated 5,000 workers.
Construction — estimated 5,000 workers.
Agriculture — estimated 5,000 workers.
A 2023 UW-Madison School for Workers survey found that over 10,000 undocumented workers perform around 70% of the labor on Wisconsin’s dairy farms. “Without them, the whole dairy industry would collapse overnight,” the researchers concluded.
This finding sparked a public debate in the wake of stricter immigration policies over the unseen, yet essential work that immigrants without legal status provide to the state’s major dairy and farming industries.
“Obtaining accurate counts of undocumented populations is inherently challenging due to their non-legal status and potential reluctance to participate in official surveys,” said Alexandra Guevara, spokesperson for Voces de la Frontera, a Wisconsin-based immigrant rights organization.
To complicate matters, state agencies like the Department of Administration and the Department of Public Instruction don’t keep records of the number of undocumented immigrants and workers in the state. DPI lacks this data because public schools do not ask about immigration status.
In 2018, undocumented immigrants in Wisconsin paid an estimated $157 million in federal taxes and $101 million in state and local taxes, totaling nearly $258 million, according to the American Immigration Council. That estimate dropped slightly to a total of $240 million in federal, state and local taxes as of 2022.
Undocumented workers make up a large percentage of the workforce in child care and domestic housework. They tend to make up a smaller portion of health care employees and are mainly employed in roles like housekeeping or janitorial and food service in both nursing homes and hospitals, according to Guevara.
National estimates suggest that undocumented workers make up between 30% and 50% of the meatpacking workforce, according to the University of Michigan. Guevara said it is probable that Wisconsin, a major hub for meat and cheese production, follows this trend.
Wisconsin Watch readers have submitted questions to our statehouse team, and we’ll answer them in our series, Ask Wisconsin Watch. Have a question about state government? Ask it here.
This week, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases that present two questions at the core of an ongoing struggle between some of the most powerful forces in the state.
In the first, the seven justices will hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that could hamper the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ ability to enforce the state’s “Spills Law.” Enacted in 1978, the law requires people or companies discharging a hazardous substance “to restore the environment to the extent practicable and minimize the harmful effects from the discharge to the air, lands or waters of this state.”
The lawsuit, which the court will hear on Tuesday morning, was filed by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s powerful business lobby, in 2021. It argued that the DNR could not require people to test for so-called “forever chemicals” contamination — and require remediation if they’re present — because the agency hadn’t gone through the formal process of designating the chemicals, known as PFAS, as “hazardous substances.” A circuit court judge and the conservative District 2 Court of Appeals agreed, so the state appealed to the state Supreme Court.
The law enables the DNR to enforce the cleanup of any substance posing a risk due to concentration, quantity and toxicity: In the wrong setting, even spilled milk poses a risk. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, a family of man-made chemicals used in nonstick cookware and firefighting foam, have been linked to serious health conditions in humans.
The agency maintains that a court loss would strip its authority to compel polluters to clean up chemicals and provide emergency water under the Spills Law, cutting off residents on PFAS-contaminated French Island who have been receiving water since 2021.
This case is notable for more than just the potential environmental implications. It could also put WMC, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in state politics, at odds with the court’s liberal majority just as a potential majority-shifting court campaign gets underway.
In 2023, WMC spent $5.6 million on the race boosting conservative former Justice Daniel Kelly in his failed bid against now-Justice Janet Protasiewicz. That figure made it the third biggest spender in the race — behind Protasieicz’s campaign and liberal group A Better Wisconsin Together — with the lobbying group outspending even Kelly’s campaign.
Wisconsin Watch will be keeping tabs on how the court’s liberal justices approach this case. Will they leave the lower court ruling in place? Rule against WMC, but only offer the DNR a narrow victory? Something else? A holding in favor of the DNR could draw the ire of WMC and the state’s business community — just as Wisconsin embarks on six straight springs of Wisconsin Supreme Court elections. Keep in mind that a 2005 environmental case involving lead manufacturers helped spur the modern era of expensive, politicized Wisconsin court races.
The second case, which the justices will hear on Thursday morning, is a continuation of a July 6-1 ruling blocking the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee from “vetoing” certain conservation projects. In an opinion authored by conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley, the court declared that the committee’s review of certain projects was a separation of powers violation.
The court initially only heard one of three issues raised by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the lawsuit. But now, it will consider another: Whether or not the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules has the authority to strike down rules created by state agencies and professional boards.
JCRAR is a 10-member committee that, under state law, currently has the ability to block administrative rules proposed and promulgated by executive branch agencies. For example, in 2023, the committee voted 6-4 along partisan lines to lift a ban on conversion therapy in Wisconsin. The ban was implemented in 2020 by a state board that supervises licensed therapists, counselors and social workers in Wisconsin. The board deemed conversion therapy to be unprofessional conduct for those professions.
Attorneys representing the governor argued the committee’s ability to throw out rules is unconstitutional, once again arguing it represents legislative overreach and is a separation of powers violation.
The case presents yet another opportunity for the court to play the role of power broker. Will it bless the committee’s current practice? Will it rule in favor of the governor, expanding his policymaking ability while curbing the authority of the Legislature? We’re looking for these answers, while also keeping tabs on whether or not it seems the justices will once again be able to reach consensus, as they did in their 6-1 ruling over the summer.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters for original stories and our Friday news roundup.
Mumps begins with flu-like symptoms including fever, muscle aches, pain in the front of the neck and trouble chewing. Complications can be more severe, ranging from encephalitis to deafness.
“The Radio Hour,” is a one-act opera by Jake Heggie that reveals the innermost thoughts of a character as she turns the dial to interact with what she hears over the airwaves.
With the discovery of a new chicken-sized dinosaur species, researchers at the University of Wisconsin – Madison have challenged a long-held belief about where dinosaurs originated and how the ancient reptiles spread throughout the planet.
Around 4 gallons of crude oil reached groundwater at the site of an Enbridge spill that leaked around 69,000 gallons at the company’s Line 6 pump station in Jefferson County, according to a final report submitted to federal regulators.
Capitol Police arrested one individual Monday for disorderly conduct and resisting an officer during a protest of Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 reroute at the offices for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
The NFL Draft in Green Bay is expected to bring in tens of thousands of people in April. A travel management company in northeast Wisconsin is releasing materials to help travelers know the warning signs of human trafficking.
Just over 31 percent of Wisconsin residents have gotten a flu shot this winter, according to the latest data from the state Department of Health Services. That's about 10 percentage points lower than the state's vaccination rate prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dairy cows gather at a farm on July 5, 2022 in Visalia, California. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
An infectious disease expert says the relatively mild cases of avian influenza detected so far among dairy workers don’t warrant making a vaccine available to them, even as they work to contain and prevent spread of the contagious virus among herds.
Dr. Shira Doron, an epidemiologist and chief infection control officer for Tufts Medicine in Boston, said the minor spread of the H5N1 among humans – and no reported instances of human-to-human transmission – makes any widespread administration of a vaccine premature right now.
“There are also many logistical issues that would be associated with deployment of vaccine to farm workers – language barrier, undocumented status, compliance – so that is not the plan at this time, “ Doron said Friday morning during an Infectious Diseases Society of America teleconference.
H5N1 has circulated globally for decades, she said. Analysis of the strains currently circulating shows them to be poorly suited for transmission between humans and with low pandemic potential, according to Doron.
Human patients have also responded well to antiviral treatments such as Tamiflu, the doctor said.
The current avian flu strains have led to two severe cases in humans. One involved a 65-year-old person from Louisiana who contracted the virus from exposure to a combination of a non-commercial backyard flock and wild birds, state health officials said. It was the nation’s first ever fatal human case of avian flu, though the patient was reported to have underlying conditions that worsened after they contracted H5N1.
The other severe case was a teen in Canada who had to be admitted to a hospital’s intensive care unit. That patient contracted the virus from wild birds, Doron said.
Dr. Julio Figeroua, LSU Health chief of infectious diseases and a professor at Louisiana State University’s medical school in New Orleans, also took part in the IDSA teleconference. There have been no secondary avian flu cases related to the patient in Louisiana who died, he said.
“We have people who do hunting, hunting of geese and ducks, and so advisories have been put out to those for proper handling of those particular animals,” Figeroua said. “A lot of backyard flocks that are here and in urban and suburban areas are potentially also potential sources for transmission.”
In addition to 919 dairy herds in 16 states, the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu has impacted more than 133 million poultry farms in all 50 states as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The virus has turned up in two backyard flocks in Louisiana and 49 total across the country, the CDC reported.
Coordination about the various federal and state agencies responding to avian flu outbreaks will be crucial to containing its spread, especially as the incoming Trump administration takes over, Doron and Figueroa said.
Asked to provide an estimate for when the current H5N1 outbreak might be contained or peter out on its own, Doron said it’s difficult to determine at this point.
“I think it really is going to depend on how long immunity lasts, and it’s too early in the outbreak to know that,” she said. “… If the immunity doesn’t last more than a few months, then we could have ongoing spread indefinitely.”
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
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