Health experts are urging the public to get their flu shot and boosted for COVID as soon as possible. Brooke Thorington has more.
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Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries experts say bird flu is spreading in Louisiana. Marsanne Golsby reports the agency is keeping track of the spread by sampling birds.
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Congressman Troy Carter has been elected to Regional Whip by the Democratic Caucus. The Region includes Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Carter says he wants more focus on a multitude of issues critical to the region like…
Last night the House approved the National Defense Authorization Act and Carter says there’s funding included in the act that will directly impact Louisiana.
Carter’s Democratic leadership position for the 118th Congress in January along with key roles Republican members of Louisiana’s congressional delegation will play, Carter says the state is in good hands.
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Health experts are urging the public to be up to date on their COVID boosters and flu shot before gathering with loved ones for the holidays. LSU Health Sciences Infectious Disease specialist Dr. Catherine O’Neal says as we age the body’s memory of the last vaccine wanes sooner so it’s important to get boosted.
Gatherings tend to place individuals in close proximity to one another and it’s a breeding ground for viruses. O’Neal says it’s proven that viral seasons are spearheaded by the holidays.
Both COVID and the flu tend to be much harder on older adults and this year families want to make up for gatherings that were limited the last two. O’Neal says it’s not just seniors that need to be vaccinated but children as well.
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The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says Avian Influenza or bird flu has spread into more parishes in Louisiana. Dr. Jim LaCour, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries wildlife veterinarian, says the virus travels with infected birds.
He says his staff is sampling birds throughout Louisiana to keep track of the virus. He says birds from Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Morehouse, Ouachita, and Richland parishes have tested positive. He says geese, pelicans, eagles, hawks, and vultures, have tested positive—and domestic poultry is highly vulnerable.
LaCour says the CDC considers the virus to be low risk to humans, but hunters who are exposed to areas, such as flooded fields, where they could come into contact with contaminated birds ought to be especially careful.
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LaCour says hunters should keep their hunting clothes away from their other clothes until they get a chance to wash them in extremely hot water because the virus thrives in cold water. He says he expects it to keep spreading until it reaches a peak in the Spring and then subsides.
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State Police Troop C says two Good Samaritans are to thank for saving a family of four after their vehicle went off the road and into a canal. Trooper 1st Class Ross Brennan says the Toyota sedan off Highway 182 in Assumption Parish and could not get their doors open. Two men – Jeff Lapeyrouse (LAP-uh-roos) and Chase Dupre witnessed the crash and jumped to action…:
Trooper Brennan says the men waded into the chilly water and mud mix and were able to open a door from the outside and get the family out before the Toyota sedan was completely submerged…:
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Thanks to the fast action of Lapeyrouse (who is from Bourg) and Dupre (from Chauvin), the two adults and two children were safely removed from a dangerous situation. Brennan says LSP Troop C will nominate them for the State Police’s annual Lifesaver Award…:
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