A news digest about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which is not just for birds anymore, as it was when I first began reporting on the outbreaks in the poultry industry several years ago. Now, as I posted earlier this month in At a Michigan dairy: CDC confirms second bird flu infection of dairy worker farm workers are catching the disease.
At the New York Times, Apoorva Mandavilli reports in Bird Flu Has Infected a Third U.S. Farmworker:
A third farmworker in the United States has been found to be infected with bird flu, heightening concerns about an outbreak among dairy cattle first identified in March.
The worker is the first in this outbreak to have respiratory symptoms, including a cough, sore throat and watery eyes, which generally increase the likelihood of transmission to other people, federal officials said on Thursday.
The other two people had only severe eye infections, possibly because of exposure to contaminated milk.
All three individuals had direct exposure to dairy cows, and so far none has spread the virus to other people, Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news briefing.
That suggests that the virus, called H5N1, has not acquired the ability to spread among people and that the threat to the general public remains low, Dr. Shah said.
“This newest case does not change the C.D.C.’s H5N1 influenza risk assessment level for the general public,” he added. “We should remain alert, not be alarmed.”
But the case does highlight the ongoing risk to farm workers, Dr. Shah said: “Our top priority now across this response is protecting the health of farmworkers.”
This case is the second in Michigan, but the individual worked on a different farm than did the worker diagnosed last week. All three infected people so far have been treated with the antiviral medication oseltamivir, sometimes marketed as Tamiflu, officials said. . . .
Read the rest at the Times.
Both MinnPost and the Minnesota Reformer have shared a KFF Health News story about the risks farmworkers face from exposure to HPAI in Farmworkers Face High-Risk Exposures to Bird Flu, but Testing Isn’t Reaching Them. Tony Lays and Amy Maxmen report:
Farmworkers face some of the most intense exposures to the bird flu virus, but advocates say many of them would lack resources to fall back on if they became ill.
As of May 30, only three people in the United States had tested positive after being exposed to a wave of bird flu spreading among cows. Those people, dairy farm workers in Texas and Michigan, experienced eye irritation. One of them also had a cough and sore throat.
Scientists warn the virus could mutate to spread from person to person like the seasonal flu, which could spark a pandemic. By keeping tabs on farmworkers, researchers could track infections, learn how dangerous they are, and be alerted if the virus becomes more infectious.
But people generally get tested when they seek treatment for illnesses. Farmworkers rarely do that, because many lack health insurance and paid sick leave, said Elizabeth Strater, director of strategic campaigns for the national group United Farm Workers. They are unlikely to go to a doctor unless they become very ill.
Strater said about 150,000 people work in U.S. dairies. She said many worker advocates believe the virus has spread to more people than tests are showing. “The method being used to surveil at-risk workers has been very passive,” she said.
Federal officials told reporters May 22 that just 40 people connected to U.S. dairy farms had been tested for the virus, although others are being “actively monitored” for symptoms.
Federal authorities recently announced they would pay farmworkers $75 each to be tested for the virus, as part of a new program that also offers incentives for farm owners to allow testing of their dairy herds. . . .
Read the article at any of the three publications. A Creative Commons license is a wonderful thing.
Not that the poultry industry is off the hook. Thursday morning on Willmar Radio, the Learfield network reported in 5 Confirmed Cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Minnesota:
There's another major outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Minnesota. The state Board of Animal Health's Doctor Shauna Voss says within the last week we've had a total of five confirmed cases of H-P-A-I in our poultry populations. She says that includes commercial turkey farms and an egg layer facility in Meeker County that had more than one-point-three million birds. Voss says this is an ongoing bird flu outbreak that actually started in the spring of 2022. She says they are working with producers to make sure they are implementing mitigation measures to help protect their farms.
The West Central Tribune republished Minnesota Public Radio's coverage, Bird flu continues to spread as pathogen spills into other populations. Cathy Wurzer and Gracie Stockton report:
Millions of birds around the country are being culled by farmers as an outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, continues to spread — and infect other species like cattle.
Crews in Sioux County, Iowa, were forced to dispatch a flock of 4.2 million egg-laying chickens, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. It’s the first backyard or poultry case in the state this year. Last week, another 1.4 million chickens were euthanized at an egg farm west of Minneapolis due to bird flu.
“It’s always a concern when we see this virus enter a flock of that size. Unfortunately, the mortality rates with this virus approach 100%, so the humane thing to do is to euthanize, depopulate these birds before they have to suffer,” Dr. Brian Hoefs, state veterinarian with the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, told MPR News on Wednesday.
This bird flu season is “a little bit later than we would expect,” he said. “The migration has moved through, and we thought we were somewhat in the clear, but it appears that it's hanging around. The virus is in the environment, it's in local birds, and we're expecting this to drag out a little bit more than it had.”
Earlier this spring, a young goat in Stevens County contracted the disease — the first detection in U.S. livestock. There’s also growing concern over the pathogen being present in the dairy milk supply. The Centers for Disease Control recently reported two cases of an avian influenza strain infecting humans; Hoefs says there are many lingering unknowns. The presentation of disease like mild pinkeye, he said, was unconventional for an influenza virus. . . .
Read the rest to learn about about biosecurity. We're hoping losses by both poultry and dairy farmers--and sickness among dairy workers--are kept to a minimum.
Photo: A barn cat. from CIDRAP's Tests confirm avian flu on New Mexico dairy farm; probe finds cats positive,
Related posts
- At a Michigan dairy: CDC confirms second bird flu infection of dairy worker
- U.S. Department of Agriculture to require bird flu tests of lactating dairy cattle before transport
- How two vets discovered avian flu in dairy cows
- Sick cows news digest: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza detected in South Dakota dairy herd
- [VIDEO] State vet briefs MN House Ag Committee on avian flu (HPAI) in dairy cows and people
- Not an April Fools' Day joke: Person in contact with HPAI infected cows in Texas catches bird flu
- Dairy cattle in Kansas and Texas catch highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from wild birds
- Minnesota Board of Animal Health: Stevens County goat tests positive for avian influenza
- MN Board of Animal Health: HPAI confirmed in commercial Meeker County turkey flock
- MN DNR: Wild fox in Minnesota tests positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza
- In America's turkey industry, SD producers hit hardest by highly pathogenic avian influenza
- Board of Animal Health: Minnesota poultry sales and exhibitions temporarily banned for 31 days
- Board of Animal Health: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza confirmed in two Minnesota flocks
- SD Game, Fish & Parks: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) detected in South Dakota
- Associated Press: Bird flu detected among commercial flock in southeastern South Dakota
- Minnesota Reformer: Menacing bird flu detected in western Iowa backyard chicken and duck flock
- Shocking photos in state vet's report to Midwest lawmakers reveal bird flu toll to farmers & flocks
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