Category: Flu Virus

Two of those cases, in Texas and Michigan, reported eye irritation as their only symptom, while one farm worker in Michigan also suffered from a mild respiratory illness.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC) said it still considers the health risk of H5N1 to the wider public to be low. Still, it encouraged anyone who works closely with livestock to report signs of illness to the relevant health authorities.

Although the virus has shown it can easily spill over to humans, there is no evidence yet of human-human transmission.

Many have criticised the CDCs response to the latest case, as well as its overall monitoring and surveillance of H5N1 this year, however.

Notice no mention of when the case occurred, how long the CDC has been aware of the case, and the withholding of information, said Dr Rick Bright, an immunologist and influenza expert, on X (formerly Twitter).

This is a ticking time bomb. The H5N1 virus is an unpredictable, rapidly evolving, easily transmissible virus that can cause severe illness and death. The more its allowed to spread among mammals, unchecked and unmitigated, the greater the risk it becomes to humans, he added.

Experts expect the human case number to rise significantly in the coming weeks, as state health authorities up their surveillance efforts to try and curb the spread.

After a slow start, the US authorities recently instigated a program of financial incentives designed to get farmers to cooperate with testing.

As part of the plan, the US government will pay up to $28,000 per farm over the next four months in an attempt to prevent the spread of bird flu in dairy cattle.

The funds are expected to go towards the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), decontamination of farming equipment, and testing capacity - both for animals and humans.

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Fourth US dairy worker tests positive for H5N1 bird flu - The Telegraph

BALTIMORE Concern for cat owners as their furry friends might be at risk of getting avian influenza, better known as the bird flu. Researchers at University of Maryland's School of Public Health say the bird flu infecting cats could also put humans at risk. So, how are cats getting the virus? "Small animals like rodents and birds, they may prey upon them. Also on farms, cats may consume unpasteurized milk byproducts," said Ian Bemis, UMD School of Public Health, PHD candidate. The researchers found this out while scouring over 20 years of data. "This is preliminary research for the stuff we'll be doing in the future. Looking at avian influenza and animal shelters," said Bemis. Bird flu isn't currently contagious between humans. But, the research showed an increase in domestic cat infections starting in 2023. Something researchers theorize could allow the virus to mutate and become infectious to people. "There is a risk and there has been documented cases of that. However, for all the cats and people in the world it's a very rare event," said Bemis. So, what should cat owners do with a sharp increase in bird flu infections impacting cats? "The best thing that can be done is keeping your cat indoors or avoid your cats being unsupervised outdoors," said Bemis. The signs of bird flu in cats are neurological issues, difficulty walking or breathing. If you notice them in your cat the best plan of action is to take it to the vet.

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UMD researcher concerned cats could transfer bird flu to people - wmar2news.com

DENVER (KDVR) Colorado officials say a man who was only reporting symptoms of conjunctivitis recently tested positive for avian flu but has recovered.

This would be the fourth human case of bird flu associated with U.S. dairy cows this year, according to health officials. The first was identified in March in Texas, and two more were identified in Michigan.

This case was regarding an employee at a dairy farm in northeast Colorado with direct exposure to dairy cattle that were infected with avian flu. Northeast Colorado is also where the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected on April 25.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the worker reported his symptoms to state health officials and specimens were forwarded to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional testing, which were positive for avian flu. The worker was given antiviral treatment with oseltamivir, which follows the CDCs recommendations, and has since recovered.

CDPHE said the states last case of H5N1 in humans was in 2022 after someone was exposed to infected poultry. The virus in humans often presents with flu-like symptoms, such as a cough, congestion, sore throat and watery eyes. Eye symptoms were the only symptoms reported by the first two infected individuals who tested positive.

The risk to most people remains low. Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person, said Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist with CDPHE, in a release. Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals.

H5N1s spread has since led to 10 dairy facilities being placed under quarantine. The bird-borne virus causes cattle to exhibit signs like low appetite, decreased milk production and abnormal colostrum-like milk.

According to CDPHE, it is safe to drink pasteurized milk and eat properly handled and cooked dairy, beef, and poultry products, because the process kills bacteria and viruses, including avian flu.

Our partnership with the Colorado Department of Agriculture has been crucial in disseminating information to dairy farmers across the state, said Jill Hunsaker Ryan, executive director, CDPHE, in a release. Coloradans should feel confident that the state is doing everything possible to mitigate the virus.

The state health agency told Coloradans not to touch dead or sick animals, but if its unavoidable:

If you work with dairy cows that may have avian flu and start to feel ill, CDPHE encourages you to call 303-692-2700 during regular business hours, or 303-370-9395 outside of those hours. H5N1 must be reported to the Colorado Veterinarians Office. There is also an emergency rule enacted for mandatory testing of lactating dairy cattle moving interstate.

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Colorados first human case of bird flu in 2024 identified - FOX 31 Denver

The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to develop a pandemic vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu, caused by the H5N1 virus, in humans as cases in dairy cows continue to mount across the country, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Moderna will launch trials to test the safety and effectiveness of a vaccine that could be used to scale up a response to a bird flu pandemic if needed.

The H5N1 bird flu virus was detected earlier this year in dairy cows and has spread to more than 132 herds in 12 states. It's the first time the bird flu virus has impacted dairy cows, but it is commonly found in other mammals each year.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest data, the bird flu virus has only infected three people to date, all of whom had interacted with infected cows or poultry. The human cases were mild.

Federal health officials stress that the risk to the wider population remains low.

The CDC said it is assisting the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services with a bird flu seroprevalence study of individuals exposed to sick cows to determine if there has been asymptomatic infection with the H5N1 bird flu virus among people, if certain jobs might increase risk of exposure and how personal protective equipment can protect against infection.

Related Story: FDA shares research plans as it continues to monitor bird flu outbreak

The funds for the potential pandemic vaccine are targeted for release through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and will pay for continued development of a vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19.

The award was made through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a program that focuses on medical treatments for potential pandemics.

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US will pay Moderna $176 million to develop a bird flu pandemic vaccine - Scripps News

Colorados outbreak of bird flu among dairy cattle is now the worst in the country, with more cases in the past month than any other state, according to the latest state and federal data.

As of Monday evening, Colorado had identified 26 herds with cases of avian influenza. Of those, 22 were identified within the past month and the herds are still in quarantine. Four other cases were identified earlier and quarantines have since been lifted.

All affected herds are in the northeastern part of the state.

The rapid and still largely mysterious spread in Colorado hardly a leading dairy state contributes to growing concerns that U.S. health authorities are not doing enough to contain the virus. While the threat currently to humans is generally very low, infectious disease experts worry that the longer the virus spreads unchecked through animals, the greater the chances become that it will mutate to become more dangerous to people.

Dr. Maggie Baldwin, the state veterinarian, said Colorado agriculture and health officials are working closely with dairies to identify cases of the virus and to try to prevent its spread.

This is just a virus that likes to hang around, she said. Its really hard to mitigate once its in a sustained population. I think if we all implement really strong biosecurity we absolutely can prevent the spread, but its in a really close geographic region.

Colorados recent cases far exceed those in any other state Iowa and Idaho are the only other states to record double-digit case totals in the past month, with 12 and 10, respectively.

Colorados case total since bird flu was first identified in dairy cattle this spring places the state second nationally, behind only Idaho and one ahead of Michigan. But Colorado ranks far lower in dairy production than those states the state was 13th in the country for milk production in 2023, according to federal data.

There are slightly more than 100 dairy herds in Colorado, meaning the bird flu outbreak has now hit one-quarter of all herds in the state. On a per-cow basis, Colorados outbreak is roughly three times worse than Idahos, which has approximately 667,000 dairy cattle compared with 201,000 in Colorado.

Baldwin suggested that Colorados efforts at disease detection may be reflected in the states high numbers. She said the state has put in a lot of work getting information to dairy producers, as well as industry associations and veterinarians.

Were trying to really encourage early diagnostics, early reporting and really good symptom monitoring, she said, and I think the relationships that weve established in the state have allowed for producers to feel like they can come to us when they have a problem.

Baldwin said most cattle that are infected with bird flu are recovering from the disease though she doesnt have exact numbers, she has not heard reports of unusual mortality rates. But farmers are suffering from lost production during infection periods, and she said some cattle may not return to full milk production.

The more that were seeing our producers be affected by this, I think the more seriously theyre taking it and saying, We really want to do what we can to stop this and to be good neighbors, Baldwin said.

Bird flu, as the name suggests, is not something that usually infects cattle, and the initial spillover infections were believed to have been caused by wild birds hanging around dairy farms in the Texas panhandle.

Its subsequent spread to dozens of herds in at least 12 states was initially blamed on the movement of cows from farm to farm. Federal agriculture officials clamped down on this movement by requiring animals moving across state lines to be tested.

But, as the outbreak has persisted, a more complicated picture of spread has emerged.

Baldwin said some of the affected cattle in Colorado are in what are known as closed herds meaning there is no movement of cattle in and out, making it impossible for the virus to have spread to that herd through the introduction of an infected cow. U.S. agriculture officials found something similar with several herds in Michigan.

Focus has now turned to the potential for what is called fomite transmission, in which the virus hitches a ride on an inanimate object. In this case, workers or veterinarians moving between herds could inadvertently be carrying the virus on their clothing or on equipment as they travel from farm to farm.

Baldwin said the state is working with dairy operators on detailed biosecurity plans for their dairies. This includes lots of personal protective equipment not just masks, goggles and face shields for workers, but also booties and coveralls that can be thrown away before leaving a farm. It also includes plans for cleaning vehicle tires or other pieces of equipment leaving the dairy.

No human cases of bird flu arising from exposure to infected cattle have been identified in Colorado. But state and local health officials have monitored hundreds of dairy workers after possible exposure to the virus.

Following federal guidance, the state is only testing people who have flu-like symptoms. Scott Bookman, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environments senior director for public health readiness and response, said the state has tested fewer than a dozen people. All those tests have come back negative.

Given that only three people nationally have tested positive for a case of bird flu believed to have come from exposure to infected dairy cattle one in Texas and two in Michigan, all of whom had minor symptoms Bookman defended the states testing approach.

There just isnt any reason on any evidence at this point to be doing any broader type of asymptomatic testing, he said.

Elizabeth Carlton, an epidemiologist at the Colorado School of Public Health, agreed that the risk to the general public right now is low. Systems designed to detect upticks in flu infections through hospital data and wastewater testing have not sounded any alarms. Pasteurized milk what is sold in grocery stores is safe to drink, though raw milk may not be.

Where we need to ramp up the level of concern in the population is when we see those dairy farm workers get infected and spread it to their families, she said.

Still, she said, now is the time for public health agencies to make sure their testing and disease-monitoring systems are running smoothly, so that they can detect if the current bird flu outbreaks in livestock evolve into a threat to humans.

As a general person right now, I dont think the level of concern should be that high, she said. But for public health, for people working in the field of infectious disease, this is exactly what we need to be working on right now.

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

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Colorado now has the worst outbreak of bird flu among dairy cattle in the country - The Colorado Sun

July 1, 2024 | 9:30 AM

Bradley C Bowe / AP Photo

FILE: A herd of Holstein cows on dairy farm in Pennsylvania.

Aaron Simpson is a fourth generation dairy farmer at Lone Oak Farm in Westmoreland County. Alongside his family, he runs the farm with its 80 cattle and the store where they sell their fresh dairy products.

In recent years, theyve been concerned about the pinch from inflation and wholesale milk prices that havent tracked with rising retail prices. Around them, small family farms continue to close or sell to larger operations. The number of dairy farms in Pennsylvania fell by 8% from 2017 to 2022, according tothe most recent census from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Its against this backdrop that the H5N1 bird flu has latched onto the dairy industry in the United States. While the virus affects birds, its known to jump to other mammals. In March, scientists found it in cattle in the U.S. Since then,its spread to 60 herdsand infectedthree dairy workerswho had mild symptoms.

The virus has not been detected in Pennsylvania. Buta new study from the University of Pittsburghshows that the virus remains stable and infectious on the surfaces of commercial dairy equipment and in unpasteurized milk for at least an hour.

Dairy workers are most at risk because theyre right at the forefront of where these cows are, said Valerie Le Sage, research assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the University of Pittsburgh and lead author of the study.

However, the overall risk for the general public, including dairy workers, remainsvery low, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dairy farmers, veterinarians, state and federal agencies have been working to get ahead of the virus to stop the spread and put detailed plans in place in case the virus crosses into Pennsylvania.

For now, Simpson isnt concerned about the bird flu. This is not something thats really been on the radar, Simpson said. I know about it. On the periphery, people are concerned with it. But the regulations for dairy production are so stringent, theres really nothing to be concerned about.

Farmers must follow strict sanitation procedures on a daily basis, according to Ernest Hovingh, director of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Penn State University. Thepasteurization process kills most viruses, including the bird flu, in the milk, according to the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

These procedures ramp up when theres a sick cow in the herd. Cows must be milked even when theyre ill but theyre milked last, and the entire line is sanitized and workers dispose of the sick cows milk.

Early warning signs of a sick cow include not eating or producing less milk than usual. If theres bird flu on a farm, it usually spreads quickly, according to Hovingh. Its not usually a case of a single sick cow. If I see all of a sudden that I have eight cows that are dropping the amount of feed that theyre eating and are dropping in milk production, thats a pretty big signal, Hovingh said. Hey, I better call my veterinarian. And then the veterinarian would decide if they need to call the state vets office.

So far, the bird flu in the U.S has been spread from herd to herd. It seems that the biggest risk factor is moving a cow from a herd that is infected to a herd that is not infected, Hovingh said. So one of the really, really big control points that we keep emphasizing to farmers is you really dont want to be moving any cows into your herd from Michigan or from Texas or any areas that are currently affected.

TheUSDA requires testinglactating cows for the virus before they can move across state lines. Any cow that enters Pennsylvania has to produce a negative test.

If a cow on a farm in Pennsylvania tests positive, theres a plan in place. The state would put the herd under a quarantine. The animals cant move to another farm while the cows are sick, milk from healthy cows must be pasteurized and the farm has to have an official biosecurity plan in place so that youre not, having visitors come onto the farms and then go back to their own farm without washing their boots and changing their clothes and things like that, Hovingh said.

In light of the recent research, Le Sage suggests dairy workers use masks, face shields and gloves around milking equipment. And the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is offeringfree personal protective equipmentfor farm workers.

If farmers suspect they have a case of the bird flu in their herd, they can get free testing fromthe lab at Penn State. And starting on July 1,the USDA will offer financial assistanceto dairy producers if cattle test positive for the virus to help cover some of the cost of the lost milk.

We need to be careful, Hovingh said. But at this point, the risk to milkers in Pennsylvania dairy herds appears to be extremely low because the virus does not appear to be here at all.

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Pennsylvania dairy workers, vets prepare for the bird flu - WITF

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According to the CDC, H5N1 bird flu has caused recent outbreaks in poultry and dairy cows, with a total of four human cases reported among U.S. dairy and poultry workers. In at least two cases, the only reported symptom was red eyes.

As of July 1, poultry and dairy cow outbreaks have been reported in 48 and 12 states, respectively, with 136 dairy herds affected. While the current public health risk is low, the ongoing multistate outbreak in dairy cattle raises concern.

Healio spoke with Scott A. Edmonds, OD, FAAO, who specializes in vision-based neurorehabilitation at Edmonds Eye Associates in Philadelphia, about the current situation and how optometrists can provide assistance in disease detection and reporting.

Healio: What should ODs know about bird flu?

Edmonds: Its an infection that normally just affects wild birds, and its been in the U.S. since the turn of the 21st century. In recent years, it has crossed over to first affect poultry and now cattle. In March 2024, the first human case of crossover infection was reported in the U.S., and this was from an infected dairy cow in Texas.

In the more recent cases in Michigan, the presenting symptom was conjunctivitis. In one case, they swabbed the nose and the eye tissue; the nose came back negative, and only the eye tissue demonstrated that the patient had bird flu. This was also unusual.

In the past month, the FDA approved testing at local public health labs. Prior to that, swabs had to be sent to the CDC in Atlanta, but now eye doctors can get results locally. Optometrists are critical for early detection and diagnosis, because, as seen in the case in Michigan, only the eye swab was identified as positive for bird flu. Optometrists are on the frontlines to identify patients at risk, intervene and get patients treated. Fast action on the front end may help prevent a pandemic.

Although bird flu in humans is pretty rare worldwide to date there have been only 900 cases but of those, more than 50% were fatal, so it is a dangerous virus if it becomes established.

Healio: What should patients know?

Edmonds: Patients in any state in the U.S. should avoid contact with sick or dead wild birds, and either ignore them or, if multiple birds are affected, contact authorities to see whether the birds should be tested.

Patients who work in the dairy or poultry industry particularly in states where human crossover of bird flu has been reported should be aware that if they develop red eyes, they should come in immediately and be tested. They should also consider wearing protective eye wear when handling the animals or when exposed to feces or other contaminated material.

Patients also should avoid drinking raw milk, as the virus has reportedly been detected in milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized.

Healio: Who else may be at higher risk?

Edmonds: I think hikers or campers who may come into contact with dead birds are at risk, as are people who live on farmland or who are accustomed to drinking raw milk.

Healio: Anything else our readers should know?

Edmonds: All optometrists should be prepared to take conjunctival swabs and send them to a public health lab to test for H5N1. This is especially critical for ODs in Michigan and Texas, where we know of human cases, but also in states where H5N1 was reported in dairy cows Idaho, South Dakota, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Wyoming, Iowa and North Carolina. If youre an OD who practices in one of those states, you should be ready to do swabs and know where to send them for testing.

Its a good idea for all ODs to be ready, though, because I cant imagine this will be limited to just those states.

Scott A. Edmonds, OD, FAAO, specializes in vision-based neurorehabilitation at Edmonds Eye Associates in Philadelphia. He can be reached at scott@edmondsgroup.com; linkedin.com/in/scott-edmonds-3427a2a; or @scottedmondsOD.

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Q&A: Optometrists 'on the frontlines' for early detection of bird flu - Healio

A pasteurization approach widely used in the dairy industry proved to be effective at killing bird flu in milk after all, the Food and Drug Administration announced Friday, after an earlier federal lab study raised questions about the approach.

The FDA says its new results are the latest to show that drinking pasteurized grocery store milk remains safe, despite an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI H5N1, on dairy farms across at least eight states.

"We had a lot of anecdotal evidence. But we wanted to have direct evidence about HPAI and bovine milk. So we began to build this custom instrument that replicates, on a pilot scale, commercial processing," Prater said.

click to expand

It comes weeks after researchers at the National Institutes of Health found some infectious bird flu virus was able to survive pasteurization in lab tests.

Both the FDA and the earlier NIH researchers looked at an approach called "flash pasteurization" or high temperature short time processing, which heats milk for at least 15 seconds at 161F.

Unlike the NIH study, Prater said the study with the U.S. Department of Agriculture took longer to complete because it was designed to more accurately simulate all the steps that go into processing milk in the commercial dairy industry.

The FDA said the tests show the pasteurization process was killing the virus even before it reached the final stages when milk is held at the right temperature, offering a "large margin of safety."

"What we found in this study actually is that the virus is completely inactivated even before it gets into the holding tube," Prater said.

Virus is likely being spread from infected cows to other animals and to humans that have worked on dairy farms through droplets of raw milk teeming with the virus, the USDA has said.

Eric Deeble, acting senior adviser for USDA's H5N1 response, told reporters on Tuesday that none of the confirmed infected herds so far had been supplying raw milk.

Hundreds of pasteurized milk and other dairy product samples tested by the FDA so far from grocery stores have also so far not found any infectious virus, but fragments of dead virus have turned up suggesting missed infections.

Prater said a second round of testing is underway, which will also look at cheese made from raw milk.

Alexander Tin is a digital reporter for CBS News based in the Washington, D.C. bureau. He covers the Biden administration's public health agencies, including the federal response to infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.

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FDA says new study proves pasteurization process kills bird flu in milk after all - CBS News

Despite assurances from the federal government that bird flu will be eradicated from the nations dairy cows, some experts worry the disease is here to stay.

Recently, Eric Deeble, USDA acting senior advisor for H5N1 response, said that the federal government hoped to eliminate the disease from the dairy herd without requiring vaccines.

Since the disease was first publicly identified in dairy cattle on March 25, there have been 129 reports of infected herds across 12 states. In the last four weeks, there has been a surge jumping from 68 confirmed cases on May 28 to nearly twice that many as of June 25. There are no cases in California.

So far, however, the dairy industry has proved reluctant to work with state and federal governments to allow for widespread testing of herds.

To some epidemiologists, this lack of close herd surveillance is a problem. They worry that the virus is spreading unchecked among dairy cows and other animals, and has taken up permanent residence.

David Topham, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochesters Center for Vaccine Biology and Immunology, said he considers H5N1 to be endemic in animals in North America citing its prevalence in wild bird populations as well as its long staying power in domestic poultry.

No one knows how widespread it is in cattle, Topham said, because testing has largely targeted symptomatic cows and herds. But I suspect the closer we look, the more well find, and I dont know if were going to cull our entire cattle herds and start over again.

Topham said he understands the industrys reluctance to permit government scientists onto farms because were going to want to see everything, and were going to report everything that we see, and that might be bad for business. ... But until we have all that information, I dont think we will have control.

Federal officials have announced a pilot bulk milk testing program that includes Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas. Farmers in these states can voluntarily enroll to have bulk milk samples tested for the virus. If their samples test negative for three weeks, they will be able to move their herds across state lines without additional testing something they are currently unable to do.

So far, only one herd in each state has signed up.

A USDA strike force investigated 15 infected Michigan dairy herds as well as eight turkey flocks in early April. It worked with the state of Michigan as well as individual farmers.

The investigation was launched after local researchers identified a spillover event that went from infected cattle to a nearby poultry plant. The state and farmers wanted to know how it happened.

What the team found suggests the control Topham referred to may be elusive.

From surveys and observations, they found that cats and chickens were free to walk around without containment potentially migrating between nearby dairies and poultry farms. Some of these animals had become infected; several died.

Asked about their practices regarding isolation of newly introduced cattle, three out of 14 farms said they always isolated, another three said they never isolated, and the remainder didnt respond.

Then there was the dumping of unpasteurized, contaminated milk into the open waste lagoons on several of the farms. And the feeding of non-pasteurized milk to calves on three farms. Or the potentially contaminated manure that was stored, composted or applied to nearby fields. In one case, a farmer reported they had sold or given away potentially contaminated manure.

Finally there was the issue of humans: On every farm, there were visitors, carcass removal companies, milk suppliers, veterinarians and employees many of whom traveled between farms.

For instance, of the 14 dairies that reported information about their employees, three had employees that worked at other dairies, one had employees that worked at a poultry farm, and one had an employee who also worked at a swine farm. At four dairies, some of the employees were reported to have their own livestock at home.

As the authors reported, transmission between farms is likely due to indirect epidemiological links related to normal business operations ... with many of these indirect links shared between premises.

They noted there was no evidence to suggest waterfowl had introduced the virus to the Michigan herds.

Michael Payne, researcher and outreach coordinator at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, said there was no one to blame for the lack of containment.

He said in the weeks and months before the disease was identified in cattle, researchers from across the nation scrambled to figure out what was happening to dairy cows in Texas that appeared listless and had diminished milk production.

Its not like people werent aware or concerned and trying to figure it out, he said. And then once it was identified, and it didnt seem to cause too much illness in cows or transfer to humans quickly, while there was urgency, the system fell into a series of incremental solutions negotiated among dozens of federal and state agencies.

He and Topham agree that no one can say for sure what the virus will do and where it will go next.

If it becomes endemic in cattle and is renamed bovine influenza, vaccines are likely to follow, as well as continuous surveillance and testing of dairy products.

Topham said that the biggest concern among epidemiologists now is how the virus will evolve as it continues to move largely unabated and undetected through cattle herds, resident farm animals and people.

There have been three human cases of H5N1 in U.S. dairy workers since March.

One key worry is that the virus may move with a dairy employee onto a small farm and then recombine inside a pig, dog or cat that is harboring another flu virus.

He and Payne agree that officials need to remain alert to signs that the virus is adapting in ways that could hurt humans.

Wastewater is one way to detect the location of the virus.

As of Tuesday, data from the academic research organization WastewaterSCAN show that levels of H5 influenza have been rising in wastewater samples from a facility in Boise, Idaho.

Asked about whether the regions health department was investigating, or if there was any idea where the H5 was coming from, Surabhi Malesha, communicable disease program manager at Central District Health in Idaho, said there was no way to know if the H5 signal was from H5N1 or another influenza subtype.

She said testing for H5 in wastewater had only recently started and therefore there is no way to compare this data from last year or the year before, and so we dont know what a baseline detection of H5 looks like.

Maybe we see H5 detections like this on a regular basis, and it is not of public health significance or importance. ... How do we define normalcy when we have nothing to compare the data to?

She said the findings were not a public health concern and her agency and the state do not need to really investigate into this, because this could be H5N1, or could be any other H5 strains, and it really does not affect the public in general.

Dennis Nash, distinguished professor of epidemiology and executive director of City University of New Yorks Institute for Implementation Science in Population Health, said that given the current situation, the wastewater sample should be considered H5N1 until proven otherwise. The only other H5 we know about is H5N2. And a man in Mexico City just died from that.

Nash said health officials should be trying to determine the source of the virus found in the wastewater: a nearby dairy herd, a milk processing site or raw milk that was dumped down the drain.

Idaho has reported 27 infected herds, although according to Malesha, none has been reported in the Central District.

You want to do everything you can to prevent these types of viruses from emerging, because once they do, we dont have a whole lot of control over them, Topham said. Because when the horse is out of the barn, its gone. So I think the question is, what do we need to do to keep this in check?

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Is bird flu in cattle here to stay? - Los Angeles Times

The government will compensate farmers for 90% of the value of milk lost as a result of H5N1 avian flu infections in their dairy cows, announced Agriculture SecretaryTom Vilsackon Thursday. We want to assist our producers every way we can to help them as they combat this emerging animal health disease, he said.

In the three months since scientists confirmed the first appearance of the H5N1 virus in dairy cattle in Texas, bird flu has been identified in132 dairy herds in 12 states, from Idaho to North Carolina. Three workers on dairy farms have contracted mild cases of bird flu from infected cows.

Dairy farmers can apply for payments through the Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) beginning on Monday, the same day the USDA will publish the regulation allowing the aid, said the USDA. Payments would be calculated at 90% of the value of reduced milk production per cow for 28 days; the all-milk price, a U.S. average issued monthly, will be the milk price used by the USDA.

Bird flu typically appears in older lactating cows, with symptoms that include fever, loss of appetite, and sharply reduced milk output. Cows generally recover after a couple of weeks.USDA scientistssay that about 10% of cows become ill when a herd is infected. Culling and mortality run at around 2%.

Vilsack demurred when he was asked if farmers should be reimbursed for culled cows. It is difficult to fully know why a cow was being sent to slaughter, he said. I think we are stepping up in a way that is most helpful with the payments for reduced milk production.

The payments would be the latest in an array of financial assistance offered by the USDA to combat the H5N1 virus. Up to $28,000 is available over three months for farmers with infected herds to improve their biosecurity systems, acquire protective equipment for workers, and pay bills for veterinary treatment and testing of cows. Farms free of the disease are eligible for up to $1,500 to improve their biosecurity standards and up to $2,000 to cover the cost of testing cows for the virus.

Two additional states, Ohio and North Carolina, have joined Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Texas in a pilot program for voluntary weekly testing of milk from bulk coolers for the H5N1 virus, said Vilsack. Participating farms that have tested negative for three weeks are exempt from a USDA requirement to test cattle for the bird flu virus before shipping them across state lines.

The USDAs goal is to isolate and burn out this disease by preventing its spread, said Vilsack.

ELAP was created in 2008 to cover losses to livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish from disease and adverse weather. There is no limit on payments to a producer, but eligibility is restricted to those whose adjusted gross income is less than $900,000 year, according to anELAP fact sheet.

Bird flu outbreaks soared among domestic flocks this spring, killing 8.8 million birds in April and 5.9 million in May. Only 460,000 birds have died this month, said aUSDA database. Since the H5N1 virus appeared in February 2022, 97.2 million birds in domestic flocks, mostly egg-laying hens and turkeys being raised for meat, have died of the virus or in cullings of flocks to prevent the virus from spreading.

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USDA offers 90% compensation for bird flu losses in dairy herds - Successful Farming