Author: Claudinne Miller
US to test ground beef in states with bird-flu outbreaks in dairy cows
Reuters The U.S. government said on Monday it is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows for testing, but remains confident the meat supply is safe. Federal officials are seeking to verify the safety of milk and meat after confirming the H5N1 virus in […]
Apr 30, 2024
Technical Report: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses
CDC A small number of sporadic human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) have been identified worldwide since 2022, amidst a panzootic of these viruses in wild birds and poultry. Nearly all human cases reported globally since 2022 were associated with poultry exposures, and no cases of human-to-human transmission of HPAI A(H5N1) virus have been identified. […]
Apr 26, 2024
How bird flu virus fragments get into milk sold in stores, and what the spread of H5N1 in cows means for the dairy industry and milk drinkers
The Conversation The discovery of fragments of avian flu virus in milk sold in U.S. stores, including in about 20% of samples in initial testing across the country, suggests that the H5N1 virus may be more widespread in dairy cattle than previously realized. The Food and Drug Administration, which announced the early results from its nationally representative sampling on […]
Apr 25, 2024
Dairy cattle must be tested for bird flu before moving between states, agriculture officials say
AP Dairy cattle moving between states must be tested for the bird flu virus, U.S. agriculture officials said Wednesday as they try to track and control the growing outbreak. The federal order was announced one day after health officials said they had detected inactivated remnants of the virus, known as Type A H5N1, in samples taken from […]
Apr 24, 2024
U.S. government in hot seat for response to growing cow flu outbreak
Science Veterinarians and researchers on the front lines say it has taken too long to share data on viral changes, spread, and milk safety. In early March, veterinarian Barb Petersen noticed the dairy cows she cared for on a Texas farm looked sick and produced less milk, and that it was off-color and thick. Birds […]
Apr 24, 2024
H5N1: Gauging the Current Threat
Brown Univ On 26 April at 12:00 PM ET the Pandemic Center will host a webinar titled H5N1: Gauging the Current Threat. On 10 April, the CDC put out a Health Advisory Network message noting a human case in the United States of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1), which had already reached US livestock, infecting cows in […]
Apr 24, 2024
World’s chocolate supply threatened by devastating virus
Science Daily A rapidly spreading virus threatens the health of the cacao tree and the dried seeds from which chocolate is made, jeopardizing the global supply of the world’s most popular treat. Researchers have developed a new strategy: using mathematical data to determine how far apart farmers can plant vaccinated trees to prevent mealybugs from […]
Apr 24, 2024
Highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in a common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) in Florida
Nature Since late 2021, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses of A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (H5N1) lineage have caused widespread mortality in wild birds and poultry in the United States. Concomitant with the spread of HPAI viruses in birds are increasing numbers of mammalian infections, including wild and captive mesocarnivores and carnivores with central nervous system involvement. Here […]
Apr 24, 2024
The Evolving Danger of the New Bird Flu
NYT Podcast An unusual outbreak of the disease has spread to dairy herds in multiple U.S. states. TRANSCRIPT: From “The New York Times,” I’m Sabrina Tavernise, and this is “The Daily.” [MUSIC PLAYING] The outbreak of bird flu that is tearing through the nation’s poultry farms is the worst in US history. But scientists say […]
Apr 24, 2024
Why the WHO’s chief scientist is concerned about bird flu
Washington Post The World Health Organization’s chief scientist called the bird flu an “enormous concern,” citing critical questions over how the virus is transmitted. Jeremy Farrar singled out the recent outbreak in dairy cows in the United States — the first time the country’s dairy cattle have been infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza. With H5N1 […]
Apr 24, 2024