Category: Featured Headlines
Bird flu may be spreading in cows via milking and herd transport
Science New data challenge assumed transmission route and some call for restricting cattle. The bird flu virus spreading through dairy cattle in the United States may be expanding its reach via milking equipment, the people doing the milking, or both, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) representatives reported today at an international, virtual meeting held to […]
Apr 5, 2024
Why a leading bird flu expert isn’t convinced that the risk H5N1 poses to people has declined
STAT News that H5N1 avian influenza has breached another mammalian species — this time dairy cows — has taken the flu science community aback. Though cows previously had been seen to be susceptible to human flu viruses, and could be experimentally infected with H5 in a lab, the absence of cow involvement until now in H5’s nearly 30-year […]
Apr 5, 2024
Bird flu virus confirmed in Idaho dairy herd
ABC News The outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu among the nation’s dairy cows is creeping closer to Utah as a herd in southern Idaho was confirmed last week to have the virus. The Idaho State Department of Agriculture said the affected farm in Cassia County had imported cattle from another state previously identified as having the […]
Apr 3, 2024
Bird flu found in dairy cattle herd in Northwest Ohio
Ohio News State officials are investigating after bird flu was detected in cows in a dairy operation in Northwest Ohio. A news release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture says presumptive results from the cows in Wood County showed a positive result for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). State officials are awaiting confirmation from the […]
Apr 3, 2024
Avian flu confirmed in NM dairy cows in two Curry County herds
New Mexico News For days, federal officials have said some New Mexico dairy cows were sick with bird flu. On Tuesday, the state’s top veterinarian said that cows from two separate herds have been confirmed positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza and another herd has “presumptive positives,” meaning suspected positive cases. All of the known cases are […]
Apr 3, 2024
Summary Analysis of Genetic Sequences of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses in Texas
CDC CDC has sequenced the influenza virus genome identified in a specimen collected from the patient in Texas who was confirmed to be infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) [“HPAI A(H5N1)”] virus and compared these with HPAI A(H5N1) sequences from cattle, wild birds and poultry. The virus sequences are HA clade 2.3.4.4b HPAI A(H5N1) […]
Apr 2, 2024
APHIS Now Thinks Wild Birds Are to Blame for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza’s Arrival on Four U.S. Dairies
Dairy Herd Management (video at the link) The livestock industry continues to grapple with the first confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu, in cattle. On Monday, USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) confirmed a strain of HPAI was detected on four dairy farms, stating it believes wild migratory […]
Apr 2, 2024
U.S. dairy farm worker infected as bird flu spreads to cows in five states
Science Unexpected H5N1 outbreaks in cattle raise difficult questions about how to protect herds and people. Texas officials today issued a “health alert” about the first confirmed case of a human infection with a bird influenza virus that has found its ways into dairy cows. The worker developed conjunctivitis, a mild eye infection that frequently occurs when […]
Apr 2, 2024
Bird flu in humans, explained
Washington Post How it spreads, the symptoms and more. After a dairy worker in Texas was infected with a highly pathogenic strain of bird flu, disease trackers worry the recent outbreak among cattle could develop into a larger threat. The risk to the general public remains low, but experts are concerned about the possibility of the H5N1 virus evolving […]
Apr 2, 2024
Texas Reports First Human Case of Avian Influenza
Texas Health Department The Texas Department of State Health Services is reporting a human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in Texas. The case was identified in a person who had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza. The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested […]
Apr 2, 2024