The H5N1 bird flu virus has been found in a dairy herd in North Carolina, said state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler on Wednesday, making it the seventh state in a little over two weeks to report infected cattle. “We have spent years developing ways to handle HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] in poultry, but this is new, and we are working with our state and federal partners to develop protocols to handle this situation,” he said.
So far, USDA scientists have confirmed bird flu in 21 herds in seven states. Texas has the most, nine, and Barron’s magazine said Texas officials believe the number of infected herds is much higher. The Texas Agriculture Department said on March 25 that “a mysterious disease [that] has been working its way through the Texas Panhandle” had been identified as HPAI. Texas state epidemiologist Dr. Jessie Monday said that 40 dairy farms had reported cows with symptoms of the mystery disease, said Barron’s.
Authorities say bird flu poses a low risk to human health, although this is the first time it has been found in U.S. cattle. A Texas dairy worker was treated for mild symptoms of HPAI. The CDC says genetic sequencing of samples from dairy cows and the farmworker showed they “for the most part lack changes that would make them better adapted to infect mammals.”
HPAI has been confirmed in seven widely dispersed states: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, and North Carolina. In Idaho and Michigan, farmers said the disease was identified after they purchased cattle from Texas. North Carolina agriculture officials said they have suspended cattle shipments into the state from states with infected herds.
The H5N1 virus can quickly wipe out a flock of birds, but in cattle, it manifests as a decline in appetite and milk production, mostly among older cows. The animals recover after 10 days to two weeks.