U.S. tally of bird flu infections in people rises to 44
Three additional dairy farmworkers in California contracted bird flu, raising the state total to 20 cases and the U.S. tally to 44 people since March, said the Centers for Disease Control on Monday. "To date, person-to-person spread of H5 bird flu has not been identified in the United States" and the risk to the general public remained low, said the agency.
Two additional human cases of bird flu boost U.S. total to 41
The Centers for Disease Control said 41 people, two more than previously confirmed, have contracted bird flu in the seven months since the viral disease first was identified in dairy cattle in Texas. One of the new cases was in California and the other was listed as "jurisdiction pending" in a CDC tally.
First U.S. case of bird flu in swine is found in Oregon
Agriculture officials culled all poultry and hogs on a small backyard farm in central Oregon following an outbreak of bird flu that included the first confirmed infection of the H5N1 virus in swine in the United States. There was no threat to the U.S. meat supply, said the Agriculture Department on Wednesday.
USDA confident of eradicating virus, although bird flu count keeps climbing
Thirty people have contracted bird flu from exposure to infected animals this year, and more cases are expected, said the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. At the same briefing, the USDA said it was confident of eradicating the viral disease in dairy herds despite the ever-rising number of outbreaks in California.
Poultry workers treated for avian flu infections in Washington State
Four workers tested positive for the avian flu virus after culling chickens at an egg farm in southeastern Washington state — the first human cases reported in the Pacific Northwest. The diagnoses potentially raise the U.S. total to 31 since late March, though "the number of cases under investigation may change" as more people are tested, said the state Department of Health.
Five additional human cases of bird flu in California, more expected
With five new cases, California accounts for 11 of the 25 cases of human infection by the bird flu virus in the United States this year, said the Centers for Disease Control on Thursday. Additional cases were expected among individuals in contact with infected dairy cattle, said the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Bird flu: 20 people ill, 300 herds infected since March
In the nearly seven months since bird flu was identified in dairy cattle in Texas, the virus has infected 20 people — all but one of them livestock workers — and been found in 300 herds in 14 states from North Carolina to California. "The epidemiology of the situation continues to suggest sporadic instances of animal-to-human spread," rather than the virus gaining power to spread among people, said the Centers for Disease Control.
Five California farmworkers have mild cases of bird flu, says state
On the same day the CDC confirmed the third human case of bird flu in California, state officials said Wednesday that they had identified two more possible infections, also farmworkers in the Central Valley. In less than six weeks, California has become the U.S. hot spot for bird flu, with one-third of all the infected dairy herds in the country and all of the human cases since Sept. 6.
USDA: slowdown in detections suggests bird flu is being contained in cattle
Although California reported outbreaks of bird flu in 12 dairy herds last week, most states have gone weeks without new cases being discovered, including those with high levels of scrutiny, according to USDA data. Agriculture deputy undersecretary Eric Deeble cited Colorado and Michigan as examples of the tailing off of infections and said during a multi-agency teleconference that "this decrease gives us confidence" of eliminating the virus in dairy cattle by isolating herds. (No paywall)
Five Missouri healthcare workers with respiratory symptoms to be tested for bird flu
Blood samples from five healthcare workers in Missouri will be tested for exposure to the avian flu virus, said the Centers for Disease Control in a weekly update on bird flu. The workers developed mild respiratory symptoms while involved in treatment of a patient infected with the H5N1 virus but who had no known contact with animals.
Number of California dairy herds with bird flu triples in a week
Bird flu was confirmed in 24 additional dairy herds in California last week, and the state now has the second-highest number of infected herds in the country, 34, said USDA data on Monday. All of the cases were discovered since Aug. 30.
Bird flu spreads among California dairy herds
Five of the six dairy herds infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus this month are in California, all in the past week and all in the Central Valley. State officials said those herds were part of a group of farms targeted for testing because of outbreaks in three other herds at the end of August.
California quarantines three dairy farms hit by bird flu outbreaks
The H5N1 avian flu virus infected three dairy herds in California's Central Valley, the first time the disease has been confirmed in the nation's largest milk-producing state, said officials. California was the first new state to be hit by the disease since Oklahoma reported cases on July 11.
Bird flu takes a summer break
Outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry and dairy cattle have dropped off sharply in recent weeks, according to USDA databases. There was a similar but longer lull a year ago in bird flu, which has become the largest animal disease event in American agriculture, killing nearly 101 million birds in domestic flocks since it appeared in the United States in February 2022. (No paywall)
USDA plans one-year test of culled dairy cows for H5N1 virus
At the same time that the FDA said a second round of tests showed pasteurization kills the bird flu virus in dairy products, the USDA said it would test beef from culled dairy cows for the H5N1 avian flu virus for the coming year. Nearly $2 million has been paid to dairy farmers since July 1 as compensation for milk production lost to bird flu.
Risk assessment validates ongoing U.S. response to H5N1 virus, says CDC
While the risk to the general population from the H5N1 avian flu virus remains low, an assessment rated its future pandemic potential as moderate, the same as previous assessments, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "The results of this IRAT [Influenza Risk Assessment Tool] validate the pro-active, coordinated U.S. government response," said the CDC in a weekly report on bird flu.
As bird flu spreads among dairy workers, OSHA’s hands are tied
In FERN's latest story, published with The New Republic, reporter Bryce Covert looks at the consequences for the current bird flu crisis of a 1976 congressional decision that undercut OSHA's ability to regulate the U.S. dairy industry.
Poultry worker at second Colorado farm has bird flu
A farmworker on an egg farm in northeastern Colorado is the ninth person in the state, and the 12th in the nation, to be diagnosed with the H5N1 avian flu virus, said state public health officials. The new case was confirmed in Weld County, where six laborers were infected at a different farm in the past week.
Seventh poultry worker in Colorado with bird flu
An additional worker became infected with the H5N1 avian flu virus while culling sick hens at a Colorado egg farm, said state public health officials, raising the U.S. total of infected workers to 11, all with mild symptoms. Eight of the cases, seven involving poultry and one involving dairy, have occurred in Colorado.