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.

Despite the discovery of bird flu among five workers at a Colorado egg farm, there is no reason to vaccinate livestock workers against the viral disease, said a top CDC official on Tuesday. Nirav Shah, CDC principal deputy director, said a heat wave, with temperatures above 100 degrees, may have discouraged workers from wearing a full set of protective gear.

A total of five workers — two more than initially reported — contracted mild cases of bird flu while culling infected chickens with the viral disease on an egg farm, said Colorado public health officials. They were the first poultry workers known to have contracted bird flu since May 2022; four dairy farmworkers have been diagnosed with the disease, which is also spread by cows, since April, including one in Colorado.

Three workers at a Colorado egg farm contracted mild cases of bird flu while culling an infected flock of chickens, said state public health officials. With the discovery, Colorado is home to four of the seven U.S. cases of bird flu in humans reported since April. (No paywall)

A dairy farmworker in northeastern Colorado, who had direct exposure to sick cattle, was treated for a mild case of bird flu and has recovered, said state health officials. The male worker is the fourth person in the country — all employed on dairy farms — infected by the avian flu virus …

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

As part of research into milk safety, the FDA will conduct a second round of tests for the H5N1 avian flu virus in dairy products, aiming at a broader range of goods, such as aged raw milk cheese and butter and ice cream, the agency announced on Tuesday. The USDA said it intended to eradicate bird flu in dairy cattle without resorting to a yet-to-be-developed vaccine.

The H5N1 avian flu virus has been confirmed in 121 dairy herds to date and more infected herds are sure to be found as the search continues, said a USDA official on Monday as the outbreak in cattle entered its fourth month. The early summer heat wave will discourage farmworkers from wearing the full set of personal protective equipment recommended by health officials, said the dairy industry.

Only a handful of U.S. farms — 18 in all — are accepting federal funds to quash the outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus among dairy herds that began three months ago, according to the Agriculture Department. (No paywall)

After the H5N1 avian flu virus jumped from birds to dairy cattle in Texas last December, it was spread across the country by infected cows, contaminated machinery, and people who inadvertently carried the virus on their clothes and footwear from farm to farm, said USDA scientists on Thursday. Officials said the risk to the public was low because the virus has not shown signs of adapting to humans. “We should be, as we are, alert, not alarmed,” said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.

The federal government should compensate dairy farmers who send dairy cattle to slaughter because of the H5N1 avian flu virus, said Iowa state Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig, in announcing the second outbreak in the state. At least 90 herds in 12 states from Wyoming to North Carolina have been infected since bird flu was discovered in cattle in Texas in March.

The USDA's strategy against bird flu in dairy cattle is to identify infected herds and wait for the virus to die out within the herds, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. "I'm confident we have a good understanding of the virus and how it is being transferred," he added.

A worker on a Michigan dairy farm contracted a mild case of H5 bird flu from infected cattle — the second cow-to-human infection since bird flu was first identified in dairy cattle in late March — said the Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday. The risk to the public remains low, said Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director.