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.
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)
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.
Project would accelerate development of bird flu vaccine for humans
Drugmaker Sinergium Biotech, based in Argentina, will lead a project to accelerate the development of a human vaccine against the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the World Health Organization and the Medicines Patent Pool on Monday. The project is aimed at pharmaceutical companies in low- and middle-income nations and intended to bolster pandemic preparedness worldwide.
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.
With three new cases, Colorado leads U.S. in bird flu infections of humans
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)
Colorado dairy worker had mild case of bird flu
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 …
Moderna gets U.S. contract to develop bird flu vaccine
The government awarded a $176 million contract to Moderna to develop an mRNA-based vaccine to protect people from bird flu, said Health Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday. Public health officials say the risk to the general population was low from the H5N1 avian flu virus, and there were no immediate plans to use the vaccine.
FDA says milk-processing practices kill H5N1 virus
A first-of-its-kind study that simulated commercial milk processing "found that the most commonly used pasteurization time and temperature requirements were effective at inactivating the H5N1 (avian flu) virus in milk," said the Food and Drug Administration. "These results establish that HTST (high temperature short time) pasteurization is effective at eliminating the virus from milk with a large margin of safety."
Few dairy farmers seek bird flu funds from USDA
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)
Little to no U.S. immunity to H5N1 avian flu virus, CDC says
Blood tests show "there is extremely low to no population immunity" among Americans to the H5N1 avian flu virus, said the Centers for Disease Control. Most of the population would be vulnerable if the virus mutated to become more readily contagious, said the CDC, but it has identified two candidate vaccines that would offer "good cross-protection" against it.
Iowa asks USDA to compensate farmers for cows culled due to H5N1 virus
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.
USDA aims to isolate, exhaust H5N1 virus in dairy herds
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.
Idaho alpacas are first in the world to be infected with bird flu
Four alpacas in a small Idaho herd were infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus — the first known infection of alpacas in the world, said the Agriculture Department on Tuesday. The alpacas were on the same backyard farm that culled its poultry earlier this month due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
USDA and HHS allot $199 million to quash bird flu threat to cattle and humans
The Biden administration poured $199 million into the fight against the H5N1 bird flu virus, which was identified in cattle for the first time seven weeks ago, a worrisome step closer to people. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said dairy farmers are eligible for up to $28,000 in USDA aid in three months to help eradicate the virus from their herds, and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra announced new funding among public health agencies to "test, treat, prevent" the virus from spreading.
CDC: Texas farmworker only person known to contract bird flu from cattle
At least 200 people have been monitored for possible exposure to the H5N1 bird flu virus and 30 people have been tested, but a dairy worker in Texas is the only person known to contract the disease from cattle, said the Centers for Disease Control. "No additional human cases have been detected" since bird flu was discovered for the first time in cattle six weeks ago.
FDA: Bird flu viral fragments in milk were dead; pasteurization works
Although fragments of the H5N1 bird flu virus were found in one-fifth of milk purchased in grocery stores, a new round of high-precision testing "did not detect any live, infectious virus" and reaffirmed that the commercial milk supply is safe, said the FDA. (No paywall)