Reports of three new human cases of bird flu include California child
Arizona health officials said two workers employed at poultry farms have recovered from mild cases of bird flu while the public health agency in Marin County, north of San Francisco, said it was investigating a possible bird flu infection of a child. If confirmed by the CDC, the U.S. total for bird flu infections would rise to 61 people in eight states this year.
‘Keep calm and gobble on’
In his final turn at a 77-year-old holiday tradition, President Biden pardoned Peach and Blossom, two Thanksgiving turkeys presented to the White House by U.S. turkey growers, on Monday. "They tell me there's 2,500 people here today looking for a pardon," chuckled the president, who will leave office in two months.
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.
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.
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.
Scott, Boozman press for farm bill this year
The farm bill "isn't dead yet," said Georgia Rep. David Scott, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, on Monday, although time is running out for Congress to act this year. A spokesman said the senior Republican on the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas, was talking to "anyone he can to discuss how we can move the ball forward."
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.
Nebraska governor says no to lab-grown meat
If Gov. Jim Pillen has his way, Nebraska legislators will pass a law banning the sale of "lab-grown meat" — the industry prefers the term cultivated meat — during its next session. Florida and Alabama enacted state bans on the alternative meat this year, and Iowa has barred school districts and publicly funded colleges from buying the meat.
Harris: ‘I will go after the bad actors’ who unfairly drive up food prices
At the same time that she pledged "the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food," Vice President Kamala Harris said she would help the food industry become more competitive. "As president, I will take on the high costs that matter to most Americans, like the cost of food," she said during a speech in North Carolina.
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.
USDA offers additional $300 million for export development
A second round of $300 million in funding is available through the Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP) to encourage U.S. food and agricultural exports to new markets, said Agriculture deputy secretary Xochitl Torres Small on Monday. Allocations are expected to be made by the end of the year.
USDA proposes limits on salmonella bacteria in raw poultry products
After three years of study, the Agriculture Department proposed limits on salmonella contamination of raw chicken and turkey products on Monday with an emphasis on the types of salmonella bacteria mostly likely to cause illness. Consumer groups said the proposal, modeled on a 1994 USDA ban on the most dangerous types of E. coli bacteria in ground beef, was a large step forward for public health.
Colorado workers are first since 2022 to catch bird flu from poultry
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.
Farm bill should insist on stewardship — Des Moines Register
"Congress needs to take the plunge" in the new farm bill and "insist on conservation practices where it has, up until now, asked for cooperation while dangling a bit of cash," said the Des Moines Register, published in the No. 1 corn and hog state. USDA's soil and water conservation programs traditionally have relied on voluntary cooperation from farmers, aided by cost-sharing funds, but progress is unacceptably slow, said the newspaper in an editorial.
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.
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.
USDA proposes base pay rule for poultry-grower contracts
Poultry processors would be barred from making deductions from the base prices that they list in contracts with growers under a rule proposed by the Agriculture Department on Monday. The USDA said the proposal aims to curb abuses of the so-called tournament system that determines a farmer's revenue and processors' demands for growers to make additional investments in their facilities.
H5N1 virus particles found in meat from dairy cow
Meat from a dairy cow sent to slaughter contained particles of the H5N1 avian influenza virus — the first such finding since the virus jumped to cattle from birds a few months ago, said the Agriculture Department. The USDA also confirmed infections in five additional herds — three in South Dakota and two in Colorado — raising the U.S. total to 63 herds in nine states.
USDA restricts use of ‘Product of USA’ label to U.S.-grown meat, poultry, and eggs
Under a new rule, food processors will be able to put "Product of USA" on packages of meat, poultry, and egg products only if the animals were born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the United States, announced Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. Until now, the labels could be pasted on foreign meat that was processed in America.