On Monday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state of Texas announced the discovery of an avian influenza case involving a human who may have come into contact with virus-infected dairy cows.
It was the second instance of the H5N1 type of avian influenza, sometimes known as bird flu, that has been reported in the United States, after a case in Colorado in 2022. The virus is currently making its first inroads into new mammals, such as dairy cattle.
According to the CDC, the infection has no bearing on the low risk of H5N1 bird flu that the US public is now considered to be facing. The Texas patient’s lone complaint, according to the state health agency, was irritation of the eyes.
The avian flu virus has been detected in chicken flocks and mammals worldwide, as evidenced by the US Agriculture Department’s (USDA) March 25 report stating that milk samples taken from sick cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive for the virus.
The USDA announced last week that the milk supply in the country is safe because sick cow milk is discarded or diverted and does not end up in the food supply. According to the USDA, pasteurization—a process that eradicates germs and viruses like the flu—is necessary before milk may be sold across state lines.
The USDA declared on Monday that since affected cows were being isolated and supposedly healing, it did not see the need to cull dairy herds.
Following the detection of the virus in dairy cattle in New Mexico, Michigan, and Idaho as well as in the leading cow states of Texas and Kansas, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture announced that it was keeping an eye on the situation. In order to safeguard the state’s herd, Nebraska will require all breeding female dairy cow to get a special permit before being allowed admission, according to the department.
This year, a goat on a farm in Minnesota that tested positive for H5N1 was also confirmed to have the virus.
Thanks to wild birds, avian flu has spread to previously unaffected regions of the world in recent years. 82 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds have been killed in the US since 2022. Although it has not been as devastating in mammals, the virus is lethal in poultry.
Live cattle futures and feeder cattle futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange dropped on Monday due to concerns that reduced demand for meat and dairy products may arise from avian flu in cattle.
