New outbreak of avian flu on a dairy farm
Yesterday Colorado became the ninth US state to report… H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in dairy cows. However, there are currently 34 cases reported in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Idaho, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Dakota. The CDC is calling on the government to contain the spread of the virus, which has spread more than initially thought.
For its part, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning a few days ago due to the discovery of genetic material of the virus in pasteurized milk sold in different parts of the country. After analyzing retail milk samples, they found in 20% of them there are fragments of the pathogen, The FDA noted yesterday. Although the Agency wanted to avoid panic by insisting that material is not active and that the results “do not represent actual viruses that could pose a risk to consumers.”
However, the international community is wary. The situation is alarming. Last week, the WHO said the risk of H5N1 avian influenza “is evolving with the virus and requires real-time monitoring.”
The US Department of Agriculture announced this on Wednesday. mandatory testing of dairy cows who move across state borders. Until now, testing on cows has been voluntary and only on those with “obvious symptoms of disease.”
As of Wednesday, 23 people had been tested for the virus and 44 people were being tested after contracting H5N1, according to the NY Times. So far, only one human infection has been reported, in a worker who had direct contact with sick cows in Texas. The case was easy as the only symptom he had was conjunctivitis.
Sustainable spread
However, sustained spread among cows will give the virus a better chance of higher transmission among humans. Experts believe pasteurization, which involves briefly heating milk, should kill the virus. “And when the virus is destroyed, it releases genetic material,” Samuel Alcain, a microbiologist at Cornell University in New York, told the NY Times. That’s why it would appear in the tests.