Bird flu in cows

[sjt01]

This is a bit worrying

"A person has tested positive for bird flu in the US, health officials reported this week, the country’s second human case.

H5N1 was confirmed in a person who had been exposed to dairy cows thought to be infected with the virus in Texas.

H5N1 is a type of highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu. While uncommon in humans, when a person is infected, the mortality rate is about 60 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)."
https://www.msn.com/en-za/health/ot...-us-after-contact-with-dairy-cows/ar-BB1kWK7z

 

[Lamb's Orchard]

Not trying to downplay the risks, but I think the majority of fatalities have been in places like China, Vietnam and Indonesia. 🫤

 

[Dry Rot]

If you start worrying about that.....

 

[Wesley]

Quick, everyone should rush out & panic buy all the toilet paper before it’s too late!

 

[primmiemoo]

This is a bit worrying

"A person has tested positive for bird flu in the US, health officials reported this week, the country’s second human case.

H5N1 was confirmed in a person who had been exposed to dairy cows thought to be infected with the virus in Texas.

H5N1 is a type of highly pathogenic avian influenza or bird flu. While uncommon in humans, when a person is infected, the mortality rate is about 60 per cent, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)."
https://www.msn.com/en-za/health/ot...-us-after-contact-with-dairy-cows/ar-BB1kWK7z

Social media has found out, in the USA, inclusion of poultry litter in cattle feed is permitted. Rumours and misinformation about dairy farming are beginning to spread to countries where this is far from acceptable practice, and will be amplified by usual anti-farming elements.

 

[Peter]

https://www.country-guide.ca/daily/bird-flu-pushes-us-dairy-farmers-to-ban-visitors-chop-trees/?utm_source=GFM+Publications&utm_campaign=204cf6c9c9-Country+Guide+daily+enews+Apr+12%2C+2024&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2da8244677-204cf6c9c9-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=204cf6c9c9

 

[primmiemoo]

Must be a great worry, and a race to get the biosecurity stepped up. The way some readers of that article are talking, they're more concerned about the few small trees mentioned than herd, bird, and human health.

 

[primmiemoo]

Ground-up chicken waste fed to cattle may be behind bird flu outbreak in US cows

Experts warn that lax regulations could also see the virus spread to US pig farms, with serious consequences for human health

www.telegraph.co.uk

Illegal in Canada and Britain (and EU).

 

[TelesnaAg]

I started a thread a week or so ago on this with little interest, it cratered the cattle market in the usa in the space of an hour.

Ant..

 

[Bossfarmer]

I started a thread a week or so ago on this with little interest, it cratered the cattle market in the usa in the space of an hour.

Ant..

was hearing about this today, very concerning, cases are appearing in herds across the US which have had no contact with each other, if it crosses from cows to pigs it can affect humans and is likely to become the next pandemic scientists are more than a little concerned

 

[TelesnaAg]

was hearing about this today, very concerning, cases are appearing in herds across the US which have had no contact with each other, if it crosses from cows to pigs it can affect humans and is likely to become the next pandemic scientists are more than a little concerned

Yes it is definitely one to monitor.

Bill gates will be praying 12 hours a day for another pandemic.

Ant....

 

[Bossfarmer]

Yes it is definitely one to monitor.

Bill gates will be praying 12 hours a day for another pandemic.

Ant....

surely not this one, 70% mortality rate in infected humans apparently

 

[TelesnaAg]

surely not this one, 70% mortality rate in infected humans apparently

Bill would be ecstatic.

I think its inevitable that we cop a pasting at some point given how much we travel and larger population overall.

Ant...

 

[primmiemoo]

Birds have always travelled, though. It's fortunate that for humans, H5N1 isn't especially easy to catch ~ but people who meet a high viral load are in great danger of serious illness or death. So it's farmers (plus family) and staff (plus family), visitors who get close to infected stock, who are most at risk. Along with the farm cats.

 

[sjt01]

From the latest New Scientist

For anyone who remembers the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the news of a bird flu virus infecting and a may raise the hairs on the back of their neck. But experts say we shouldn’t worry about a full-blown yet. Right now, the bigger concern is not having enough information to anticipate how the virus may act next.

“At this point in time, I would not think a pandemic is likely,” says at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “The risk to humans is quite low. It’s not nothing, but it is very, very low.”
Since 2021, a subtype of the bird flu virus, , has . It has also infected an increasing number of mammals including foxes, seals, mink and, most recently, cows.

In late March, dairy cows across Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Idaho tested positive for the virus. A person also contracted it after interacting with the animals – the first known instance of H5N1 transmitting between a human and another mammal.

The individual’s only symptom is eye redness, and they are recovering, according to the US (CDC). But bird flu can be deadly in humans. About half of the roughly 880 people since 2003 have died from the virus. “Any case of H5N1 is concerning because it is highly dangerous to humans,” said at the World Health Organization (WHO) in a briefing on 3 April.

The good news is the virus hasn’t been transmitted between people. Plus, initial testing of samples from the infected person and cows don’t show that would significantly increase that risk, according to the . “What we do know is that this particular virus is still very much a bird virus,” says at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Tennessee.

Yet he says each time the virus infects or transmits between mammals, it could acquire mutations that may make it more dangerous to humans. That is why the WHO says it is working closely with the CDC to track the virus. The US Department of Agriculture has also stepped up surveillance efforts.

“I think it’s hard to put [the outbreak] into full context right now. More information is needed,” says at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

One unknown is whether the virus is spreading between cows. Evidence suggests that is the case, says at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) in Ohio. For instance, cows in after those from a herd in Texas were introduced to the farm. “Probably our biggest question is how it is transmitted between cows,” says Gingrich. “If you don’t know how disease is spreading, it’s hard to prevent.”

Additional genetic sequencing is needed to better understand the virus’s spread as well. Those efforts, which involve comparing samples from cows to those from wild birds, are underway but will take time, says Davis.

In the interim, the AABP is advising dairy farmers to provide workers with masks, gloves and other protective equipment to prevent the virus’s spread. People should also avoid raw milk and raw milk products, which can transmit the virus. Otherwise, the general public’s risk of bird flu is low, says Guest.

The CDC says current antiviral medications also work against the virus, and there are two vaccine candidates already in development. These would be effective against the current strain and are available for manufacturing, says the .

“Those who are in positions of response should be on high alert and should be doing as much active surveillance as possible, which they are,” says Davis. “But if you’re an average consumer and you’re drinking pasteurised milk, don’t panic. Be aware, but don’t panic.

 

[RushesToo]

From the latest New Scientist

For anyone who remembers the start of the covid-19 pandemic, the news of a bird flu virus infecting and a may raise the hairs on the back of their neck. But experts say we shouldn’t worry about a full-blown yet. Right now, the bigger concern is not having enough information to anticipate how the virus may act next.

“At this point in time, I would not think a pandemic is likely,” says at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. “The risk to humans is quite low. It’s not nothing, but it is very, very low.”
Since 2021, a subtype of the bird flu virus, , has . It has also infected an increasing number of mammals including foxes, seals, mink and, most recently, cows.

In late March, dairy cows across Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Idaho tested positive for the virus. A person also contracted it after interacting with the animals – the first known instance of H5N1 transmitting between a human and another mammal.

The individual’s only symptom is eye redness, and they are recovering, according to the US (CDC). But bird flu can be deadly in humans. About half of the roughly 880 people since 2003 have died from the virus. “Any case of H5N1 is concerning because it is highly dangerous to humans,” said at the World Health Organization (WHO) in a briefing on 3 April.

The good news is the virus hasn’t been transmitted between people. Plus, initial testing of samples from the infected person and cows don’t show that would significantly increase that risk, according to the . “What we do know is that this particular virus is still very much a bird virus,” says at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Tennessee.

Yet he says each time the virus infects or transmits between mammals, it could acquire mutations that may make it more dangerous to humans. That is why the WHO says it is working closely with the CDC to track the virus. The US Department of Agriculture has also stepped up surveillance efforts.

“I think it’s hard to put [the outbreak] into full context right now. More information is needed,” says at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

One unknown is whether the virus is spreading between cows. Evidence suggests that is the case, says at the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) in Ohio. For instance, cows in after those from a herd in Texas were introduced to the farm. “Probably our biggest question is how it is transmitted between cows,” says Gingrich. “If you don’t know how disease is spreading, it’s hard to prevent.”

Additional genetic sequencing is needed to better understand the virus’s spread as well. Those efforts, which involve comparing samples from cows to those from wild birds, are underway but will take time, says Davis.

In the interim, the AABP is advising dairy farmers to provide workers with masks, gloves and other protective equipment to prevent the virus’s spread. People should also avoid raw milk and raw milk products, which can transmit the virus. Otherwise, the general public’s risk of bird flu is low, says Guest.

The CDC says current antiviral medications also work against the virus, and there are two vaccine candidates already in development. These would be effective against the current strain and are available for manufacturing, says the .

“Those who are in positions of response should be on high alert and should be doing as much active surveillance as possible, which they are,” says Davis. “But if you’re an average consumer and you’re drinking pasteurised milk, don’t panic. Be aware, but don’t panic.

This is going to be really difficult - the one thing that you don't want is an endemic infection in livestock that people are in regular contact with. Many infections from cattle to human will die out because the mutation only made it Cattle -> Human, but it failed on the Human -> Human version.

The longer you leave infected cattle in contact with humans the more likely you are to get a mutation that can "do" Human -> Human. At that point you have a problem. It might be a small problem [snotty nose] but if you don't do anything and it just keeps going - endemic, then you could be looking at a more serious outcome.

I hope the vaccine comes soon, more so that some elightened body will work out it is easier to do cattle than people. Alternatives are available, some aren't pretty.

 

[milkloss]

Still rumbling away..

US Steps Up Monitoring As FDA Warns Bird Flu Found In Pasteurized Milk From Grocery Stores | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

 

[primmiemoo]

Hmm. This is from a satirical account, relating to the US. I've seen quite a lot of posts saying to avoid milk in the US and Canada. Bandwagoning by vegan ideolgists? (Look closely at the names.)

 

[Dry Rot]

Quite a few photos of very sick looking birds on the Bird Lover forums. A top bacteriologist/virologist interviewed on R4 said it wasn't a case of if there's another pandemic but when as that eventuality was a certainty.

 

[Kidds]

it wasn't a case of if there's another pandemic but when as that eventuality was a certainty.

This has always been true.