California, the largest milk producer in the United States, saw cases of bird flu double in dairy herds just days apart. Officials reported on Thursday, Sept. 19, that the number of infected dairy herds stood at 17 and by Monday, Sept. 23, it doubled to 34 infected herds.
The findings are deeply troubling for a state with around 1,100 dairy herds as infected cows will now have to be quarantined and nearby dairy farms will have to undergo specialized testing.
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The California Department of Food and Agriculture said that it expected more cases to be found in the coming days and weeks. However, both state and federal officials maintain that pasteurized milk is still safe to drink.
California is now second in the nation in dairy herd cases of H5N1 while Colorado is first with 64 infected herds to date. However, California did not report its first case of H5N1 in a herd until Aug. 30, far after the outbreak started in March. So far, 232 herds in 14 states have tested positive for bird flu.
Sparking even further concerns is a new warning from scientists that the virus may be evolving.
Infectious disease experts note that H5N1 could be spreading undetected in the United States because of “months of missing data” and narrow testing requirements. Right now, there is only mandatory reporting for the disease in poultry and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) only requires testing of lactating cows before they move across state borders.
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Scientists are urging greater control measures including vaccinations, which they say may be needed “at scale” if the virus starts spreading from human-to-human.
Currently, there have only been 14 confirmed cases in humans, and it’s not been known to spread from human-to-human. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contends that the risk to humans remains low but said that it is closely monitoring people exposed to the virus.
Tags: Agriculture, Bird Flu, California, cattle, cows, farm, Farming, Pandemic, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, Wildlife
[LAUREN TAYLOR]
CALIFORNIA, THE NATION’S LARGEST MILK PRODUCER, SAW CASES OF BIRD FLU DOUBLE IN DAIRY HERDS OVER JUST A FEW DAYS.
OFFICIALS REPORTED THURSDAY THE NUMBER OF INFECTED DAIRY HERDS AT 17 AND BY MONDAY IT DOUBLED TO 34 HERDS.
THE FINDINGS ARE DEEPLY CONCERNING TO A STATE WITH AROUND 11-HUNDRED DAIRY HERDS. INFECTED COWS WILL NOW HAVE TO BE QUARANTINED AND NEARBY DAIRY FARMS WILL UNDERGO SPECIAL TESTING.
THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SAYS IT EXPECTS MORE CASES TO BE FOUND.
BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL HEALTH OFFICIALS MAINTAIN PASTEURIZED MILK IS SAFE TO DRINK.
CALIFORNIA IS NOW SECOND IN THE NATION IN DAIRY HERD CASES OF H5N1– COLORADO IS FIRST WITH 64 INFECTED HERDS.
BUT CALIFORNIA DIDN’T REPORT ITS FIRST CASE UNTIL AUGUST 30TH– LONG AFTER THE OUTBREAK STARTED IN MARCH.
SO FAR, 232 HERDS IN 14 STATES HAVE TESTED POSITIVE FOR BIRD FLU.
SPARKING EVEN FURTHER CONCERN IS A NEW WARNING FROM SCIENTISTS THAT THE VIRUS MAY BE EVOLVING.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERTS NOTE H5N1 COULD BE SPREADING UNDETECTED IN THE U-S BECAUSE OF “MONTHS OF MISSING DATA” AND NARROW TESTING REQUIREMENTS.
RIGHT NOW, THERE IS MANDATORY REPORTING FOR THE DISEASE ONLY IN POULTRY AND THE U-S-D-A REQUIRES TESTING OF LACTATING COWS ONLY WHEN THEY MOVE ACROSS STATE BORDERS.
SCIENTISTS URGE GREATER CONTROL MEASURES INCLUDING VACCINATIONS, WHICH THEY SAY MAY BE NEEDED “AT SCALE” IF THE VIRUS STARTS SPREADING FROM HUMAN TO HUMAN.
CURRENTLY, THERE HAVE BEEN ONLY 14 CONFIRMED CASES IN HUMANS– AND IT’S NOT BEEN KNOWN TO SPREAD FROM HUMAN-TO-HUMAN.
THE C-D-C CONTENDS THE RISK TO THE HUMAN POPULATION REMAINS LOW.
FOR MORE ON THIS STORY WE’LL BE SURE TO KEEP CLOSE TABS ON– DOWNLOAD THE STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS APP OR VISIT SAN DOT COM.
FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS– I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.
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