Texas, CDC say bird flu detected in person exposed to dairy cattle
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[April 02, 2024]
By Tom Polansek
CHICAGO (Reuters) -Texas and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) on Monday reported a case of avian influenza in a
person who had contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with the
virus.
It was the second case of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, commonly
known as bird flu, identified in a person in the United States,
following a 2022 case in Colorado, and comes as the virus is spreading
to new mammals including dairy cattle for the first time.
The CDC said the infection does not change the risk assessment for the
U.S. general public from H5N1 bird flu, which it considers to be low.
The Texas patient's only symptom was eye inflammation, according to the
state's health department.
The U.S. Agriculture Department (USDA) reported on March 25 that samples
of milk collected from sick cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive
for avian flu, showing the wide reach of the virus that has been found
in poultry flocks and mammals around the world.
USDA said last week the nation's milk supply is safe as milk from sick
cows is being diverted or destroyed so it does not enter the food
supply. Pasteurization is required for milk entering interstate
commerce, a process that kills bacteria and viruses such as flu, the
USDA said.
On Monday, USDA said it did not see the need to cull dairy herds as
infected cows were being isolated and reportedly recovering.
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Cows are walked outside the exhibition hall during the World Dairy
Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S., October 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ben
Brewer/ File Photo
The Nebraska Department of
Agriculture said it was monitoring the situation, after the virus
was detected in dairy cattle in New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho, as
well as top cattle state Texas and Kansas. Nebraska will require all
breeding female dairy cattle to obtain a special permit prior to
entry to protect the state's herd, the department said.
This year, H5N1 was also found in a goat in Minnesota on a farm
where poultry tested positive.
Avian flu has reached new corners of the globe in recent years,
spread by wild birds. Since 2022, 82 million U.S. chickens, turkeys
and other birds have been culled. The virus is fatal to poultry but
has been less severe in mammals.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live and feeder cattle futures fell on
Monday on fears that bird flu in cattle could result in less demand
for meat and dairy products.
(Reporting by Tom Polansek and Caroline Stauffer in Chicago, Christy
Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Stephen Coates)
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