Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Update from May 6th, 2024
May 6th:
Milk and H5N1: One in five commercial milk samples tested in a nationwide survey contained particles of the H5N1 virus, the FDA said late on Thursday, May 2nd, 2024.. The agency said there is no reason to believe the virus found in milk poses a risk to human health and on Friday described results of the new tests. People can catch the virus via close contact with live poultry infected with the disease, but not through eating eggs or poultry products.
Since the outbreak in cows was announced in late March, bird flu has been detected in 33 dairy herds in nine states: Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio and Texas. So far just one person, a dairy worker in Texas, has tested positive for the virus. Read more on avian flu from the CDC here.
April 25th:
H5N1 Update From US News:
"Dairy farmers in the United States are raising their defenses to try to contain the spread of bird flu: banning visitors, cutting down trees to discourage wild birds from landing, and disinfecting vehicles coming onto their land. South Dakota on Thursday became the eighth state to find highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a dairy herd, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported infections in North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Idaho and New Mexico. The first confirmed case in a dairy herd on March 25 and the second human case in two years on April 1 have heightened concerns in the U.S. about the spread of the virus to animals and people. Bird flu has decimated poultry flocks globally since 2022 and infected mammals ranging from seals and foxes to skunks. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to humans remains low, but has asked states for plans to test and treat potentially impacted farm workers"
Below is the link for the updated report of the H5N1 Avian bird 'flu outbreaks:
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-04-11/bird-flu-pushes-us-dairy-farmers-to-ban-visitors-chop-trees