Mary Walrath-Holdridge

USA TODAY

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/05/29/bird-flu-updates-iowa-infected-chickens-alpacas/73892743007/

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• Bird flu outbreaks have continued across the U.S. as officials work to keep the spread at bay.
• The virus has been detected in alpacas for the first time.
• The CDC has documented two cases of human bird flu infections in 2024.

Bird flu outbreaks have continued across the U.S. as officials work to keep the spread at bay.

While the outbreak likely began amongst chicken flocks and spread to dairy cows, reports of the virus infecting other animals have come out of several states. Two cases of the virus appearing in people have been reported despite ongoing testing, said the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and their symptoms were relieved by simple over-the-counter flu medication.

Commercial farming facilities have taken to destroying infected flocks in an attempt to quell the ongoing spread. Even so, a new large-scale infection was reported in Iowa this week, impacting millions of egg-laying chickens.

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Bird flu updates:CDC unveils dashboard to track bird flu as virus spreads among dairy farms

More than 4 million chickens set to be killed

An outbreak of bird flu was detected in Iowa on Tuesday in a commercial flock of 4.2 million chickens, according to the state Department of Agriculture.

The egg-laying flock, located in Sioux County, will be culled to prevent further spread. Since 2022, about 22.9 million birds from backyard flocks and commercial facilities have been destroyed to keep the virus at bay in Iowa, the nation’s top egg producer, according to USDA data.

Is it safe to eat runny eggs amid the bird flu outbreak? Here’s what the experts say.Bird flu outbreak is an ‘evolving situation.’ Here’s what to know about symptoms, spread.Human case of bird flu detected in Texas after outbreak of virus among cattleCal-Maine Foods, largest producer of eggs in US, finds bird flu in chickens at Texas plant

Bird flu infection found in alpacas for first time

Besides the unusual spread to dairy cows in recent months, bird flu has been detected in other animals, including barn cats that were found dead at infected facilities. And now it’s been found in alpacas.

The US Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories said Tuesday that a group of alpacas tested positive on May 16 on a farm in Idaho where poultry had previously tested positive and been destroyed.

https://cm.usatoday.com/article-body/inline-desktop_032624_USATBAU24

This is the first known infection in alpacas, said the USDA.

Bird flu testing:Farmworkers face high-risk exposures to bird flu, but testing isn’t reaching them

What is bird flu?

Bird flu, or avian flu, is a contagious infection that spreads among wild birds and can infect domestic poultry and other animal species. The virus does not often spread to humans but sporadic infections have been reported. There are several strains all belonging to influenza A-type viruses.

The most common subtypes that may affect humans are A (H5N1), A (H7N9) and A (H9N2), according to the Cleveland Clinic. In humans, symptoms can resemble a typical flu but may advance into more serious respiratory symptoms.

In birds, avian flu is highly contagious and cases can range in severity from mild to highly deadly. Infected birds shed the viruses in their saliva, nasal secretions and feces, meaning other birds can contract the virus through contact with those fluids directly or via contact with a contaminated surface.

The CDC has documented two cases of human bird flu infections in 2024, one in a Michigan dairy farm worker and one in a dairy farm worker from Texas. Both infected people showed only symptoms of conjunctivitis, or pink eye.

The virus has been found in sick dairy cattle in at least 67 herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes four herds in South Dakota but none in Iowa.

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Iowa Capital Dispatch

Published on May 28, 2024

• https://www.agriculture.com/bird-flu-strikes-flock-of-4-2-million-chickens-in-sioux-county-iowa-8654940

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By Jared Strong

Avian influenza that is very transmissible and lethal for domestic birds has been detected in a flock of 4.2 million egg-laying chickens in Sioux County, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.

It is the first confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a commercial or backyard poultry flock this year in Iowa. IDALS reported it Tuesday.

Entire flocks are culled — and their carcasses isolated — to prevent the spread of the virus to other flocks.

The virus outbreak has been ongoing since early 2022 and is primarily driven by migrating birds, which can be contagious without showing symptoms.

 Latest developments on avian flu virus in dairy cattle

In the past month, Minnesota is the only neighboring state of Iowa that has had infected flocks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Five of those confirmations happened about two weeks ago. They included four commercial turkey operations and one commercial egg-layer flock that totaled about 1.5 million birds.

Minnesota has had more than three times the number of infected flocks compared with Iowa since the start of the outbreak, but Iowa has had about three times the total number of affected birds because of its large egg-laying operations. It is the top egg-producing state.

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A total of more than 23 million birds in 52 flocks have been culled in Iowa since early 2022 because of the infections. The Sioux County flock is the state’s third-largest affected in that time. Two others in Buena Vista and Osceola counties had more than 5 million birds apiece.

IDALS recommends that poultry and dairy operations take additional precautions to limit the potential for new infections.

 HPAI losses cross 5 million in May, USDA says

The virus has been found in sick dairy cattle in at least 67 herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. That includes four herds in South Dakota but none in Iowa.

The first cattle infections happened in Texas and were confirmed in March. Cows typically recover from infection in 10 to 14 days, but the virus is often fatal for poultry.

Federal officials have said eggs and milk in the commercial food supply are safe to consume. They have warned against drinking unpasteurized cow milk.

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich 

MAY 28, 20243:50 AM ET

HEARD ON MORNING EDITION

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Will Stone

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/28/nx-s1-4977603/bird-flu-is-still-spreading-in-dairy-cattle-scientists-are-concerned

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Bird flu is still spreading in dairy cattle. Scientists say the recent news of a second human case, detected in Michigan, underscores the need to stay vigilant.

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A MARTÍNEZ, BYLINE: Bird flu is still here, spreading in dairy cattle. And scientists say that recent news of a second human case underscores the need to stay vigilant. That was detected last week in Michigan. The person has since recovered. So where do things stand at this point in the outbreak? NPR’s Will Stone joins us now to bring us up to date. Will, this human case – anything new there?

WILL STONE, BYLINE: It’s a similar situation as in that first human case, which was found in early April in Texas. Like that one, the infection turned up in a dairy worker, this time in Michigan. That makes sense, because these workers do have the highest risk of exposure given their close contact with dairy cattle. The person’s only symptom was conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye. Interestingly, they had to swab the person’s eye to get a positive sample. It did not come up positive when they did their nose.

MARTÍNEZ: OK, so how concerned should we all be?

STONE: This wasn’t all that big a surprise. As scientists I’ve spoken with have said, they suspected there are other human cases flying under the radar because these tend to be mild. Still, I would say it’s a wake-up call. The outbreak in cattle has not just fizzled out yet. The CDC stressed that it found this human case because they’ve ramped up their surveillance. Dr. Diego Diel is a virologist at Cornell. He says it’s quite possible this worker got infected from being splashed or somehow exposed to infected milk. But the truth is, A, there are still many unknowns, including exactly how this is spreading between cows. The theory has been it’s mostly occurring during the milking process, and new research also shows that raw milk can infect mice in the lab. Here’s Diel on the situation.

DIEGO DIEL: I think we are in the middle of a black box, to be honest with you. I don’t think we know the real dimension of the infection, how widespread it is. I suspect that we are not testing enough to really assess what the real scenario is.

STONE: Federal agencies have poured a bunch of money into trying to get more buy-in from dairy farms, so there can be more testing and studies on the ground. So far, though, it seems like that is still pretty challenging. Not that many humans have been tested, and officials with the CDC have said they’d like to be doing more, but cooperation has been, quote, “variable.”

MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what are scientists focusing on, then?

STONE: They’re paying attention to whether any known or troubling mutations have popped up. Scientists have a sense of what some of the alarming ones would be, for example, changes that would indicate the virus is getting better at binding to receptors in our upper airways. We have not seen that yet. Troy Sutton at Penn State University is studying how bird flu is spreading among mammals. He recently published findings showing there was a low level of airborne transmission between ferrets in the lab. But this was an older form of the virus, the one that was spreading in Europe at a mink farm, and that was before the virus came to North America and underwent some changes. So while that was not the same virus, Sutton says it is still notable because they had not really seen this before with this particular version.

TROY SUTTON: These viruses seem to be getting better at infecting mammals. Does that mean they’re getting better at infecting humans? We can’t make that statement. But, you know, definitely the more a virus seems to be able to infect mammals and cross the species barrier, the more concerned we should be.

STONE: Sutton says the fact is, scientists don’t fully understand all the implications of the changes in this virus. But to be clear, the CDC says right now the risk to the general public is still low.

MARTÍNEZ: All right. Good to know. That’s NPR’s Will Stone. Will, thanks.

STONE: Thank you.

https://www.foodprocessing.com/food-safety/news/55042646/first-bird-flu-detected-in-beef-human-anti-pandemic-vaccines-in-development

1. FOOD SAFETY

May 27, 2024

USDA inspections of 96 culled dairy cows turned up one positive sample; the beef would not have been allowed into the food supply.

Dave Fusaro

There were two updates on avian influenza over the long weekend. USDA detected bird flu in beef for the first time, but the meat was not allowed to enter the nation’s food supply. And media reports said U.S and European officials were stepping up development of vaccines that could prevent avian influenza from becoming a pandemic.

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which has been monitoring beef tissue from 96 culled and condemned dairy cows, said “viral particles were detected in tissue samples, including muscle, from one cow.

“Meat from condemned cows [presumably ones that show signs of any disease] is prohibited from entering the food supply … No meat from these dairy cattle entered the food supply.”

The 96 dairy cows were diverted from the supply because federal inspectors noticed signs of illness during routine inspections of carcasses at meat processing plants. Bird flu was found in only one of those cows.

The agency also has been testing ground beef for bird flu at retail stores, but it has yet to find any sign of the virus. Even if it were to get through, the Agriculture Dept. says cooking beef to an internal temperature of 165 degrees will kill it just as cooking kills E. coli and other viruses.

Back to the vaccine: Reuters reported U.S officials were “moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine.”

European health officials told Reuters they also were in talks to acquire CSL’s prepandemic vaccine. Canadian health officials said they have met with GSK, maker of Canada’s seasonal flu shots, to discuss acquiring and manufacturing a prepandemic bird flu vaccine once its seasonal flu production capacity is freed up. Other countries, including the UK, are discussing how to proceed on prepandemic vaccines.