2 Oregon cats die from bird flu

by: Amanda Arden

Posted: Apr 19, 2023 / 09:33 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 19, 2023 / 09:34 AM PDT

Experts say the bird flu can spread to mammals, including people

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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Two domestic cats in Oregon died in December 2022 from highly pathogenic avian influenza, the bird flu that began spreading rapidly in 2020. 

The virus can pass quickly and easily between birds, but is less common in mammals. 

In Linn County, two barn cats were diagnosed with it. Portland named one of the least diverse large U.S. cities

According to Dr. Ryan Scholz, a veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the cats lived on a farm with a poultry flock. The birds in the flock had contracted HPAI and were euthanized by ODA about one week before the cats began showing neurologic symptoms. 

Scholz did not provide KOIN 6 News with specific details about the cats’ symptoms, but the National Institute of Health has said animals infected with this particular strain of the bird flu, H5N1, had high fever, panted, showed symptoms of depression, muscle soreness and nervousness. 

“There is no known treatment for HPAI in mammals, although there is very little information known about this strain in mammals,” Scholz said. 

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HPAI has the potential to infect both humans and animals. However, Scholz said mammals are not believed to be significant carriers or spreaders of the virus. It is spread much easier through birds. 

He said most bird flu cases diagnosed in mammals have appeared to be “dead-end” infections, meaning they were not spread to other animals beyond the one diagnosed. 

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• Bird flu detected in Oregon, Washington flocks

In the case of the cats in Linn County, Scholz said ODA believes they contracted the exact same strain of the virus that had infected the poultry on the farm. Underwater spring off Oregon coast likely impacts earthquake hazards, scientists say

“HPAI is not believed to pose a significant risk to domestic cats. In the case in Oregon, the cats lived with the infected poultry and had significant direct exposure to the birds,” he said. 

https://4b889808326bad454d25e25f59f5b423.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Most wild mammal cases are believed to have been caused by the animals scavenging and eating wild birds that died from the virus, Scholz said. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in other mammals including the American marten, skunks, and a raccoon. 

Across the United States, it has also been diagnosed in mountain lions, foxes, bobcats, black bears, possums, grizzly bears, seals and even a bottlenose dolphin.

Other cases of bird flu have also been found in domestic cats in Nebraska and Wyoming. 

https://4b889808326bad454d25e25f59f5b423.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Scholz said there are ways people can protect their backyard flocks from the bird flu, which might also help protect their cats. 

He suggests keeping a pair of shoes that is only used for wearing inside a chicken coop or poultry pen. Shoes worn elsewhere can pick up bird feces that could be infected with the virus and track it into a backyard flock enclosure, infecting the birds inside. 

People should also wash their hands before entering enclosures. Portland’s cool, wet weather pattern continues Wednesday

He recommends bird hunters disinfect their equipment and wear clean clothes, not their hunting clothes, inside their chicken coops. 

The USDA said people should buy birds from reputable sources and should isolate any birds returning from shows for 30 days to watch for signs of illness before placing them in with the rest of the flock. 

Bird owners should also keep their poultry away from wild birds. For example, free-range chickens should not be allowed to venture near ponds or other areas frequented by wild ducks or geese. 

by: Amanda Arden

Posted: Apr 19, 2023 / 09:33 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 19, 2023 / 09:34 AM PDT

Experts say the bird flu can spread to mammals, including people

SHARE https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/2-oregon-cats-die-from-bird-flu/

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Two domestic cats in Oregon died in December 2022 from highly pathogenic avian influenza, the bird flu that began spreading rapidly in 2020. 

The virus can pass quickly and easily between birds, but is less common in mammals. 

In Linn County, two barn cats were diagnosed with it. Portland named one of the least diverse large U.S. cities

According to Dr. Ryan Scholz, a veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the cats lived on a farm with a poultry flock. The birds in the flock had contracted HPAI and were euthanized by ODA about one week before the cats began showing neurologic symptoms. 

Scholz did not provide KOIN 6 News with specific details about the cats’ symptoms, but the National Institute of Health has said animals infected with this particular strain of the bird flu, H5N1, had high fever, panted, showed symptoms of depression, muscle soreness and nervousness. 

“There is no known treatment for HPAI in mammals, although there is very little information known about this strain in mammals,” Scholz said. 

https://4b889808326bad454d25e25f59f5b423.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

HPAI has the potential to infect both humans and animals. However, Scholz said mammals are not believed to be significant carriers or spreaders of the virus. It is spread much easier through birds. 

He said most bird flu cases diagnosed in mammals have appeared to be “dead-end” infections, meaning they were not spread to other animals beyond the one diagnosed. 

RELATED CONTENT

• Fall could bring more cases of bird flu to Oregon
• Bird flu detected in Oregon, Washington flocks

In the case of the cats in Linn County, Scholz said ODA believes they contracted the exact same strain of the virus that had infected the poultry on the farm. Underwater spring off Oregon coast likely impacts earthquake hazards, scientists say

“HPAI is not believed to pose a significant risk to domestic cats. In the case in Oregon, the cats lived with the infected poultry and had significant direct exposure to the birds,” he said. 

https://4b889808326bad454d25e25f59f5b423.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Most wild mammal cases are believed to have been caused by the animals scavenging and eating wild birds that died from the virus, Scholz said. 

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has been confirmed in other mammals including the American marten, skunks, and a raccoon. 

Across the United States, it has also been diagnosed in mountain lions, foxes, bobcats, black bears, possums, grizzly bears, seals and even a bottlenose dolphin.

Other cases of bird flu have also been found in domestic cats in Nebraska and Wyoming. 

https://4b889808326bad454d25e25f59f5b423.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

Scholz said there are ways people can protect their backyard flocks from the bird flu, which might also help protect their cats. 

He suggests keeping a pair of shoes that is only used for wearing inside a chicken coop or poultry pen. Shoes worn elsewhere can pick up bird feces that could be infected with the virus and track it into a backyard flock enclosure, infecting the birds inside. 

People should also wash their hands before entering enclosures. Portland’s cool, wet weather pattern continues Wednesday

He recommends bird hunters disinfect their equipment and wear clean clothes, not their hunting clothes, inside their chicken coops. 

The USDA said people should buy birds from reputable sources and should isolate any birds returning from shows for 30 days to watch for signs of illness before placing them in with the rest of the flock. 

Bird owners should also keep their poultry away from wild birds. For example, free-range chickens should not be allowed to venture near ponds or other areas frequented by wild ducks or geese. 

MTE combines protein and data science with food engineering. Using all-natural products and processing, the company is working to re-invent alternative protein ingredients

By MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN

https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/tech-and-start-ups/article-739789

Published: APRIL 20, 2023 17:01

   

Chickpea meat burger

(photo credit: RUTI AMANO)

An Israeli company announced Thursday that it had developed a meat analog out of chickpea protein – the first in the world.

Meat. The End (MTE), a meat alternative company based in Tel Aviv, creates technological solutions that enhance the texture properties of alternative protein products. Its latest innovation “behaves exactly like meat,” according to company founder and CEO Dr. Yishai Mishor. 

“The ‘meat’ is frozen. You take it out of the freezer, put it on a pan, in the rover or even on the grill, and it cooks just like meat,” Mishor said. “The fat kind of trickles down. It takes about the same time to cook. And, in the end, when you eat it, what you are putting in your mouth is something that has the same texture as meat – the juiciness, the firmness you would expect to have when you bite into a real meat burger.”Top ArticlesRead More

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MTE combines protein and data science with food engineering. Using all-natural products and processing, the company is working to re-invent alternative protein ingredients that achieve the textures they should have. The company already makes soy and pea burgers, sausages and chicken nuggets. 

Several companies worldwide, including in Israel, are already working on innovative ways to extract and use chickpea protein. In general, there are more than 100 Israeli companies in the alternative protein industry – including those developing meat alternatives from crickets and black soldier flies. However, most protein sources come as powders, isolates and concentrates. 

Meat.The End (MTE) founder and CEO Dr. Yishai Mishor. (credit: Ruti Amnu)

“Turning this into alternative meat is a huge deal, and as we see it, no one is playing in that field,” Mishor said. 

The meat alternative industry has been growing for more than a decade. Initially, it was centered around soy. More recently, the introduction of pea protein was a game changer. But with consumers eager for innovation and diversity, companies are looking beyond, Mishor explained. 

Introducing texturized chickpea protein as a meat alternative application is a first-of-its-kind breakthrough. But, if pea protein is a precedent, chickpeas can potentially make a billion-dollar impact. 

“If you think about climate change and how it affects our crops – because there is serious instability in the climate, this leads to unstable crop production and supply chains,” Mishor added. “When you think about the food industry, we have to consider this and have a much wider variety of alternative proteins than we are using.

https://d124d2e1852cb6279aa8b145d00e848a.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html

He said his company would tackle fava beans next.

 Meat. The End

MTE was founded in 2020, just before the coronavirus pandemic. The team consists of several well-known technologists from across the food industry, including David Bensal, a former chief technologist at Strauss Coffee Israel; Moshe Juki Nesher, a former chief technologist for Nestle-Israel; and many others. 

Mishor said the team combines academic research and very traditional food industry experience with one goal: “to provide the world with the best meat alternative so we can accelerate the transition away from meat, which is one of the most important things we can do to tackle climate change.”

The company recently closed a SEED round of about $3 million. Six months ago, it signed a contract and started selling its soy products at Burger King Israel branches. It just received the green light from Burger King International to sell them to other franchises worldwide. MTE is only one of three companies approved to provide a plant-based whopper. The other two are American companies – Impossible Foods and Unilever.

“Unlike many start-ups that I respect in this industry with 3D printing and cultured meat, their solutions will take at least 10 years before they are practical and widespread,” Mishor concluded. “Our solution is the opposite: We are moving fast so we can handle the climate crisis as quickly and effectively as possible.”

The failed vote on House Bill 1230 came after more than 12 hours of testimony and hundreds of witnesses

Bill that would have banned sale of so-called assault weapons in Colorado is rejected, even after attempt to dramatically strip it down

Elliott Wenzler and Jesse Paul12:54 AM MDT on Apr 20, 2023

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Abill that would have banned the sale or transfer of so-called assault weapons in Colorado narrowly failed in a Democratic-majority state House committee early Thursday, even after the sponsor of the measure proposed a much narrower prohibition on devices that make semi-automatic weapons fire at a rate similar to automatic firearms. 

House Bill 1230 was rejected in a dramatic, 6-7 vote in the House Judiciary Committee at about 1 a.m. following a 14-hour hearing that featured testimony from hundreds of people. 

Rep. Elisabeth Epps, a Denver Democrat and the lone prime House sponsor of the bill, proposed two amendments that would have limited the bill to a ban on the sale of either rapid-fire trigger activators and/or bump stocks. 

Both failed on 6-7 votes, with three Democrats — Reps. Lindsey Daugherty, Said Sharbini and Marc Snyder — joining the four Republicans on the committee in rejecting the changes.

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Bump stocks, a device that allows a semi-automatic firearm to fire at the rate of an automatic gun, were banned by the Trump administration in 2018 following a massacre at a music festival in Las Vegas in the prior year in which the shooter used the device to kill 58 people. 

“I’m slightly in shock right now,” Epps said just before the final vote on the bill was taken and after her amendments failed.

The Democrats who voted against advancing the bill were Sharbini, Snyder and Rep. Bob Marshall.

Snyder, who has voted in favor of other gun control measures this session, said when he was campaigning he told voters he wouldn’t take guns away from law-abiding citizens. “The bill, I believe, does that,” he said.

The hearing on the bill began at about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday. Epps signaled early on that she was planning to pare the bill down to ban bump stocks and rapid-fire trigger activators in a nod to the political reality that her measure, as introduced, was unlikely to pass. The proposed change surprised and frustrated many on the Judiciary Committee and at the Capitol.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulation outlawing bump stocks has bounced around the federal court system since and was struck down by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in January, which said the ATF didn’t have the congressional authority to enact the ban. For now, the ban remains in effect. 

Trigger activators, which also increase the rate of fire for firearms, are regulated in several other states. 

Hours of testimony happened anyway. 

“I’ve long said that Democrats weren’t serious about a statewide ban on assault weapons. If we fail, I was right. I want to be wrong,” Epps said in the opening of the hearing.

She went on to encourage supporters of the concept to focus their frustration on the “gatekeeping” rather than on moderate Democrats or those firmly against the bill.

“It’s just hard to look at the math and know that we have so many more than 33 votes in this House of Representatives and to not be assigned to a committee where we could get to the floor with the bill intact,” she said.

That appeared to be a jab at Democratic leadership in the House, who determine to which committees bills are assigned. The Judiciary Committee has several Democratic members who have voted against other gun regulations this session, including Marshall and Sharbini. Bills need at least 33 votes in the House to be approved. 

Earlier in the week, House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, and Majority Leader Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge, both declined to take a position on the assault weapons bill.

A handful of states including California, Illinois, New York and Maryland have bans on assault weapons. 

More than a dozen states restrict access in some way to either bump stocks or other devices that allow a semi-automatic firearm to operate like an automatic, according to Giffords Law Center, a gun violence prevention group that tracks firearm regulations.

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Epps’ bill wasn’t included in a Democratic news conference earlier this year where the party’s state lawmakers rolled out a series of gun regulations they pursued this year. 

All four bills unveiled at the news conference are now waiting to be signed by the governor. They would: 

• Raise the minimum age to buy any gun to 21
• Impose a three-day waiting period between when someone can purchase a firearm and access it
• Expand the state’s existing red flag law, which lets judges order the temporary seizure of firearms from people deemed a significant risk to themselves or others 
• Make it easier to sue gun and ammunition manufacturers and sellers 

The legislature is also considering a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of so-called ghost guns, which are homemade weapons that don’t have serial numbers and thus are untraceable.  

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House Bill 1230 would have also defined assault weapons by their features, rather than by specific makes and models. Those definitions, all for semi-automatic firearms, included ammunition-feeding devices, large-capacity magazines and pistol grips.

Under the bill, selling or attempting to sell a so-called assault weapon would have been a Class 2 misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to 120 days in jail, a fine of up to $750 or both. 

Gov. Jared Polis signaled he was opposed to the measure, as did many Democrats in the House and Senate. Even if the bill had passed the House Judiciary committee on Thursday morning, it was unlikely to be signed into law. 

The 2023 legislative session ends May 8.