The top row
Here’s the latest on a global outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that started in 2020 and has recently spread among cattle in US states and marine mammals around the world. humans, where it has proven rare but fatal.
A sign warns of an outbreak of bird flu.
Timetable
About 70 people in Colorado are being monitored for bird flu because of possible exposure and will be tested for the virus if they develop symptoms, the Colorado Department of Public Health told Forbes — it was not immediately clear how or when the people were potentially exposed.
The Department of Agriculture he said He tested 30 grocery store ground products for bird flu and all came back negative, confirming that the meat supply is safe.
The Food and Drug Administration has confirmed that dairy products are still safe for consumption, announcing tested samples of grocery products such as baby milk, baby milk, cream and cottage cheese, and found no live traces of the bird flu virus, although some dead remains were found in some of the foods – although none in the baby products.
Wenqing Zhang, head of the World Health Organization’s Global Influenza Programme, he said during a news briefing “cows in other countries are at risk of becoming infected” with the bird flu virus, as it is usually spread through the movement of migratory birds.
The Department of Agriculture told Forbes it will begin testing ground beef samples from grocery stores in states with cowpox outbreaks and will test ground beef cooked at different temperatures and contaminated with the virus to determine if it is safe to eat.
The USDA he said Cow-to-cow transmission can occur through cows coming into contact with raw milk—and people and other animals, including pets, have been warned not to consume unpasteurized milk to prevent possible contamination.
Jeremy Farrar, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said during a press conference that the threat of bird flu spreading between humans is a “major concern” as it has evolved and increasingly infects mammals (on land and sea). , which means it can spread to humans.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentionted the second US case of bird flu in a Texas dairy farmer, who became infected after contracting the virus from infected dairy cows, but said the person is already recovering.
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Can bird flu spread between people?
Bird flu is not “easily spread from person to person”. according in the World Health Organization. Bird flu rarely infects humans, and most previous cases came from close contact with infected poultry, according at the CDC. Because human-to-human spread of bird flu creates “pandemic potential,” every human case is investigated to rule out this type of infection. Although none have been confirmed, there are a few global cases – none in the US – where human-to-human transmission of bird flu was thought to be “probable”, including China, Thailand, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Is bird flu deadly to humans?
It is very deadly. Between January 2003 and March 28, 2024, there were 888 cases of bird flu infection in humans, according to report by the World Health Organization. Of these 888 cases, 463 (52%) died. To date, only two people in the US have contracted H5N1 bird flu, and both were infected after coming into contact with sick animals. The more recent case was a Texas dairy worker who became ill in March after interacting with sick dairy cows, although he only had pink eye. The first incident occurred in 2022 when a person in Colorado contracted the disease from contaminated poultry and made a full recovery.
Is it safe to drink milk contaminated with bird flu?
Raw, unpasteurized milk is not safe to drink, but pasteurized milk is fine, according to the FDA. Bird flu has been detected in both unpasteurized and pasteurized milk, but the FDA advises manufacturers not to make and sell unpasteurized milk because there is a possibility that consuming it can cause bird flu contamination. However, the remains of the virus in pasteurized milk have been inactivated by heat during it pasteurization processtherefore this type of milk is still considered safe for consumption.
Is it safe to eat meat contaminated with bird flu?
The CDC warns against eating raw meat or eggs infected with bird flu due to the possibility of transmission. However, no human has ever been infected with bird flu from eating properly prepared and cooked meat, according at the agency. The chance of contaminated meat entering the food supply is “extremely low” due to strict inspection, so properly handled and cooked meat is safe to eat, according to the USDA. To know when meat is cooked properly, whole cuts of beef must be cooked to internal temperature 145 degrees Fahrenheit, ground beef should be at 160 degrees and poultry should be cooked at 165 degrees. Rare and medium rare steaks falls under this temperature. Properly cooked eggs with an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit kill bacteria and viruses, including bird flu, according at the CDC. “It doesn’t matter if they might have or not [avian] flu … eggs and rare cuts of meat” are never recommended, Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director and professor of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia, told Forbes. To “play it safe,” consumers should only eat fully cooked eggs and make sure “the yolks are firm without runny,” said Daisy May, a veterinarian at UK-based company Medivet. he said.
What are the symptoms of bird flu in humans?
Symptoms of bird flu include fever, cough, headache, chills, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, runny nose, congestion, sore throat, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, pink eyes, muscle aches and headache. However, the CDC advises it cannot be diagnosed based on symptoms alone and requires laboratory testing. This usually involves swabbing the nose or throat (the upper respiratory tract) or the lower respiratory tract for critically ill patients.
How does bird flu affect egg prices?
Egg prices this year rose as production fell due to bird flu outbreaks in poultry, according to the USDA. A dozen large, grade A eggs in the US cost about $2.99 in March, nearly a dollar since the fall. However, that price is down from a record high of $4.82 in January 2023, which was also boosted by bird flu outbreaks. Earlier this month, Cal-Maine Foods—the nation’s largest egg producer—temporarily stopped egg production after over a million hens and egg-laying chickens were killed after becoming infected with bird flu.
Why do poultry farmers kill chickens with bird flu?
Once the chickens are infected with bird flu, farmers quickly kill them to save them control the spread of the virus, since bird flu is at a high level contagious and lethal to poultry. The USDA pays farmers for all birds and eggs that must be killed due to bird flu as an incentive to responsibly try to limit the spread of the disease. The USDA has spent over 1 billion dollars in bird flu compensation for farmers starting in 2022, according to the nonprofit Food & Environment Reporting Network.
Is there a vaccine for bird flu (h5n1)?
The FDA has approved some bird flu vaccines for the people. The US has a stockpile of H5N1 bird flu vaccines, but it would not be enough to vaccinate all Americans if an outbreak occurs among humans. If a human outbreak occurs, the Govt designs to mass produce vaccines, which can take at least six months to make enough for the entire population. Sequirs, the manufacturer of one of the approved vaccines, is waiting to have 150 million vaccines ready within six months of the announcement of a human bird flu pandemic. Although they exist approved vaccines for other variants designed for birds, none for the H5N1 variant. However, the USDA started tests on H5N1 animal-specific vaccines in 2023.
Key background
As of April 30, more than 90 million poultry (mostly chickens) in 48 states have been euthanized due to bird flu since 2022, and 36 dairy cow herds in nine states have tested positive, according to data from the CDC (unlike chickens, cows seems to be recovering by the virus). The USDA believes that wild migratory birds are the original source of cowpox outbreaks that recently raised concerns among experts that it could mutate and spread more easily to humans, although the CDC said there is a risk to the public remains low. Farrar called U.S. cattle infections “a huge concern,” urging public health officials to continue to closely monitor the situation “because it can develop into transmission in different ways.” The increased number of bird flu infections in mammals since 2022 “could indicate that the virus is looking for new hosts and is naturally moving closer to humans,” said Andrea Garcia, vice president of science, medicine and public health for the American Medical Association. he said. More than 10 Cases of human bird flu were reported to the World Health Organization in 2023 and all but one survived. Bird flu has devastated bird populations and 67 countries have reported deaths 131 million poultry only in 2022. Although avian influenza usually infects wild birds and poultry, it is transmitted to other animals during the outbreak and at least 10 countries have reported outbreaks in mammals since 2022. Approx 17,400 elephant seal pups died of bird flu in Argentina in 2023 and at least 24,000 Sea lions died in South America that same year. In addition to cattle, bird flu has been detected in above 200 other mammals—such as seals, raccoons, and bears—in the U.S. starting in 2022. Although rare, even pets like dogs and cats are susceptible to the virus, and the FDA warns against giving unpasteurized milk to cats to avoid possible transmission.
Further reading
WHO warns bird flu threat spreading to humans is ‘major concern’ (Forbes)
One in five milk samples from across the US had traces of bird flu virus, FDA says (Forbes)
Can pets get bird flu? Here’s what you need to know (Forbes)
H5N1 bird flu: Why experts are worried—and what you need to know (Forbes)
