Discussion thread: H5N1 avian flu in US dairy cows including human cases (poultry, dairy workers) - March 24, 2024 +

[Pathfinder]

Updates on H5N1 Beef Safety Studies


Last Modified: May 24, 2024

What's New


May 24, 2024

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), as part of its ongoing efforts to ensure the safety of the food supply, has conducted tests on beef tissue from 96 cull dairy cows condemned at select FSIS-inspected facilities. Meat from condemned cows is prohibited from entering the food supply. On May 22, 2024, viral particles were detected in tissue samples, including muscle, from one cow. To date, samples from 95 cows have tested negative for viral particles. No meat from these dairy cattle entered the food supply.

...

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock/h5n1-beef-safety-studies

[Treyfish]

HPAI dairy herd infection case report


Phil Durst, Michigan State University Extension - May 24, 2024

What happens in a dairy herd with HPAI? What should I expect if my herd became infected? This case report describes what one farmer has faced since herd infection began.
Please note: This story and publish date have been updated to reflect additional information. The original version was posted on May 17, 2024.

May 1, 2024 marked day one of the onset of an outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) on one dairy farm in Michigan. The farmer, recognizing the potential benefit to other farmers, willingly shared this information and agreed to have official testing of his herd. This report is what was known and reported on day 15 of the HPAI infection in a herd of approximately 500 lactating cows. Prior to infection, the average cow production on this farm ranged from 95 to 100 lbs. per day.

Initial symptoms were detected with the SmaXtec monitoring boluses that they currently have in about 90% of lactating cows. The onset was manifested by a spike in body temperature of 4 to 5 degrees above normal, followed by a decrease in rumination 6 hours later. The decrease of rumination in infected cows was severe with almost no activity occurring.

The temperature elevation lasted about two days, and there was a sharp drop in water intake by infected cows from 40-50 gallons to 5–10 gallons. per day. These conditions resulted in severe dehydration in cows. The farm took an aggressive approach to supportive therapy, administering aspirin boluses twice a day to reduce temperature and inflammation. Additionally they provided Vitamin B and a rumen yeast capsule for a minimum of three days. For cows that refused to drink, they administered hypertonic saline IV. They tried IV Banamine on a limited number of cows but did not see any positive impact. Their goal is to make the cows as comfortable as possible.

It began in a barn with two pens of cattle that had three water fountains, the center one being shared. They wanted to try to confine the disease to a single group or at least a single barn. They changed their wash cycle in milking so that it washed after this group of cows. Regardless of their efforts, HPAI spread to all groups of lactating cattle on the farm.


The number of cows the farm employees needed to handle in some way had increased sixfold, making the work very labor intensive. Breeding stopped during this time because of the demands of just working with sick cattle.

While pregnancy checks have not at this point shown a reduction in conception, multiple late-lactation (150-220-day) cows have aborted their calves, and the farm believes this is due to high body temperatures. The disease primarily affected high-producing, multi-lactation cows and the low group. Transition cows seem to be performing normally at this point. Waste milk is pasteurized before feeding it to calves, and to date, the calves seem to be doing fine.

Employees have stayed healthy to date. The farmer encouraged them to wash their hands frequently and avoid touching their face and eyes. All employees were offered safety eyewear or face shields.

By day 15, the full impact of the disease has not yet been felt. However, the farmer did some cost estimations. He has spent $5,000 – $7,500 in extra medical supplies. Even though the costs of these common medications are low, the volume needed has been quite high. There has been the loss of milk, loss of quality premium, increased labor and loss of a few pregnancies resulting in culling animals. He estimates the cost for this herd of approximately 500 cows at $30,000 – $40,000.

By day 24, the farmer said that some cows—approximately 10% that became infected—have not recovered rumen activity. It is likely that these cows will be culled because they are not regaining weight and health. It appears that there are some individual cows that have a “long” form of the disease.

The owner of the farm in this case report understands that this does not include the potential longer-term costs. Another farmer said that some herds are seeing symptoms for four to six weeks. Additional negative impacts include increased culls of animals that do not recover significantly and increased weight gain of late lactation cows that recover feed intake but not milk output.

“It has been a lot of work, stressful on the cows and frankly overwhelming,” the farmer said. He shared that the monitoring system they have in place has enabled them to get a head start on supporting the health of infected cattle that show milk loss which begins two days after temperature elevation is detected. Therefore, they initiated therapy before milk loss occurred. The monitoring has also enabled him to evaluate the impact of supportive therapy and recovery by animals.

This farmer reported the disease to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). He believes it is important for the industry to understand the disease. He knows that his is not the only farm to get HPAI and hopes that the more we can learn from his experience, the better we can prevent more herd infections, reduce the impact and potentially be better prepared against other diseases.

Michigan State University Extension is a leader in working with this and other farms regarding HPAI for the benefit of the dairy industry and provides resources at our animal agriculture and avian influenza websites.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/hpai-d...on-case-report

[Treyfish]

63 Confirmed Cases of HPAI in Domestic Livestock


*Data updated weekdays by 4 pm ET. CSV Print
Search:

South Dakota	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/23/2024
South Dakota	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Colorado	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Colorado	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/20/2024
South Dakota	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/17/2024
Michigan	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Michigan	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Michigan	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Michigan	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/22/2024
Idaho	Dairy Milking Cattle	5/21/2024

Showing 1 to 10 of 63 entries
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https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/livestock

[Treyfish]

@HelenBranswell
·
23s


The number of #H5N1 #birdflu infected dairy herds continues to rise.
@USDA
added 5 today, 3 in SD & 2 in Colorado. Michigan announced +3 which USDA hasn't yet put on its list but I've added here because Michigan's doing a bang-up job finding/reporting herds. Total = 66.

[Pathfinder]

Expert explainer: Ethical approaches to mitigate H5N1 bird flu
...
By Justin Zadorsky,
May 27, 2024
...
Maxwell Smith is a health studies professor and Western’s first Canadian Institutes of Health Research Chair in Applied Public Health. He studies the ethical dimensions of responding to infectious diseases and spoke with Western News about some of the ethical concerns around mitigating the impact of H5N1.
...
What are you watching in efforts to prevent the spread of H5N1/HPAI?

MS: Most concerning right now are reports that some farmers, the broader agriculture industry, and even states are pushing back against attempts to track and mitigate the spread of H5N1 in livestock. Their concerns are important: testing livestock can have economic implications if there are positive tests. Without government assistance, reluctance to collaborate with health authorities is understandable.

An important ethical challenge we’re facing is navigating when it is justified for government authorities to require testing or restrict the sale or transport of livestock, what the penalties should be for noncompliance and how to mitigate the unintended consequences of such measures on the livelihoods of farmers and the agriculture industry. Success is dependent on getting these ethical questions right.

Are there ethical concerns around virus surveillance efforts?

MS: There’s a clear ethical concern with lack of surveillance. We expect governments to protect us from threats, but they can’t do that effectively if they don’t have any information about those threats. Inadequate surveillance can lead to illness and death that could otherwise have been prevented.

However, increased surveillance also presents ethical issues, including interference with our privacy. The question is how much intrusion of our privacy is justified to protect one another from harm? Surveillance can also generate information that may lead to interventions being taken and those actions can have negative impacts on people.
...

https://news.westernu.ca/2024/05/eth...%20authorities.

[Treyfish]

They have to go on these farms and do what they have to do… like yesterday!

[Commonground]

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Detected in Clinton County Dairy Herd

May 28, 2024

Today, Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring announced the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in an additional dairy herd from Clinton County. Testing through the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory initially detected this case. Samples have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories for additional confirmatory testing.

...https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/about...nty-dairy-herd

[Treyfish]

1. Alpacas

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 Detections in Alpacas


Last Modified: May 28, 2024

The National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) confirmed the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in alpacas from a premises where HPAI-affected poultry were depopulated in May 2024. While this HPAI confirmation is not unexpected due to the previous HPAI detection on the premises, the high amount of virus in the environment, and co-mingling of multiple livestock species on-farm, it is the first HPAI detection in alpacas.

NVSL has confirmed that the viral genome sequence for these samples is the same sequence currently circulating in dairy cattle (B3.13), which is consistent with sequences from the depopulated poultry on this premises. (NVSL PCR confirmation was completed on May 16. APHIS reported the confirmation to the World Organisation for Animal Health and on the HPAI livestock website upon completion of additional gene sequencing, per APHIS policy for disease detections in new species.)


Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 Detections in Alpacas | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock...thogenic-avian

[Treyfish]

H5N1 virus in latest human case has mutated, officials say


The slight evolution in the virus is associated with ‘adaptation to mammalian hosts’, according to the Centre for Disease Control
Maeve Cullinan, GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY REPORTER
28 May 2024 • 5:21pm

Testing of the latest human case of bird flu has revealed a “notable” mutation in the virus, officials have said.

The case, which was identified this month in a dairy worker in Michigan, marks the second human infection linked to the multi-state H5N1 outbreak among US cattle.

Genomic sequencing has now found a change in the virus compared to an earlier infection in a dairy worker in Texas, raising concerns that the virus is evolving to better infect humans…..

The slight change in the virus’s genetic makeup is “associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts,” the Centre for Disease Control said in a statement published on Friday.

This change has also been identified as resulting in enhancement of virus replication and disease severity in mice during studies with avian influenza viruses, the agency added.

“This is exactly why I’ve been trying to call attention to deep sequencing of each virus from cows, cats, and people infected with H5N1, which is needed for a rapid and effective global response on vaccine and antiviral development,” said Dr Rick Bright, an immunologist and influenza expert, on X (formerly Twitter)….

There are currently at least 350 people under surveillance who have been exposed to bird flu-infected cattle, which have now been identified in at least 68 herds across nine states.…

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/science-and-disease/h5n1-virus-in-latest-human-case-has-mutated-officials-say/

[Commonground]

Idaho Update
Six Idaho dairy farms have the avian flu. Here’s what you need to know

Boise State Public Radio News | By Mónica Esquivel
Published May 20, 2024 at 4:20 PM MDT

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture confirmed on Friday avian flu had been detected in a dairy operation for the first time in Minidoka County.

Last week, two farms in Jerome County also tested positive. The first three cases were detected in early April in Cassia County after a farm there received cows from an affected dairy in Texas.

State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Leibsle said about 10 to 20% of cows in affected facilities have tested positive and the economic impact to farmers has been significant.

...https://www.boisestatepublicradio.or...avian-bird-flu

[sharon sanders]

Idaho Update
Six Idaho dairy farms have the avian flu. Here’s what you need to know

Boise State Public Radio News | By Mónica Esquivel
Published May 20, 2024 at 4:20 PM MDT

The Idaho State Department of Agriculture confirmed on Friday avian flu had been detected in a dairy operation for the first time in Minidoka County.

Last week, two farms in Jerome County also tested positive. The first three cases were detected in early April in Cassia County after a farm there received cows from an affected dairy in Texas.

State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Leibsle said about 10 to 20% of cows in affected facilities have tested positive and the economic impact to farmers has been significant.

...https://www.boisestatepublicradio.or...avian-bird-flu

Idaho confirmed H5N1 in a Minidoka dairy operation on Tuesday, May 21. The news writer is a bit late. link

There are a lot of media who are reporting on H5N1 that are inexperienced. This is why we always recommend people use at least two sources for their news.

[Treyfish]

Gov. Reynolds Announces Disaster Proclamation for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Sioux County

• Tuesday, May 28, 2024
• Press Release

Today Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the signing of a disaster proclamation for Sioux County, Iowa effective immediately through June 27, 2024. The USDA has confirmed a positive case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in commercial layer chickens.

This proclamation allows state resources from Iowa Homeland Security, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and other agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, rapid detection, containment, disposal, and disinfection. The proclamation also waives regulatory provisions related to commercial vehicles responding to affected sites.

The recent HPAI detections in birds do not present an immediate public health concern, and it remains safe to eat poultry products. If producers suspect signs of HPAI in their flocks, they should contact their veterinarian immediately.

https://governor.iowa.gov/press-release/2024-05-28/gov-reynolds-announces-disaster-proclamation-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-sioux-county

[Treyfish]

So what type of symptoms are alpacas having? Does h5 kill them? Conjunctivitis? Lung involvement? Are they spitting it at each other? Are tha alpaca farmers taking precautions now? Is it in alpaca meat at $79$ a pound ?..
Chop, Chop, I need answers!

[sharon sanders]

It is beyond ridiculous that we have to wait for WOAH reports to be published before we get general location information. On top of this WOAH publishes new information on reports with previous dates. So for instance, if you are looking at the latest WOAH United States report...you have to keep track of what outbreaks are updated with the old date because they might have a new outbreak, as of today, with new details.



I suggest new reports, like today's alpaca report in Idaho, are dated for the day that the information becomes public. This way people can follow and distinguish between known data and new data.

[Treyfish]

Iowa- 3 new counties added to State Disaster Emergency Proclamations

• By Brian Fancher
• / May 29, 2024

https://www.radioonthego.com/2024/05...proclamations/