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Amd while I am on a rant...what is this name..."HPAI"? That could refer to many different strains...why just call it H5N1 avian flu?
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'We Have To Go Through It'
A U.S. dairy farm.
(Farm Journal)
By RHONDA BROOKS April 24, 2024
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“The most surprising part of this, in my mind, is the fact that we’re finding so much virus as we are in the milk, in the mammary gland,” Magstadt says.
‘Show Us The Data’
On April 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported it had detected “viral particles of H5N1 avian influenza” in pasteurized milk available for purchase at grocery stores.
Russo is quick to point out this doesn’t mean the actual virus is in milk. Rather, it’s the genetic material known as RNA.
“I think the FDA needs to show us the data,” Russo says. “The fact that there is viral material in some of the milk on shelves, as detected by rt-PCR. That test doesn’t say whether it is alive or dead. Virus isolation is necessary. The first tests have not grown virus, thankfully, but we need more data.”
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Some veterinarians working with dairies in Texas believe the virus is more active than current data suggest. Nick Schneider, a consulting dairy practitioner, is one of them.
“The thing is, when you get into the Panhandle of Texas, I’m not sure there’s anybody (dairy farms) that did not have it,” says Schneider.
Texas is home to 335 Grade A dairies with an estimated 625,00 cows, according to information on the Texas Association of Dairymen website. More than 100 of those operations are in the Panhandle.
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“We need to think about this potentially being something we have to live with as being a part of the industry in the future,” Schneider says. “I hope I'm wrong. I would love to be wrong about that. But it's something that we definitely need to consider when we're thinking of how we're going to manage it.”
...https://www.bovinevetonline.com/news...-go-through-itComment
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From the above article, some interesting statements…
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The latter is a message Dr. Barb Petersen has taken to heart.
Petersen says she was exposed to H5N1 for more than a month before she learned about the virus and its ability to infect some of her dairy clients' cows.
“I’m very fortunate that I never got sick,” she says.
Her advice? “Protect yourselves and your people on the dairy. There's been underreporting of the virus. Understandably, there's been a lot of fear. But every dairy that I've worked with has – with the exception of one – had sick human beings at the same time they had sick cows.”
Based on that knowledge, Petersen has acquired PPE available through Texas Health and Human Services.
“All the states have personal protective equipment available. Go and get it for your dairies,” she encourages other veterinarians. “If a dairy is on the fence, just provide it to them, offer it to everybody.”
Petersen says she has worked with people infected by H5N1 who do not interact with dairy cows. “I'm talking owners and feeders who don't usually touch cows,” she says.
Research is underway to determine how much of a health risk the virus poses to humans, Russo says.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation, and the people that are working on it are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of those individuals that are most at risk,” she says.
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A logical assumption (that is going to be hard to prove direct causality one way or the other) would be that Dairy cattle are consuming infected bird faeces during grazing. If this is indeed the case, do we know if any other ruminant grazing animals e.g sheep, goats and potentially horses are being screened for infection, especially in locations where there has been positive H5N1 tests for cattle?Comment
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An additional thought is, given that this current H5N1 variant is geographically dispersed - presumably the same or a very similar virus is in wild birds in the UK/ EU and ?other? countries, is has there been / are there plans for random sampling of cattle in countries across the world where the H5N1 virus is currently prevalent in wild birds? Or is the virus materially different in differing geographical locations?
If it is a genetically identical virus in wild birds in any other countries then it is illogical to assume that there are not also cattle infections in those countries.Comment
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For viewers who are not familiar with Vibrant62, she is an experienced avian flu preparation expert on this site since 2006. -
I've been travelling through Canada and Mexico,all the papers are talking about our outbreaks but nothing about any of theirs. I also haven't seen anything about other animals being tested unless they are sick or acting funny. Heck, they aren't testing any cows unless they are showing signs of illness though that may change and there has been mention of asymptomatic cows, so they must be testing some.
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I think they should stop sales of raw milk till this is sorted out. Are they testing all the raw milk currently available? Or only in states with outbreaks? CDC ain't saying..fda says don't sell it
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Raw Milk/Cheese Concerns
Are there concerns about HPAI and raw, unpasteurized milk?
Based on the limited research and information available, we do not know at this time if HPAI A (H5N1) viruses can be transmitted through consumption of unpasteurized (raw) milk and products (such as cheese) made from raw milk from infected cows.
However, we have long known that raw milk can harbor dangerous microorganisms (germs) that can pose serious health risks to consumers. According to the CDC, from 1998 through 2018, there were 202 outbreaks linked to drinking raw milk, resulting in 2,645 illnesses and 228 hospitalizations. These outbreaks have typically been caused by the presence of bacteria such as Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, E. coli, Salmonella, or Listeria monocytogenes in the raw milk. For more information about how consumers can protect themselves from these risks see our website: Raw Milk.
Because of the limited information available about the possible transmission of HPAI A (H5N1) viruses in raw milk, the FDA recommends that industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk cheese products made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses. By exposure, we generally mean cattle located on a premises with cattle with suspected or confirmed HPAI A (H5N1).
Given the variety of premises sizes and the potential for state requirements, the FDA recommends producers consult with state regulatory officials and their veterinarian for further guidance. Accordingly, the FDA recommends that milk from exposed, asymptomatic cattle only be used for pasteurized milk and milk products whether for human or animal feed channels. The FDA recommends that premises test for HPAI viruses in pooled milk prior to resuming commerce in unpasteurized dairy products following apparent resolution of illnesses on the premises.
Additionally, as it is prohibited to sell raw milk for human consumption in interstate commerce, each state has its own regulations regarding the sale and distribution of raw milk within the state. Therefore, we defer questions or concerns about raw milk to the state authorities in which the raw milk is sold....
https://www.fda.gov/food/milk-guidance-documents-regulatory-information/questions-and-answers-regarding-milk-safety-during-highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai-outbreaks#rawmilkcheese
Plenty for sale in outbreak areas for sure..just wondering if they plan to keep sellingit and is it tested..if asymptomatic cows can still be infected and producing milk?
Click here to choose your state
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I work in the supermarket industry supply chain. I'm not worried about raw milk because it's illegal to sell in most places and most stores don't carry it anyway. You really have to go out of your way to find it. My concern is if the further testing shows actual viable virus and not just fragments of genetic material in the pasteurized milk. Not only would that result in one of the largest recalls I've ever seen, it would be mean disposing of millions of gallons of milk with one of the most dangerous pathogens known to mankind. These stores are not equipped to handle that. Without special guidelines, this product would go down drains, into compactors and compost bins, and loads of other places you don't want H5N1 virus going where animals would surely get to it.
This is beyond the risks from the millions of humans like myself who might have already consumed this milk.
I think the government needs to be planning distribution of Tamiflu for a large number of human cases if viable virus is found in commercialized pasteurized milk.Comment
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Alert - Agreed. Re: pasteurisation, many countries do not have pasteurisation processes mandated in the same way as they are in the US. If there are currently problems with infected cattle (as yet unidentified) in poorer countries where pasteurisation does not occur, then there will be human populations being subjected to high levels of virus exposure, which provides a far greater chance and probability for the virus to adapt for a jump to humans. This situation is not controllable, given food chain dependencies and poverty issues in many corners of the world, and the high unit value of cattle.
I hope that all the H5N1 pandemic plans are fully dusted off and reconsidered by all relevant authorities, and that the mistakes made with SARS-Cov-2 / Covid-19 are not repeated. Covid was treated in the same way as flu, when it was materially different in terms of transmission (aerosol transmission with low levels of fomite transmission) and a host of other issues. Rules that applied for a Covid pandemic are not directly transferrable to a Flu pandemic, but some lessons are still pertinent. Most notably, we live in a world where the numbers of medics either killed by Covid or disabled for the long term are quite staggering.
There are not enough of medics in any corner of the world, so as a first priority in planning we need to ensure better protection for the medics we do have, and these need to consider differing scenarios, with protections be up to Ebola standards for a severe flu pandemic.
I would hope that seed vaccine production is also in development, but I also know that flu vaccine manufacturing capacity is still far short of where it needs to be on a global basis, even though it is much improved from where the world was in @2010. There is also a great deal of vaccine hesitancy now amongst populations due to issues with mRNA technology and the covid vaccines, especially amongst younger and otherwise healthy populations, although in a severe pandemic I think those issues will evaporate quite quickly, and the greatest issues will be matching demand to supply.
I worry that individual countries and the WHO have a steep learning curve to go through (again), and an even tougher struggle to get governments to update their plans and contingencies - so many people still think Covid and flu are 'pretty much the same thing', including individuals in positions of authority. There is also widespread pandemic fatigue, when the reality is that we are not out of the Covid-19 pandemic yet. Unstable geopolitics and wars are yet another cause for H5N1 pandemic planning to be kicked down the road by those in power, especially since the last few times H5N1 reared its ugly head, a pandemic never materialised.
This time is different IMHO. Barring a miracle, I cannot see how an H5N1 pandemic can be avoided this time around if infections in cattle (and potentially other ruminants) is a global problem given their extreme importance to food supply. I remember that the Chinese and others in Asia heavily vaccinated their chickens against H5N1 (is this something they still do?), so perhaps as a first step we need to be mass vaccinating cattle around the world? Just a thought. Culling is not viable for a host of reasons, so we need to think laterally.
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Please see:Originally posted by sharon sanders View Post
WHO calls for global detection networks for bird flu virus - April 24, 2024, h/t Treyfish
While the surveillance of birds and poultry is already very developed, "what we really need globally is strong surveillance in different animal species," Maria Van Kerkhove, who leads pandemic prevention and preparedness at the WHO, said during a press conference in Geneva.
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Evidence of Bird Flu Found in Pasteurized Milk. Here's What That Means
Experts say that commercial milk remains safe to consume. But what are health officials doing to protect the milk supply, and what about raw milk?
Jessica Rendall
April 24, 2024 4:53 p.m. PT
Fragments of the virus that causes bird flu, H5N1, has been found in samples of pasteurized milk, according to a Tuesday update from the US Food and Drug Administration.
Since bird flu was first reported in dairy cows herds earlier this spring, health agencies have only previously reported detecting the virus in samples of raw or unpasteurized milk, which hasn't gone through the process of heating milk to get rid of viruses and bacteria like pasteurized products have.
Still, the agency stressed the commercial milk supply is still safe. Pasteurization is expected to inactivate bird flu virus and make it non-infectious -- even if parts of its genetic material are now showing up in some milk samples -- and it's a requirement for milk entering the commercial milk supply, making up the vast majority of milk found on store shelves (though not all, depending on local laws).
"Based on available information, pasteurization is likely to inactivate the virus, however the process is not expected to remove the presence of viral particles," the FDA said.....
While the current public health threat to people remains low, some scientists and infectious disease experts have expressed concerns about US health agencies' response to bird flu in farm animals and their lack of details on the information pertaining to milk samples. Virologist Angela Rasmussen, for example, said in an X thread Tuesday that the new milk findings suggest the disease may be spreading asymptomatically in cows and more broadly than previously thought and that an "apparent lack of transparency and urgency" to share relevant data may be harming the ability to respond......
And what about the noncommercial milk supply, or raw milk that hasn't been pasteurized? While people who grew up on farms or around cattle might have had unpasteurized milk for dinner, raw milk has found a growing audience: people seeking it out for wellness purposes or sometimes traveling to local farms to consume a food they feel is more natural or holistic.
About raw milk or dairy products during these bird-flu times, citing limited information on bird flu in dairy, the FDA says it doesn't know whether bird flu viruses can be transmitted through unpasteurized products. The agency is reiterating its general stance that people should avoid consuming raw or unpasteurized milk for risks of consuming pathogens that are particularly dangerous to children, older people, people who are pregnant and people with weakened immune systems.
The experts I spoke with for this story before it was first published earlier this month essentially said, in general, influenza isn't spread to people through eating or drinking. However, they stressed the existing health risks of unpasteurized milk, consumption and sales of which often fall outside what you'd typically see on grocery store shelves, dependent on local laws.
.....lots more..
https://www.cnet.com/health/nutritio...tag=CAD590a51eComment
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hat tip Michael Coston
Virus Material Found in 38% of Retail Milk Samples at Lab Virus Material Found in 38% of Retail Milk Samples at Lab
April 24, 2024
snip
The Ohio State lab is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) network for the Centers for Excellence in Influenza Research and Response. As the team worked together to generate scientific data, Bowman and the team needed to try to get a handle on the scope of the new outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in cattle. They decided it would be quicker and more efficient to test samples of retail milk versus visiting every dairy farm in the country.
“We've tested 150 samples, 58 of those have tested positive to date,” says Bowman. “We've screened them for the presence of influenza genetic material, so the viral RNA. Those that have tested positive, we have been forwarded to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where they are conducting studies to see if there's a viable virus in there. To date, none of them have been viable, but certainly they give the indication that there is viral genetic material in the region.”
Bowman says the team purchased milk from six different states, and the processing plant codes on those 58 positives represent 10 different states where the milk was processed.
“I think this certainly gives us some idea that it's a larger problem than the handful of states in the 38 farms that had been reported,” says Bowman. “I think it's much more common.”
The difference between finding viral RNA, which is genetic material, versus a live virus, is a major point in reassuring consumers the U.S. milk supply is safe, but it’s also a key metric in tracking how widespread the virus actually is.
more...
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From:"FluTrackers" <flutrackers@earthlink.net>Originally posted by sharon sanders View Posthat tip Michael Coston
Virus Material Found in 38% of Retail Milk Samples at Lab Virus Material Found in 38% of Retail Milk Samples at Lab
April 24, 2024
snip
The Ohio State lab is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) network for the Centers for Excellence in Influenza Research and Response. As the team worked together to generate scientific data, Bowman and the team needed to try to get a handle on the scope of the new outbreak of HPAI H5N1 in cattle. They decided it would be quicker and more efficient to test samples of retail milk versus visiting every dairy farm in the country.
“We've tested 150 samples, 58 of those have tested positive to date,” says Bowman. “We've screened them for the presence of influenza genetic material, so the viral RNA. Those that have tested positive, we have been forwarded to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, where they are conducting studies to see if there's a viable virus in there. To date, none of them have been viable, but certainly they give the indication that there is viral genetic material in the region.”
Bowman says the team purchased milk from six different states, and the processing plant codes on those 58 positives represent 10 different states where the milk was processed.
“I think this certainly gives us some idea that it's a larger problem than the handful of states in the 38 farms that had been reported,” says Bowman. “I think it's much more common.”
The difference between finding viral RNA, which is genetic material, versus a live virus, is a major point in reassuring consumers the U.S. milk supply is safe, but it’s also a key metric in tracking how widespread the virus actually is.
more...
To: <bowman REDACTED
Subject: From Sharon Sanders at FluTrackers.com
Date: Apr 25, 2024 10:27 AM
Hi Dr. Bowman!
Can you verify the comments, that reportedly came from you, in this media report please?
I will publish your response.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sharon Sanders
Editor-in-Chief
FluTrackers.com
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Early tests of H5N1 prevalence in milk suggest U.S. bird flu outbreak in cows is widespread
April 25, 2024
By Megan Molteni
... The team that produced that data — the St. Jude and OSU groups — told STAT that it has so far analyzed four samples of store-bought milk which had tested positive via PCR for H5N1 genetic material. “We’ve done the viral growth assays to see if we can recover any virus from them and we can’t,” Webby said.
Those four samples came from an initial collection of 22 commercial milk products purchased in the Columbus, Ohio, area. “It was basically just me hitting up the five grocery stores between campus and my house,” said Bowman.
PCR testing at OSU revealed 33 of those 22 products to be positive for viral RNA. Bowman sent them to Webby to inject into plates of mammalian cells and embryonated chicken eggs and look for any signs of active viral replication. In order to do that, Webby needed a negative control so he went and bought milk at a store near his lab in Memphis. But PCR testing found H5N1 RNA in that sample too, making it useless as a negative control, but an additional data point showing a lack of live virus. ...
The St. Jude group is now repeating the experiment with the additional samples Bowman and his graduate student bought around the Midwest. Their early findings provide further evidence that H5N1 is spreading broadly among dairy cows in the US...
“Both of these data — the milk data and the genetic data that shows this has been around since December of last year — suggests that the outbreak is probably much bigger than we know,” said Angie Rasmussen, a virologist who studies emerging zoonotic pathogens at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada....
“This is telling us that we’re probably already seeing that milk from asymptomatically infected cows does have some virus in there,” said Andrew Pekosz, a molecular microbiologist who studies respiratory viruses at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. ...
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Originally posted by sharon sanders View Post
From: FluTrackers <flutrackers@earthlink.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 25, 2024 10:24 AM
To: Webby, Richard REDACTED
Subject: From Sharon Sanders at FluTrackers.com
Hi Dr. Webby!
Can you verify your comments published in the below media article please?
I will publish your response.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Sharon Sanders
Editor-in-Chief
FluTrackers.com
From:
"Webby, Richard" REDACTED
To: "FluTrackers" <flutrackers@earthlink.net>
Subject: RE: From Sharon Sanders at FluTrackers.com
Date: Apr 25, 2024 11:50 AM
Hi Sharon,
Yep, that's accurate. We have more of Andys samples in cells now to increase our sample size. But to date we haven't see a trace of virus growth as perhaps expected (certainly hoped!).
Regards
RichardComment
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A Message to the Ag Industry about H5N1
April 24, 2024
By RHONDA BROOKS
... how the dairy industry must deal with the growing impact of H5N1, says Russo, Novonesis technical services manager for dairy and poultry. She’s watched the spread of the virus with alarm and urges U.S. leaders across dairy and agriculture to step up and take action.
“Address it head-on,” she says. “Don’t hide.”
As with all major threats, she says ag needs a comprehensive, cohesive plan to address the virus in dairy – and to also look at how to protect the beef, pork and poultry industries. ...
“We have a very clear picture that it's in the udder and is being shed in milk. But where else do we need to be concerned? That matters because that is going to define the control tactics to reduce spreading it from cow to cow. Those questions are ultimately going to be the pillar of our understanding and help to define strategies for controlling the virus in a sustainable way.”
... “The first clinical symptom I saw was cows that had indigestion. They had manure that wasn’t well-digested, manure with particles of feed in it,” she says.
As she checked more cows and talked with colleagues, more information came to light and she began to identify recurring symptoms: thick, colostrum-like milk; lesions on cow vulvas; high temperatures; respiratory distress; a drop in feed consumption; and a corresponding lack of rumination. ...
“The most surprising part of this, in my mind, is the fact that we’re finding so much virus as we are in the milk, in the mammary gland,” Magstadt ( clinical associate professor at the Iowa State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory) says. ...
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UK cows not being tested for bird flu despite outbreak in US
Thursday 25 April 2024 17:36, UK
Thomas Moore
Cows in the UK are not being tested for bird flu, despite the outbreak sweeping through American dairy herds, Sky News has been told.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said reports of the H5N1 virus in UK birds and poultry are currently so low that it does not consider cattle to be at risk. ...
"The risk level in the UK has not changed," they said. ...
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Michael Worobey@MichaelWorobey
A few thoughts on the role of pigs in the emergence of influenza A virus in mammals.
1. It is simply not the case that movement of flu viruses into non-swine mammal species requires pigs as a "mixing vessel".
9:56 AM · Apr 24, 2024
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2. Here is a list of mammalian influenza A lineages that *did not* require the involvement of pigs:
Canine flu
Equine flu
Phocine flu
Now bovine flu.
I'll save you a google search: "phocine" = seals/sea lions.
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3. Pigs are tested routinely for flu in the US and it is likely that H5N1 would have been detected by now if it was circulating in pigs (h/t
@swientist).
4. A big push to screen asymptomatic cattle, and those who work in close contact with them, is important right now.
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5. In addition to looking for viral RNA or antigens, *much* could be learned by an extensive serological studies (looking for antibodies that show an animal or non-human animal has been infected by H5N1).
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Michael Worobey@MichaelWorobey
Given (1) how widespread bovine H5N1 is, (2) how long it has been circulating (~4 months we estimate), and how prevalent it appears to be (present in commercial milk supply), I predict this outbreak will leave most cattle in the US recovered and immune within a few months.
11:42 AM · Apr 25, 2024Comment
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