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

[Commonground]

[media]
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AI tool finds possible bird flu infections overlooked in emergency departments. New Study: AI Could Boost Detection of Bird Flu in Human Patients

​Sep 10, 2025

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have demonstrated a powerful new use of artificial intelligence (AI) to detect potential bird flu infections that may otherwise go unnoticed in hospital emergency departments. Their findings, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, show that generative AI can rapidly scan electronic medical records for high-risk exposures to H5N1 avian influenza.

A press release explained that the team applied a large language model (LLM) to 13,494 emergency visits across the University of Maryland Medical System in 2024. All patients had acute respiratory symptoms—such as cough, fever, or congestion—or conjunctivitis, which can mirror early signs of bird flu. The model flagged 76 notes that mentioned possible high-risk exposures, such as working as a butcher or on a farm with livestock.
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continued: https://www.darkdaily.com/?s=+All+patients+had+acute+respiratory+symptoms—su ch+as+cough%2C+fever%2C+or+congestion—or+conjuncti vitis%2C+which+can+mirror+early+signs+of+bird+flu. +The+model+flagged&et_pb_searchform_submit=et_sear ch_proccess&et_pb_include_posts=yes&et_pb_include_ pages=yes

 

[Commonground]

Media

May the force be with them: Turkey growers turn to lasers to ward off bird flu
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

This time of year consistently stirs anxiety for turkey grower Matt Herdering. Ducks, geese and other migratory birds are starting their trip south for the winter. Along the way, they could land near one of his barns. There’s a risk they could be a vector in spreading highly pathogenic avian influenza.

-snip-

Like lightsabers He’s hoping that new biosecurity measures — a pair of laser projectors affixed atop two barns where there have been outbreaks in the past — will stave off that heartbreak this year. Herdering was among a growing number of turkey growers to apply for grant funding from the state to install the lasers.

At roughly $20,000 a pop, that assistance made a big difference, he said. Herdering installed the lasers that he likens to Star Wars lightsabers peering off the roofs in spring of 2024. Since then, the barns haven’t experienced any reported cases, even though a flock nearby contracted influenza. He said he’s still not convinced that the technology is the silver bullet but he takes comfort in having another tool to help keep the virus out of the barns.

Continued: https://www.austindailyherald.com/2...-growers-turn-to-lasers-to-ward-off-bird-flu/

 

[Pathfinder]

This week, Aphis reported several bird flu outbreaks, mainly in wild ducks.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestoc...an/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/wild-birds

 

[Pathfinder]

Hat tip to Sharon:

bioRxiv - Unexpected Detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus in bovine Semen

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum...ian-influenza-hpai-h5n1-virus-in-bovine-semen

Excerpt:

...In October 2024, infection in a 4,500-head Holstein dairy was detected by reverse transcription polymerase
chain reaction (RT-PCR) for H5N1 RNA in bulk tank milk samples. Clinical signs in
lactating dairy cows included decreased milk production, mastitis, lethargy, dehydration,
anorexia, and pyrexia (>104.0°F). The herd experienced a 60% morbidity rate over three weeks.
About four weeks later, the herd veterinarian collected diagnostic samples from three three-year old
Holstein bulls, including deep nasal swabs, preputial scrapings, pre-ejaculate seminal fluid,
semen and serum samples. These were sent to the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory
for testing.,,

...The IAV RNA was detected in the semen from Bull 1 (147816-25) by three different PCR assays,
but Bulls 2 and 3 were tested negative. No detection was reported in all other samples. The IAV RNA
detection in Bull 1 was confirmed with additional RNA extraction to rule out laboratory
\contamination. The IAV strain was further identified as HPAI using the H5N1 2.3.4.4b lineage
subtyping RT-PCR assay.
...
Because of the limited semen volume for analysis, further confirmation testing at the
national reference laboratory was not performed. Additional samples were requested several
months later for convalescent testing, but Bull 1 had been culled from the herd.
...
If these findings were to be repeated and confirmed, it would have significant
implications for natural breeding and biosecurity for AI collection centers. Further research and
risk assessments are needed to determine whether naturally infected HPAI H5N1 bulls shed virus
in semen, and, if so, evaluate the risk of disease spread on dairy farms and with AI programs.
...​

 

[Commonground]

Wisconsin’s $98,000 Wake-Up Call: Why Your Bulk Tank Tests Are Missing What’s Already Here

​Sunday, October 19th, 2025​​
If 20,000 clean tests can’t stop what’s coming in 60 days, what exactly are we measuring?

​EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: What farmers are discovering through Wisconsin’s H5N1 situation is that negative bulk tank tests don’t mean what we think they mean—UC Davis documented California farms with 5-10% infection rates persisting up to three weeks before detection thresholds triggered, and with 3.5 million birds just depopulated at Jefferson County’s Daybreak Foods facility, that silent spread window becomes critically important. The financial stakes are sobering:​

continued: https://www.thebullvine.com/news/wi...lk-tank-tests-are-missing-whats-already-here/

 

[Commonground]

Slotkin, Klobuchar, Colleagues Press USDA to Address Animal Health Impacts of their Proposed Reorganization

​Oct 22, 2025 | Press Release​

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Ranking Member for the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, Poultry, and Food Safety, and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, led seven of their colleagues in pressing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden on the Department’s proposed reorganization plan and its impacts on animal health threats.

“We write to express our strong concerns that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Department-wide reorganization plan could disrupt critical animal and plant health activities,” wrote the Senators. “The USDA should not hamper its capacity to address the dangerous threats posed by New World Screwworm (NWS) and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) to livestock and poultry, like so many animal health threats faced by the United States, through coordination, monitoring, communication, and research and scientific development.”

“USDA is already reeling from the chaotic firing, rehiring, and resignation of key workers. Since the beginning of this Administration alone, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has seen over 1,300 employees leave due to the Deferred Resignation Program, including around 100 veterinarian positions, with more than 500 additional employees departing due to other attrition,” the Senators continued. “Most of these employees were in key animal and plant health positions working within the divisions of Veterinary Services, Plant Protection & Quarantine, and Wildlife Services, preventing dangerous plant and animal disease threats from entering the United States and providing critical deterrent services to airports to avert bird strikes on planes.”

Along with Slotkin and Klobuchar, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full letter is available here and below.
​
https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/2025...lth-impacts-of-their-proposed-reorganization/

 

[Commonground]

WHO
Beyond the cages: protecting poultry and people in Surabaya through One Health surveillance

23 October 2025


Standing amid stacked chicken cages and two steaming pots of hot water, Vicky recounts the story of his family business while passing processed chickens to his staff for delivery. “Our business was safe from the avian influenza outbreak in 2003,” he says. “We had nothing to worry about.”

At the time, Vicky was just three years old, long before he joined the family business. But the lessons learned from the H5N1 outbreak – which spread across Asia, devastated poultry farms and killed millions of birds – continue to shape Indonesia’s vigilance against zoonotic diseases. That vigilance now extends to traditional markets like Tambahrejo, where Vicky’s stall is part of a new avian influenza surveillance effort.

The One Health initiative – led by the Ministry of Health with support from animal, environmental and human-health partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) – was piloted in five cities from 28 July to 1 August 2025. The initiative aims to strengthen early detection and response to avian influenza and other zoonotic diseases at the animal–human interface. Surabaya, the capital of East Java and a major transit hub where poultry from across regions is transported, slaughtered and sold, was among the pilot locations.

​continued: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/...e-in-surabaya-through-one-health-surveillance

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[Pathfinder]

Influenza A Virus detection in Bulk Tank and Pen Level Milk from Dairies Affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (medRxiv, Preprint, November 03, 2025)

Influenza A Virus detection in Bulk Tank and Pen Level Milk from Dairies Affected by Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1

Posted November 03, 2025.
Download PDF​

View ORCID ProfileChloe Stenkamp-Strahm, Jason Lombard, Blaine Melody, Patrick Brinson, Brian McCluskey
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.10.26.25338833
This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review [what does this mean?]. It reports new medical research that has yet to be evaluated and so should not be used to guide clinical practice.

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Abstract

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus H5N1 has been infecting dairy herds in the U.S. since its initial incursion into cows in early 2024. Although national strategies have aimed to detect affected herds, the best way to surveil herds for the H5N1 virus has not been formally studied and we also do not understand herd-level patterns of infection. To understand infection patterns of H5N1 in dairy herds over time, we conducted early surveillance of non-affected farms in California in the Fall of 2024 in an observational study. Daily bulk tank milk (BTM) samples were submitted from each herd and tested for influenza A (IAV) via rRt-PCR. In a subset of herds, IAV testing of multiple excretion types from cattle of different classes and pen-level daily milk was also completed soon after BTM detection. Daily detections of IAV occurred in BTM for a minimum of 33 days, with some herds continuing to have detection beyond a 75-day window. BTM Ct nadirs were seen between 1-3 weeks of detection. In herds that were tested, virus was detected in the milk from all pens of cattle within a very short time frame after BTM detection, or prior to the initiation of pen level sampling. A very low percentage (2.8%) of individual cow samples tested positive for IAV when collected soon after BTM detection, and although the virus was found in all excretion types, a majority of positive samples were from milk. This suggests that BTM may be the best early indicator of herd infection, and that movement of the virus to all lactating pens of cattle after herd incursion is relatively quick. These results also suggest that surveillance strategies with a long interval between BTM testing days may miss herds with short infection windows. Because most herds experienced test days where some submitted BTM samples had virus detected while others did not, and virus was detected in pen level milk samples when the BTM from the herd had become test negative, this work also highlights the necessity of studying the test sensitivity of IAV rRt-PCR detection in aggregate milk samples.
​
...
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.26.25338833v2

 

[Pathfinder]

CA Food and Ag Dept sued to force release of bird flu response info

By Black Chronicle News Service
December 8, 2025

A nonprofit law firm serving rural California counties is suing the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) for failing to release the names and locations of dairies affected by recent H5N1 bird flu outbreaks.

California Rural Legal Assistance Inc. (CRLA), along with the California First Amendment Coalition, filed the lawsuit Nov. 3 in Sacramento County Superior Court. The complaint urges the court to compel the CDFA to produce the public records requested by the plaintiff with no redactions so that CRLA can use the information to better protect agricultural workers from being exposed to the disease.

“Throughout 2024 and 2025, H5N1 … has spread in California dairies, killing thousands of cows, sickening dozens of dairy workers and jeopardizing public health,” the lawsuit states. “… CRLA has engaged in extensive outreach to distribute personal protective equipment … to dairy workers and educate dairy workers about the risks of bird flu and their rights as workers who may be exposed to the virus.”
...
https://blackchronicle.com/healthca...OSlAFbl12laN8sJEJI1-Y62i5dZuFXsE3NyLSUEfUamfi

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https://firstamendmentcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2-2025.11.03_CRLA.Petition.pdf

 

[Commonground]

Indian scientists predict how bird flu could spread to humans

7 days ago
For years, scientists have warned that bird flu - better known as H5N1 - could one day make the dangerous leap from birds to humans and trigger a global health crisis.
-snip-

"The threat of an H5N1 pandemic in humans is a genuine one, but we can hope to forestall it through better surveillance and a more nimble public-health response," Prof Menon told the BBC.

A bird flu pandemic, researchers say, would begin quietly: a single infected bird passing the virus to a human - most likely a farmer, market worker or someone handling poultry. From there, the danger lies not in that first infection but in what happens next: sustained human-to-human transmission.

Because real outbreaks start with limited, messy data, the researchers turned to BharatSim, an open-source simulation platform originally built for Covid 19 modelling, but versatile enough to study other diseases.

The key takeaway for policymakers is how narrow the window for action can be before an outbreak spirals out of control, the researchers say.

The paper estimates that once cases rise beyond roughly two to 10, the disease is likely to spread beyond primary and secondary contacts.
​
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continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgl66ez489po

 

[Commonground]

What Happened With Bird Flu in 2025?

​ — The first U.S. bird flu death was reported at the beginning of the year (2025)
January 2, 2026​

At the start of 2025, health officials in Louisiana reported the first U.S. bird flu death opens in a new tab or window and experts questioned whether highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) could lead to the next pandemic opens in a new tab or window. A second death opens in a new tab or window occurred in November. Here's a look at what happened with bird flu during the rest of the year.

​... https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/birdflu/119242