USDA reports suggest containing bird flu outbreak in dairy cows will be challenging
The U.S. Division of Agriculture launched two experiences Thursday that lay out what has been discovered about how H5N1 chicken flu is shifting amongst dairy cow herds in the US.
The experiences don’t shed a lot new gentle on the state of affairs. As an alternative, they sum up what is thought: that the outbreak was most likely the results of a single “spillover” of the virus from wild birds right into a dairy herd, possible late final yr, and that motion of cows, farmworkers, and shared tools seems to be accountable for the unfold.
However the experiences comprise some numbers that counsel it will likely be difficult for the dairy business to have the ability to halt the unfold of H5N1 in cows.
One of the new reports was based mostly on a voluntary survey of affected herds carried out by the USDA; the report mentioned about 54% of affected farms took half. The second was an in-depth have a look at the outbreak in Michigan, which has had essentially the most success in getting farms to conform to bear testing of their animals. It was carried out when Michigan had reported H5N1 in 15 dairy herds and eight poultry flocks. It has since confirmed one other 10 contaminated herds.
Listed here are a number of the numbers from the 2 experiences that caught our consideration:
60: The primary USDA report indicated that 60% of farms that accomplished its survey acknowledged shifting animals off the farm after a few of their cows began displaying medical indicators of sickness. The USDA requires testing of a portion of animals being moved throughout state traces, however no such rule exists for intra-state motion.
9: 9 of 15 affected farms in Michigan had been “closed herds,” which meant they didn’t usher in cattle from different areas. Which means the introduction of contaminated animals from elsewhere can not clarify how the virus ended up in these herds.
100: Just about the entire farms in Michigan reported having exterior people come to their farms, most of whom had contact with the animals. They had been particularly referencing veterinarians, cattle diet and feed consultants, hoof trimmers, and the like. For the nationwide survey, that quantity was higher than 60%.
50: Half of farms acknowledged utilizing vans and trailers to maneuver livestock inside a month of noticing affected cattle on their premises. Half of the shared automobiles weren’t cleaned between cattle shipments.
30: Greater than 30% of workers at affected dairies additionally work at one other farm with livestock, most of which had dairy cattle.
11: Of the 96 affected herds, the USDA mentioned Thursday that operators of solely 11 have utilized for funds the division has made obtainable to assist farmers cowl the prices of elevated testing, improved biosecurity, and different containment measures.
?: Throughout a briefing Thursday for journalists in regards to the experiences, STAT requested the USDA twice what number of farms which have had constructive cattle are nonetheless coping with the virus. In spite of everything, a number of the affected herds examined constructive in late March. Mark Lyons, who’s USDA’s nationwide incident coordinator for the H5N1 response, didn’t give you a solution, saying solely that “94 herds are those we’ve detected because the begin of this outbreak.”
Shortly after the briefing, USDA up to date its list of affected herds, which now stands at 96 in 12 states.
