Third U.S. dairy worker comes down with avian flu; officials monitoring farm
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Third U.S. dairy worker comes down with avian flu; officials monitoring farm

LA Times  

Officials announced Thursday that a third U.S. dairy worker has been infected by avian flu, or H5N1. Federal officials said that unlike the first two U.S. cases — whose symptoms were limited to conjunctivitis, or pink eye — this person presented with more typical flu-like respiratory symptoms. They’ve also issued roughly 17,000 PCR tests for cattle — although, that does not mean 17,000 individual cows were tested, said Eric Deeble of the United States Department of Agriculture. The latest dairy worker had been exposed to H5N1-infected cows and reported flu symptoms to local health officials.

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History of this topic

California declares state of emergency amid rising bird flu cases
Trending News
5 days, 12 hours ago

California declares state of emergency amid rising bird flu cases

India Today  

The US reported its first severe human case of bird flu on Wednesday in a Louisiana resident who is hospitalised in critical condition after suspected contact with an infected backyard flock. Severe respiratory illness in the Louisiana patient shows increased health risks for people from the virus that previously caused eye redness, or conjunctivitis, in infected dairy workers. "The mild …

Opinion: Bird flu is coming for humans. We can either get ready or court disaster
1 week ago

Opinion: Bird flu is coming for humans. We can either get ready or court disaster

LA Times  

Bird flu has seen a resurgence in the U.S. this year, with California leading the pack. Since 2022, millions of egg-laying chickens have been exposed to, infected with and culled or killed by H5N1 in the U.S. What stands out this year is how widespread the infection has been among dairy cows, which are spreading it to farmworkers — the …

Public health officials try to control bird flu in U.S. dairy capital
1 week, 2 days ago

Public health officials try to control bird flu in U.S. dairy capital

NPR  

Public health officials try to control bird flu in U.S. dairy capital More milk products come from Tulare County, California than any other county in the U.S. Public health officials there are trying to guard against bird flu infecting humans. KLEIN: It's one way the county and state are working together trying to contain avian influenza, along with testing dairy …

Mega-Farms Are Driving the Threat of Bird Flu
1 week, 3 days ago

Mega-Farms Are Driving the Threat of Bird Flu

Wired  

This story originally appeared on Inside Climate News and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration. “It’s a lot of trouble.” Further north and west, in the San Joaquin Valley—the heart of the state’s dairy industry—the H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, has rippled through the massive herds that provide most of the country’s milk. The Centers for Disease …

Latest California child to become ill after drinking raw milk does not have bird flu, CDC says
1 week, 5 days ago

Latest California child to become ill after drinking raw milk does not have bird flu, CDC says

LA Times  

A Northern California child who consumed raw milk and became severely ill did not have the bird flu virus, according to tests conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The child’s mother purchased Raw Farm raw milk, mistaking it for unhomogenized — or cream top — pasteurized milk. Last week, raw milk sales from Fresno-based Raw Farm were …

Health Experts Warn of Bird Flu's Pandemic Threat
1 week, 6 days ago

Health Experts Warn of Bird Flu's Pandemic Threat

Deccan Chronicle  

Paris: Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the United States. The deadly bird flu variant H5N1 first emerged in China in 1996, but over the last four years it has sp More than 300 …

US orders testing of milk supply for bird flu amid growing concerns
2 weeks, 2 days ago

US orders testing of milk supply for bird flu amid growing concerns

Deccan Chronicle  

The US government has taken steps to better monitor the spread of bird flu among dairy cows, ordering testing of the nation’s milk supply for the H5N1 virus. While bird flu is typically associated with poultry, recent evidence suggests that it has begun spreading to cows, with initial reports indicating transmission through a single event likely in late 2023. Although …

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus
2 weeks, 3 days ago

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus

Hindustan Times  

The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation's milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Under the federal order, dairy farmers and those who handle raw milk intended for pasteurization must provide samples of the milk on request for testing for bird flu. At least 58 people in the …

Bird flu may need a single mutation to spread among humans, study finds
2 weeks, 3 days ago

Bird flu may need a single mutation to spread among humans, study finds

LA Times  

Cows are milked at a Fresno dairy farm. Here’s what you need to know to start your weekend: The H5N1 bird flu may be one mutation away from being a threat to humans. And here’s today’s e-newspaper The H5N1 bird flu virus may need just one mutation to be a threat to humans, a study found. “Yikes,” “Oh great” and …

Arizona sees first case of human bird flu as government begins testing milk for virus
2 weeks, 3 days ago

Arizona sees first case of human bird flu as government begins testing milk for virus

Raw Story  

Bird flu has officially jumped from birds to infect two people in Arizona, AZFamily reported Friday. While cases of the disease, known as Type A H5N1, jumping to humans in California have previously been reported, this is the first case in Arizona, the report said. In March, the first case of bird flu was detected in U.S. cows' milk. "The …

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus
Trending News
2 weeks, 3 days ago

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk for bird flu to halt the virus

Associated Press  

The U.S. government on Friday ordered testing of the nation’s milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Under the federal order, dairy farmers and those who handle raw milk intended for pasteurization must provide samples of the milk on request for testing for bird flu. At least 58 people in the …

A single mutation could make bird flu much worse, study finds
2 weeks, 4 days ago

A single mutation could make bird flu much worse, study finds

Salon  

As the number of human bird flu cases continues to rise and more dairy farms across the country report outbreaks, scientists are increasingly concerned that the H5N1 virus will mutate to better infect people. In the lab, the authors of the study found that a single mutation in the primary protein, hemagglutinin could give it the ability to cling onto …

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health
Trending News
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health

Salon  

As the H5N1 avian flu virus continues to spread in poultry flocks and dairy cattle, consumers may worry about whether the U.S. milk supply is safe to drink. In late November 2024, however, California regulators recalled two batches of raw, unpasteurized milk from a Fresno dairy farm after bird flu virus was detected in the milk. Despite health experts' warning …

Just one mutation can make H5N1 bird flu a threat to humans, California researchers say
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Just one mutation can make H5N1 bird flu a threat to humans, California researchers say

LA Times  

California researchers say the world may be just one genetic tweak away from human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 bird flu virus — a worrisome mutation that could open the door to widespread human infections and possibly even a pandemic, according to some experts. In a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Scripps Research Institute biologists determined that a single …

Letters to the Editor: A doctor’s fear that we’re careening toward a bird flu disaster
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Letters to the Editor: A doctor’s fear that we’re careening toward a bird flu disaster

LA Times  

Bird flu outbreaks at dairy farms are sparking fears of a major threat to human health. To the editor: As a retired public health and emergency medicine physician, I want to thank you for your recent articles about the bird flu, most recently those articles by Times reporters Susanne Rust and Melissa Gomez. The combination of a mutating and potentially …

Bird flu: How raw milk could usher in a pandemic.
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Bird flu: How raw milk could usher in a pandemic.

Slate  

Bird flu just might have found a direct route toward infecting more humans. The immediate risk posed by the bird flu virus’s presence in raw milk is limited to individual consumers who drink the stuff. But if you were actively trying to catch bird flu but couldn’t make it to a farm to handle the cows yourself, a glass of …

Raw milk recall in California expands after tests detect more bird flu virus
2 weeks, 5 days ago

Raw milk recall in California expands after tests detect more bird flu virus

Associated Press  

A California farm expanded a recall of raw milk sold in stores and halted production after state health and agriculture officials found bird flu virus in more milk samples. Raw Farm, of Fresno, voluntarily recalled all whole milk and cream products from stores late Tuesday after tests found bird flu virus in “multiple” retail samples and dairy storage and bottling …

All raw milk from Fresno dairy farm will be cleared from store shelves; cows have bird flu
2 weeks, 6 days ago

All raw milk from Fresno dairy farm will be cleared from store shelves; cows have bird flu

LA Times  

Raw Farm’s raw milk is set to be removed from stores. After two limited recalls, all raw milk and cream from a Fresno-based dairy farm must be removed from store shelves. However, the state is urging consumers to avoid other raw milk products, including cheese and kefir, as well as raw milk pet food products, including “raw milk pet food …

Raw Milk Farm Suspended After Officials Find Bird Flu In Products
2 weeks, 6 days ago

Raw Milk Farm Suspended After Officials Find Bird Flu In Products

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING A California producer of unpasteurized raw milk, the preferred milk of Department of Health and Human Services secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been forced by the state to suspend operations after officials found the bird flu virus in its products. PATRICK T. FALLON via Getty Images “CDFA dairy inspectors sampled milk from bottled products and …

Distribution of Raw Farm’s products suspended amid bird flu concerns
3 weeks, 4 days ago

Distribution of Raw Farm’s products suspended amid bird flu concerns

LA Times  

State agriculture officials on Thursday banned Fresno-based Raw Farm from distributing its raw dairy products to retailers amid ongoing concerns about possible bird flu infections among its cattle. After several days of contradictory test results, in which county public health departments found positive samples in bottled raw milk on store shelves and state agriculture officials did not detect the virus …

Bird flu is getting worse. Disease experts worry Trump and RFK Jr. will mangle response like COVID
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Bird flu is getting worse. Disease experts worry Trump and RFK Jr. will mangle response like COVID

Salon  

As America gears up for the year's end and a change in administration, the topic of public health has dominated many conversations throughout the election season, but one facet has been noticeably absent: bird flu. “It would be important for the Trump administration, as it's rolling out its team that's going to be heading CDC, HHS, USDA, that they talk …

Experts say bird flu is more widespread than we think: ‘We are in a soup of virus’
3 weeks, 6 days ago

Experts say bird flu is more widespread than we think: ‘We are in a soup of virus’

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists are warning about the continued transmission of dangerous H5N1 bird …

Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it’s business as usual in California dairy country
4 weeks ago

Despite warnings from bird flu experts, it’s business as usual in California dairy country

LA Times  

It was a late fall morning and hundreds of cows — black and white splattered Holsteins and cappuccino-colored Jerseys — milled about a San Joaquin Valley dairy farm in the largest milk-producing state in the nation. The scene seemed utterly unremarkable — except for the fact that five days earlier, the H5N1 bird flu virus that has ravaged California’s dairy …

Bird flu worries European health agencies as they increase virus surveillance
1 month ago

Bird flu worries European health agencies as they increase virus surveillance

Salon  

As flu season nears, Europe is increasing surveillance for human cases of H5N1 influenza, also known as bird flu. “We’ve updated our guidance to include milder symptoms in individuals exposed to birds or other animals,” Angeliki Melidou, principal expert in respiratory viruses at the ECDC, told The Telegraph. “The priority is to strengthen surveillance and ensure we monitor and follow …

The number of cases of H5N1 bird flu is growing - but can it be caught by eating chicken?
1 month ago

The number of cases of H5N1 bird flu is growing - but can it be caught by eating chicken?

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As the number of human bird flu cases have continued to …

Possible bird flu infection reported in California child, health department reports
1 month ago

Possible bird flu infection reported in California child, health department reports

Salon  

The state of California has detected a possible bird flu infection in a child in the Bay Area. The bird flu crisis, driven by the H5N1 virus, began several years ago, but ramped up considerably in April when dairy cows started becoming infected. Related Emails reveal how health departments struggle to track human cases of bird flu Although there have …

H5N1 bird flu infects five more humans in California, and one in Oregon
1 month, 1 week ago

H5N1 bird flu infects five more humans in California, and one in Oregon

LA Times  

As H5N1 bird flu spreads among California dairy herds and southward-migrating birds, health officials announced Friday that six more human cases of infection: five in California and one in Oregon — the state’s first. California’s state epidemiologist, Erica Pan, said that while the announcement of five cases today may sound like a sudden explosion or acceleration in cases, it was …

Canadian teen in critical condition with what is believed to be human case of bird flu
1 month, 1 week ago

Canadian teen in critical condition with what is believed to be human case of bird flu

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A Canadian teen is hospitalized in critical condition with what is …

Canadian teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu in critical condition
1 month, 1 week ago

Canadian teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu in critical condition

LA Times  

Canadian health officials announced Tuesday that a teenager infected with H5N1 bird flu from an unknown source is in critical condition. However, Nuzzo said, while this virus could “be a lot less deadly than what we’ve seen to date,” it could also be far more deadly than any pandemic in a long time, including COVID-19. Her third concern is how …

Bird flu: Canada teen in critical condition with H5 virus
1 month, 1 week ago

Bird flu: Canada teen in critical condition with H5 virus

CNN  

CNN — A Canadian teenager is hospitalized in critical condition with bird flu, health officials reported Tuesday. People with ARDS typically need help breathing with machines such as a ventilator, but officials did not offer specifics on the teen’s treatment except to say they’re receiving antiviral medications. These cases have all been among adults, however, and Henry said it’s possible …

H5N1 bird flu might be more prevalent among humans than public health data shows
1 month, 1 week ago

H5N1 bird flu might be more prevalent among humans than public health data shows

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy As H5N1 bird flu …

CDC calls for expanded testing for bird flu after blood tests reveal more farmworker infections
1 month, 2 weeks ago

CDC calls for expanded testing for bird flu after blood tests reveal more farmworker infections

Associated Press  

Federal health officials on Thursday called for more testing of employees on farms with bird flu after a new study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn’t report feeling sick. Farmworkers in close contact with infected animals should be tested and offered treatment even if they show no symptoms, said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal …

Bird flu virus found in Los Angeles County wastewater
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Bird flu virus found in Los Angeles County wastewater

LA Times  

Los Angeles County health officials said they have detected H5N1 bird flu virus in wastewater collected from the A.K. Hits were The Carson plant processes wastewater from roughly 50% of L.A. County’s population, said Annabelle de St. Maurice, the L.A. County Department of Public Health’s director of community outbreak and syndromic surveillance. In addition, she said, the county is working …

The first case of bird flu has been found in a pig at an Oregon farm
1 month, 3 weeks ago

The first case of bird flu has been found in a pig at an Oregon farm

The Independent  

Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Federal officials …

First US Case of Bird Flu in a Pig Raises Concerns Over Potential Human Threat
1 month, 3 weeks ago

First US Case of Bird Flu in a Pig Raises Concerns Over Potential Human Threat

Associated Press  

A pig at an Oregon farm has been found to have bird flu, marking the first instance of the virus in the United States. The infection poses a potential threat to human health due to its ability to spread to humans. Genetic tests have shown no mutations that suggest the virus is gaining an increased ability to spread to people. …

A concerning development: H5N1 bird flu has infected a pig in Oregon, officials say
1 month, 3 weeks ago

A concerning development: H5N1 bird flu has infected a pig in Oregon, officials say

LA Times  

Oregon state and federal officials confirmed Wednesday that H5N1 bird flu was found in a pig living in Crook County — the first such swine infection reported in the current outbreak. “Experts and commentators have minimized the outbreak to date, saying, ‘but it’s not in pigs yet.’ Well, now it seems to be, and just in time for the other …

Alarming development as mutated bird flu strain that is 30x deadlier leaves American infected
1 month, 3 weeks ago

Alarming development as mutated bird flu strain that is 30x deadlier leaves American infected

Daily Mail  

Doctors are expressing alarm about a mutated form of bird flu that infected a farm worker in Texas. Government-backed researchers took a sample of the virus, infected mice and ferrets with it and found it had evolved to become far deadlier than the wild strain currently spreading on US farms. Researchers have suggested that drinking unpasteurized milk from an infected …

No Evidence of Bird Flu Spreading Between People in Missouri
1 month, 4 weeks ago

No Evidence of Bird Flu Spreading Between People in Missouri

Associated Press  

No evidence of bird flu spreading between people has been found in Missouri after an investigation into a mysterious infection. The illness was different from the 30 other bird flu infections in people in the U.S. so far this year, and there was no known contact with an infected animal. The patient had preexisting health problems and was hospitalized in …

How did H5N1 bird flu get introduced to California’s dairy industry?
2 months ago

How did H5N1 bird flu get introduced to California’s dairy industry?

LA Times  

Experts say it was bound to happen: The H5N1 bird flu that ravaged dairy herds in 13 states was inevitably going to arrive in California. At the end of July or early August, a dairy farmer in Tulare County reportedly sold some of his cows to a farmer in Idaho, which had been reporting infected cattle herds since early April. …

As bird flu outbreaks rise, piles of dead cattle become shocking Central Valley tableau
2 months ago

As bird flu outbreaks rise, piles of dead cattle become shocking Central Valley tableau

LA Times  

There’s a sickness hovering over Tulare County‘s dairy industry. Two dead cows lie on the edge of a dairy farm in Tipton, Calif. “I’m surprised there are that few reported,” Anja Raudabaugh, chief executive of Western United Dairies, a California dairy trade organization, said recently after being told the latest case number was 105. “Virus will survive on the carcass …

As California bird flu outbreak worsens, a Missouri patient who caught it is alarming experts
2 months, 2 weeks ago

As California bird flu outbreak worsens, a Missouri patient who caught it is alarming experts

Salon  

The H5N1 virus, also known as bird flu, has created an enduring crisis this year, massacring millions of birds and other wild animals, while stirring outbreaks in dairy farms across the U.S. As the number of confirmed bird flu cases continues to climb in various states across the country, many public health experts are anxiously awaiting results from testing performed …

As bird flu outbreak expands in California, dairy farms report it’s worse than they expected
2 months, 2 weeks ago

As bird flu outbreak expands in California, dairy farms report it’s worse than they expected

CNN  

CNN — A third farmworker has tested positive for bird flu in California, according to the state’s health department. “I have seen little that abates my worry that this virus will eventually cause hospitalizations or deaths,” she added Dozens of California herds affected Since late August, more than 80 herds in California have been affected by bird flu, according to …

Australia's dairy farmers prepared to face deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu if it arrives
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Australia's dairy farmers prepared to face deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu if it arrives

ABC  

Stuart and Belinda Griffin never thought they'd be on the look out for bird flu in their cows. "It's a bit of the alert, but not alarmed," said Stuart whose family has run a dairy farm in Moe, in Victoria's La Trobe Valley, for more than a century. "Veterinarians didn't routinely test cattle for influenza, that was not anywhere on …

Two California farmworkers test positive for bird flu
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Two California farmworkers test positive for bird flu

CNN  

CNN — Two farmworkers in California tested positive for H5 bird flu, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Thursday. The confirmation came hours after the California Department of Public Health announced the first two presumptive positive cases in humans in the state. “Ongoing health checks of individuals who interact with potentially infected animals helped us quickly …

California reports two confirmed cases of bird flu infection in Central Valley dairy workers
2 months, 3 weeks ago

California reports two confirmed cases of bird flu infection in Central Valley dairy workers

LA Times  

The two California cases bring the total of human cases associated with bird-flu-infected dairy cows in the U.S. to six. California health officials reported two confirmed cases of H5N1 bird flu infection in Central Valley dairy workers on Thursday afternoon. On Saturday, the California Department of Public Health reported that a third possible human case of bird flu had been …

Concern grows as bird flu outbreaks continue to rise among California dairy herds
3 months ago

Concern grows as bird flu outbreaks continue to rise among California dairy herds

LA Times  

Reports of H5N1 bird flu outbreaks at California dairy herds are continuing to rise as the nation’s largest milk producer scrambles to contain the spread. “Farmers are genuinely worried about the virus and do not feel it’s under control,” said Anja Raudabaugh, CEO of Western United Dairies, the trade association of California dairy farmers. Steve Lyle, an agriculture department spokesman, …

Number of California dairy herds infected with H5N1 bird flu rises to 17
3 months ago

Number of California dairy herds infected with H5N1 bird flu rises to 17

LA Times  

The total number of H5N1 bird flu outbreaks among California dairy herds has risen to 17, according to officials. California officials have ordered bulk milk testing for dairy farms within six miles of herds infected with H5N1 bird flu, as well as for dairies that share trucks, personnel or equipment with facilities that have suffered an outbreak. It is also …

Alarming development as Missouri patient becomes first American to catch H5N1 bird flu with no exposure to animals
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Alarming development as Missouri patient becomes first American to catch H5N1 bird flu with no exposure to animals

Daily Mail  

A person in Missouri has become the first American to be diagnosed with H5N1 bird flu without coming into contact with animals, in a potentially worrying development. A person in Missouri has become the first American to be diagnosed with H5N1 bird flu without coming into contact with animals There have also been 196 herds of dairy cows infected with …

Officials confirm H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in three California dairy farms
3 months, 2 weeks ago

Officials confirm H5N1 bird flu outbreaks in three California dairy farms

LA Times  

Federal officials have confirmed that three California dairy herds have suffered outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu, due most likely to the transportation of cattle and not exposure to diseased birds. The B3.13 genetic sequence found in the infected cows was clearly the result of “anthropogenic movement; essentially zero chance it was an independent spill from wild birds into these dairies,” …

California becomes 14th state to detect bird flu in dairy cows
3 months, 2 weeks ago

California becomes 14th state to detect bird flu in dairy cows

Salon  

On Monday, California became the 14th state to report outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows. Some have wondered how the Golden State avoided an outbreak thus far in the bird flu crisis, after nearly 200 outbreaks have been reported from Colorado to Texas to Michigan. In late August, cows at three dairy farms in the Central Valley displayed symptoms …

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