Texans Spread Bird Flu From Cow To Cow And Human To Human

(CTN News) – State agriculture and health officials believe Texas cows may have directly transmitted Bird Flu to other cows and one person.

It is a troubling development that a virus that kills domestic birds is being transmitted from mammal to mammal. In a study published last month, the CDC warned that the outbreaks need to be closely monitored to prevent a potential health crisis.

“Viruses may have changed and adapted to infect mammals,” researchers concluded. Pandemic risk can be mitigated by continuous surveillance.

A human infection was announced Monday by the Texas Department of State Health Services. He likely contracted the illness directly from dairy cows that were thought to be infected.

The department’s spokesperson, Lara Anton, believes that’s what happened.

According to Anton, the only symptom the person is experiencing is conjunctivitis – commonly known as “pink eye.”

The risk to public health, for people not working with Bird Flu sick cows, is considered low in general, Anton said.

Federal officials have said there is no evidence that the virus is becoming more transmissible to humans.

A person in the United States was infected with the currently circulating bird flu,

According to CDC data. First, a person was exposed to infected poultry directly in Colorado in 2022. A person with only fatigue as a symptom had that condition.

It was first reported last week that there was an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle in Texas, Kansas, and potentially New Mexico, according to the U.S. USDA. Initial infections appear to have been spread by migrating birds, which led to thick and discolored milk produced by sick cows.

The USDA confirmed Friday that Bird Flu sick cows from Texas were transported to Michigan before showing symptoms, which caused the disease in the dairy herd.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spokesperson Jennifer Holton said there has not yet been any evidence of cow-to-cow transmission of the virus.

Preliminary test results indicate that at least eight cows of a preexisting herd in Idaho have been infected with BSE.

As a result, we assume cow-to-cow transmission,” said Sydney Kennedy, spokesperson for the Idaho State Department of Agriculture.

While infected cows recover, milk production has dropped on affected dairy farms. It is illegal to process milk from sick cows for human consumption according to federal regulations.

As a result of early herd infections in Texas, milk losses in herds were up to 40% for a week or more. The USDA said the losses are not enough to cause a national milk shortage or raise consumer prices.

In 48 states, about 82 million birds have been culled as a result of the current bird flu outbreak, which began in February 2022. During wild bird migrations in spring and fall, its effects have been most apparent.

This year, only seven flocks in the U.S. have been infected, totaling about 32,000 birds. In South Dakota, nearly all of them belonged to a commercial turkey flock.

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