Spreading Bird Flu in US Raises Worries Over Its Risks to Human

April 5, 2024 Hour: 8:23 am

As of Thursday, bird flu has spread among herds in at least six states, with at least two confirmed human infections, raising worries over its risks to humans and a hike in egg prices.

RELATED:

France Detects Bird Flu on Vaccinated Ducks

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed that infections have been reported in seven dairy herds in Texas, two in Kansas, and one each in New Mexico, Ohio, Michigan and Idaho since last month.

The agency is currently testing more, warning that transmission of the virus among cows across the states cannot be ruled out.

The initial cases in Texas and Kansas appear to have been introduced by wild birds, and the strain of the virus in subsequent cases in New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho was very similar. The infected dairy in Ohio received cows on March 8 from a Texas dairy which later confirmed a detection of bird flu, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Earlier this week, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported the state’s first human case of bird flu.

1/ The 2nd human case of H5N1 bird flu was reported in the US yesterday.

This case was in Texas & likely involved transmission from an infected cow�� to this individual.

The 1st case was reported in Colorado in 2022.

with @tonydokoupil @GayleKing @nateburleson pic.twitter.com/yGLT5WsAOg

— Céline Gounder, MD, ScM, FIDSA �� (@celinegounder)
April 2, 2024

A Texan dairy worker who had direct contact with dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) was being treated for bird flu with the only symptom of eye redness, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Monday.

It was the second human case of H5N1 ever reported in the United States but was later confirmed the first case linked to direct exposure to sick cattle in the country.

One day after the human case was made public, Cal-Maine Foods, the U.S. largest fresh egg producer and distributor based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, announced that it had temporarily suspended egg production at its farm in Parmer County, Texas, due to the virus detected in chickens.

“Production at the facility has temporarily ceased. The virus is still present in the wild bird population and the extent of possible future outbreaks, with heightened risk during the migration seasons, cannot be predicted,” the company said, adding that it would cull almost 1.6 million egg-laying hens and 337,000 pullets (females less than a year old) at the farm nearing the Texas-New Mexico border to stop the virus from spreading.

Bird flu outbreaks have been reported at 2 more dairy farms, in Kansas and New Mexico, raising the total to 15 pic.twitter.com/Jut5VICChP

— BNO News (@BNOFeed)
April 4, 2024

So far there have been no reports of person-to-person transmission. The CDC considers the risk of bird flu for humans to be low. However, the spread to an increasing number of species and its widening geographic reach have raised the risks to humans, the head of the World Organization for Animal Health said on Thursday.

Before the confirmation of the human case, milk from dairy cows in the Texas Panhandle and Kansas already tested positive for bird flu in March, local media reported. Nevertheless, the commercial milk supply is safe.

“At this stage, there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health,” the USDA said in a statement in March.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said on Thursday that the bird flu outbreak should not affect egg and dairy prices at grocery stores in the country.

“The (closed Cal-Maine Foods) facility is less than four percent of their production so there won’t be any spike in egg prices,” Miller said on NBC News.

As more poultry farms are struggling with the bird flu outbreak across the country, it appears not easy for the Texan official’s remarks to ease the worries among the public over a possible hike in egg prices.

Egg prices have now been steadily rising for months in the United States and the bird flu outbreak could push egg prices even higher, multiple U.S. media have warned.

The World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a Chinese woman died from H3N8 bird flu in mid-March after confirming three human cases in the last year in China. pic.twitter.com/Uws0xquyFS

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish)
April 12, 2023