We've currently got 2 confirmed dairy worker H5N1/HPAI infections in 2 months from 52 confirmed infected dairy herds. There were 27,932 dairy herds in the US as of 2002. Back of the napkin math tells me that if all those herds became infected, one would expect dairy workers to become infected at a rate of around 537 workers a month, but we're of course taking stringent measures to ensure more dairy herds don't get infected right? Right? Right?
Just to clarify a technicality from some of today’s headlines:
There was actually a <third> person diagnosed with highly pathogenic avian influenza #H5N1 today according to the CDC dashboard. It was the <second> among dairy workers (both of whom had conjunctivitis, whereas the case of an infected poultry worker presented with fatigue).
Michigan just reported a human case of #H5N1 in a dairy worker, the second human #H5N1 case linked to the ongoing outbreak in dairy cows in the US.
As in the previous case in Texas, the worker only reported eye symptoms.
Bird flu detected at central Victorian egg farm | theguardian.com
"Bird flu has been detected at an egg farm near Meredith in central Victoria, but authorities are yet to determine if it is the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain."
When H5N1 goes off the rails as it almost certainly will in the not-too-distant future, who do you want to be in charge of the country?
Competent leaders and scientists or a clown show. Because this stuff is not a joke.
A new unreviewed preprint is ringing alarm bells about the possibility of human to human transmission coming from cows. (Similar to the problem with pigs.) It's not good.
We're thankful for scientists who are working to keep Americans safe from #BirdFlu, that's currently infecting dairy cattle:
"Move over, wastewater. Store-bought milk could be another way to track the bird flu outbreak in cows.
Scientists have managed to generate a full genetic sequence of #H5N1#birdflu from store-bought milk, suggesting commercial milk products could be a way to monitor the outbreak in cows, given the lack of cooperation from dairy farmers.
Live H5N1 avian influenza can survive in meat cooked rare, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found.
In a study conducted this week, USDA scientists discovered that hamburgers cooked at 120 degrees Fahrenheit – the temperature of a rare steak – contained live traces of a substitute bird flu virus. The agency said that no virus was present in burgers cooked to 145 degrees (medium rare) or 160 degrees (well done).
"On 24 April, the USDA mandated testing of lactating dairy cows prior to their movement between states, and reporting of positive influenza A test results in livestock."
This is why I'm going so hard on #FluIsAirborne. When the air is left out of the conversation, nothing gets done to stop non-lactating cows -- you know, the ones that still have lungs, and can breathe -- from continuing to spread airborne #H5N1
Tell me why anybody would vote for Republicans??? Banning mask wearing for health reasons? During the ongoing #covid#pandemic and with the risk of #h5n1
With latest update from @USDA the total number of herds affected in the #H5N1#avianflu outbreak in the US is 49 herds in 9 states (without widespread testing mind you…)
8 of the last 12 confirmations are from herds in Michigan
Many #COVID19 cautious are posting endlessly about H5N1. I am not going to follow them down the rabbit hole. Avian flu may or may not become a human-to-human pandemic, but...
I continue to believe we're ignoring the immediate and real risk we face with COVID
We don't help mental health by constantly promoting POTENTIAL risks
If it becomes a pandemic, we'll know
If morons want to drink unpasteurized milk and risk death, blindness and illness, I am powerless to stop them, anyway.
For the public, for certain parts of the population, Monkeypox is an immediate and very real hazard, and a threat for many others.
For the public H5N1 is something to be quite aware of, but playing it up as a huge hazard now is questionable.
However, as we have learned from other flu strains, it is only a matter of time until H5N1 gains human transmission. And given its lethality at >50% -warning!