Juan Lama’s Post

The knock-on effects of this for the world livestock industry are still extremely hazy, but potentially quite extensive. Will we need credible surveillance in commercial cattle, swine, sheep herds, in addition to poultry, not for animal illness necessarily, but for potential zoonotic genomic drift? Hopefully these cattle cases will die out quickly when bird contact is eliminated, but we'll need more evidence if that is the case. I don't see how we can afford to conduct individual animal PCR testing as a screening process for this risk, unless clinical case definitions are really effective in targeting herds at risk, i.e. high evidence of wild bird contact prior to clinical signs. If we get mammal to mammal spread or asymptomatic infection in herds with uncertain bird exposure, surveillance will get really messy. Swine have been really resistant to H5 in the past; recent work published in EID by Arruda et al may call that into some question. So much to learn and plenty of justifiable concern... (https://lnkd.in/edmCVN7q)

AgNext Dairy System Specialist and expert in infectious diseases in dairy cows, Dr. Jason Lombard, has been working on studying Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in cattle. In this article from The Conversation US, Dr. Lombard discusses HPAI being detected in Colorado and how he is working with researchers at Colorado State University and the USDA to understand the virus better. Read the full article here: https://loom.ly/X_tH32o

The cause of mystery illness in Texas and Kansas dairy cows is now identified as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) a.k.a bird flu virus. This is a very concerning development as the range of mammalian hosts found naturally infected with HPAIVs is expanding. The unprecedented clinical illness in cattle is a stark reminder that HPAIVs pose the single greatest threat to animal and human health globally. There is an urgent need for the implementation of #OneHealth approaches to monitor and mitigate the #Globalhealth threat posed by HPAIVs. At Pitt Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, we recognize #OneHealth is pivotal in our collective efforts to promote planetary health. https://lnkd.in/gNap69Dv) https://lnkd.in/gkrSdxx4

UV can be reactive. But better yet - proactive. Destroy airborne pathogens for higher productivity, savings, and especially prevention. No matter what's next.

The recent outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza in U.S. dairy herds, particularly clade 2.3.4.4b, is of growing concern as cases continue to rise. Primerdesign's qPCR kits offer a powerful solution for rapid and accurate detection of this highly pathogenic virus. Our assays provide comprehensive coverage, detecting over 95% of H5N1 sequences submitted to the GISAID EpiFlu Database in the last three years, including the strain currently impacting cattle. For more information, visit us at www.primerdesign.co.uk #AvianInfluenza #H5N1 #AvianFlu #qPCR https://lnkd.in/e4TGEkmf

After a dairy farmer contracted the H5N1 bird #flu in late March, researchers aiming to track the spread of the #virus found viral #RNA samples in pasteurized milk products on #grocery store shelves. While further #testing and contact tracing ramps up, experts are concerned about the #communication necessary to alleviate the virus in #dairy cattle, similar to communication issues around testing at the start of the COVID-19 #pandemic. https://lnkd.in/eCNTAcje

In this piece I’m quoted about how it’s important to get it right with this strain of avian influenza (which doesn’t infect humans efficiently) as other strains will be less forgiving of missteps and won’t provide a trial run https://lnkd.in/ec55QZMV

The low numbers tested are indeed abysmal...and now we have a 4th farm worker infection & counting. Finally, an article that at least addresses more of the realties of what migrant farm workers have to deal with. Even with these comments, they underplay the challenges, since many do not have health insurance & have no healthcare at all. They simply do not have the money, nor can take time off. While the languages of migrant workers can diverge from region to region, they have the same degrees of communication issues & lack of access . The only way to really test, is to go where these people live, or work. Work is out since the farms do not allow it. The farm workers are not going to a clinic, since it is not nearby and they would loss the day of work. The only way we could vaccine farm workers was to do it off hours in the evening [when most normal clinics were closed], on their days off [Sat/Sun], next to their housing/ community center, or at work [a farm or workplace (e.g. Vineyard)]. It will take far more funding and investment to test migrant farm workers. It is possible if the model that we used for Mobile Vaccine Clinics is used, along with using Medical Reserve Corp volunteer staff. MRC volunteers are free and one only needs a handful of management and funding for equipment and testing. Since the MRC can be activated for urgent or emergency reasons, that should not be a problem. Paying just $75 to a farm worker is just not going to work, unless one goes to them. We used gift cards to Target as an incentive as well as food trucks, but we really needed people like me to provide education and to work with community translators.

New Post: Bird flu detected in person who had contact with infected dairy cattle in Texas -A person in Texas is being treated for bird flu, the second human case of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has rampaged through sickened dairy cows in five states in recent weeks, federal and state officials said Monday. The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested for... A person in Texas is being treated for bird flu, the second human case of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has rampaged through sickened dairy cows in five states in recent weeks, federal and state officials said Monday.The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested for flu late last week, with confirmatory testing performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend. The patient is being treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir. The case does not change the risk for the general public, which remains low. The person had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza, Texas officials said Monday.The case has alarmed disease trackers monitoring for the worst-case scenario: human-to-human transmission of the pathogen, which has happened infrequently worldwide and typically among family members engaged in work with animals. And it raises questions about whether this pathogen is now more easily transmitted among mammals.But federal officials said the infection does not change the health risk assessment for bird flu among the U.S. general public, a risk that the CDC considers to be low. However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.In 2022, a person in Colorado tested positive for the same strain of avian flu. The person had direct exposure to poultry and was involved in culling poultry that had presumptive H5N1 bird flu. The person reported fatigue for a few days as their only symptom and recovered, according to the CDC.Still, any time the virus changes — its recent emergence in cattle and the likelihood of cow-to-cow transmission represents a change — “that makes me sit up and take notice,” said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.There are several ways the virus could evolve, disease experts have said: It could remain primarily a threat to animal health and then recede, as it has in the past. It may continue to circulate among animals, but not routinely infect humans. Or, in the worst case, it evolves to spread easily between people and becomes the next pandemic, Rivers said.The virus was detected in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas last week and has since spread to additional herds in at least five states, adding evidence that the virus may be spreading cow-to-cow. The strain has been confirmed in Michigan,

New Post: Bird flu detected in person who had contact with infected dairy cattle in Texas -A person in Texas is being treated for bird flu, the second human case of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has rampaged through sickened dairy cows in five states in recent weeks, federal and state officials said Monday. The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested for... A person in Texas is being treated for bird flu, the second human case of an illness caused by a highly virulent virus that has rampaged through sickened dairy cows in five states in recent weeks, federal and state officials said Monday.The patient, who experienced eye inflammation as their only symptom, was tested for flu late last week, with confirmatory testing performed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the weekend. The patient is being treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir. The case does not change the risk for the general public, which remains low. The person had direct exposure to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with avian influenza, Texas officials said Monday.The case has alarmed disease trackers monitoring for the worst-case scenario: human-to-human transmission of the pathogen, which has happened infrequently worldwide and typically among family members engaged in work with animals. And it raises questions about whether this pathogen is now more easily transmitted among mammals.But federal officials said the infection does not change the health risk assessment for bird flu among the U.S. general public, a risk that the CDC considers to be low. However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.In 2022, a person in Colorado tested positive for the same strain of avian flu. The person had direct exposure to poultry and was involved in culling poultry that had presumptive H5N1 bird flu. The person reported fatigue for a few days as their only symptom and recovered, according to the CDC.Still, any time the virus changes — its recent emergence in cattle and the likelihood of cow-to-cow transmission represents a change — “that makes me sit up and take notice,” said Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.There are several ways the virus could evolve, disease experts have said: It could remain primarily a threat to animal health and then recede, as it has in the past. It may continue to circulate among animals, but not routinely infect humans. Or, in the worst case, it evolves to spread easily between people and becomes the next pandemic, Rivers said.The virus was detected in dairy herds in Texas and Kansas last week and has since spread to additional herds in at least five states, adding evidence that the virus may be spreading cow-to-cow. The strain has been confirmed in Michigan,