2024-03-28 16:04:28
Three weeks ago the cows came down with a cold-like illness, pranešė „The Associated Press“. The animals gave less milk than usual, their appetite decreased, the cows seemed sluggish.
Samples of unpasteurized milk and throat and nose swabs showed the cows were infected with the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu, Tuesday (March 26). published by the Texas Animal Health Commission. This strain causes disease outbreaks in wild and domestic birds and sometimes infects humans.
The announcement comes a week after the first ones were reported in the US cases of bird flu among goats (goat goat). According to a report by the World Organization for Animal Health, the goats shared pasture and a water source with ducks and chickens that were infected with bird flu at a farm in Stevens County, Minnesota.
The spread of bird flu among goats “highlights the potential for the virus to spread to other animals on multi-species farms,” March 20. in a statement released said Brian Hoefs, Minnesota state veterinarian and executive director of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health.
Based on new results from Texas, officials believe the dairy cows were most likely infected by wild birds. Studies have not identified any changes in the bird flu virus that would make it more infectious to humans, the AP reported.
During bird flu outbreaks, officials have had to cull entire flocks of birds to stop the spread of the virus. However, cows that tested positive for avian influenza recovered within 7 to 10 days without treatment.
About 10 percent were infected with the virus. herds of dairy cows. As a result, the situation is “not remotely similar to high-level flu in bird flocks,” Michael Payne, a veterinarian and biosecurity expert at the University of California, told the news agency.
Only milk from healthy animals will be supplied to food products from infected dairy farms. The US Department of Agriculture considers the risk to humans to be low, and noted in the statementthat the pasteurization required for milk sold in interstate commerce destroys viruses and bacteria.
By now, bird flu H5N1 is already present infected 48 mammal species, including foxes, skunks, raccoons, seals and polar bears. “It was probably only a matter of time before bird flu reached ruminants,” which include cattle, goats and sheep, Payne said.
According to the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, there are no known cases of bird flu being transmitted from nonhuman mammals to humans in the United States. However, there have been rare cases of transmission from birds to humans. Experts told the AP that any risk of infection is only for people who have had direct contact with infected animals, according to Live Science.
2024-03-28 16:04:28