The H5N1 bird flu outbreak has spread to dairy cows in at least nine U.S. states, with 51 dairy herds affected. Concerns are mounting over the exposure of farm workers, who are more likely to be uninsured, have limited English proficiency, lower household incomes, Hispanic, and noncitizen immigrants. Many dairy workers are yet to receive protective gear. Wastewater testing is being expanded to 190 sites by Stanford, Emory, and Verily Life Sciences to provide early warnings and outbreak insights. The bird flu virus has also been detected in another human, marking the second infection, raising questions about the delayed recognition of the spread in dairy cows. Interagency efforts involving the FDA, CDC, and USDA are being called for to address the situation.
H5N1 avian flu viruses can persist on milking equipment surfaces Findings underscore the risk to dairy workers and suggest that contaminated milking equipment may be partly responsible for cattle-to-cattle spread. https://t.co/0A6ll9JrEo https://t.co/O5spaw0bzZ
Limited surveillance on dairy farms is leaving US officials blind (and frustrated) in understanding just how widespread bird flu is. Enter: Sewage. The bird's eye view into tracking an outbreak. w/ @rileyraygriffin https://t.co/6VFI5SRE3K
A bird flu whodunit: An early indication that something had gone awry on farms in Texas came from devices hitched to collars on dairy cows — what one expert calls an “an advanced fitness tracker.” @amymaxmen reports for KFF Health News & @TexasTribune. https://t.co/Bqdmy3dReK
Scanning💩sewage💩is revealing key insights about the US bird flu outbreak as dairy farms continue to resist testing. What are @Verily @Stanford @EmoryUniversity, @TEPHI_Texas and others finding in the sludge? My latest on #H5N1 w/@jessicanix_: https://t.co/CkhCQ82rhU @business
Surveillance of sewage suggests the bird flu virus may be more widespread among dairy cows than reported, raising workers’ risk. https://t.co/5dOvE984WU
NEW: Why did it take so long to recognize bird flu on high-tech farms in the world’s richest country? Because even though H5N1 has circulated for nearly three decades, it had never before appeared in dairy cattle. @amymaxmen reports. ⬇️ https://t.co/eXvRtTvAI4
Focus: Many US dairy workers yet to receive protective gear for bird flu https://t.co/YPwZrUPbaK https://t.co/YPwZrUPbaK
Wastewater testing for #H5N1 #birdflu is about to go next level in a 190-site network operated by scientists from Stanford, Emory and Verily Life Sciences, @MeganMolteni reports. Instead of just searching for flu A viruses, they'll search for H5. https://t.co/kpGF46Lj8Y
Less than a month ago, researchers reported for the first time the ability to scan wastewater for signs of the H5 influenza virus currently sickening dairy cows in at least nine states in the U.S. https://t.co/7fKIU8Tmo8
Bird flu has been detected in 51 dairy herds in 9 states—and has spread to yet another human. @US_FDA, @CDCgov, and @USDA have yet to take coordinated action to address this situation. Interagency efforts are critical in outbreaks like this to ensure the safety of Americans. https://t.co/H2Zr7vUHZ2
With the news that bird flu has been detected in another human, it's worth asking how officials missed the spread in dairy cows for *so* long. @kristindakota took a look at what happened and what needs to change: https://t.co/4k00BFkJNW
Amid mounting concerns about farm workers being exposed to the H5N1 bird flu, we found that animal production workers, including dairy farm workers, are more likely than U.S. workers overall to be Hispanic and noncitizen immigrants. Get the details: https://t.co/kD2ggcmXaX
In light of second dairy worker H5N1 infection, I am re-upping our piece (w/ @sauer929 @BhadeliaMD ) calling for enhanced dairy worker protections. We should not wait for a full blown catastrophe to take actions to protect workers from this persistent occupational hazard. https://t.co/8oQJtcc457
In the context of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak in cows, we found that animal production workers, including dairy farm workers, are more likely than U.S. workers overall to be uninsured, have limited English proficiency, and have lower household incomes. More:https://t.co/kD2ggcmplp
Wastewater testing for H5 avian flu virus could provide early warning, outbreak insights The group will use the H5 probe to test samples from all 190 WastewaterSCAN sites and share the information with local public health officials and on its dashboard. https://t.co/IuvJOOxCNb https://t.co/zttNSXWBUo