What is the latest on Bird Flu?

Although dairy cattle and poultry continue to get infected and there are several more human cases, the risk to the public is considered low. Scientists and authorities are monitoring this closely and more testing of animals, humans and milk is underway.

(This information is correct as of December 16, 2024, 1 pm EST)

Avian influenza, more commonly called bird flu, continues to infect poultry and dairy cattle in the US. Human cases have also been found, however most of them are in farm workers who had direct contact with sick poultry or cows.

Let’s look at some numbers (these are laboratory-confirmed cases):

🐮 Cattle farms affected: 853 herds in 16 states

🤕 Human cases: 60 in total (37 in people exposed to cattle, 21 to poultry and 2 unknown)

To date, there have only been three known human cases where the source of infection (i.e. the exposure) remains unclear:

One person in Missouri who was hospitalized back in the fall.

One teen in Canada who is currently being treated in ICU. They have a version of bird flu that is similar to the version circulating in wild birds and in poultry farms in Canada. It is not the same version found in USA dairy cows.

One child in California who displayed only mild symptoms and has since recovered. The strain found is similar to that circulating in dairy cows and poultry. (Tests on a second child in California, who had consumed raw milk and developed a fever and stomach upset, came back negative, showing no evidence of a H5N1 infection).

The good news is that none of the cases’ contacts have tested positive, which means human-to-human transmission remains unlikely at this point.

Raw milk recall

In the last week of November, the California Health Department issued a voluntary raw milk recall for several batches of raw milk, because they found H5N1 virus when testing.

Further testing found more evidence of contamination and a broader recall of raw milk products was issued on Dec 4.

What is the USDA doing about the issue with raw milk?

The USDA announced on Dec 6 that they would introduce a National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS). This federal order has three main requirements:

Upon request, companies involved with processing, sending, or holding milk intended for pasteurization have to share raw milk samples
Herd owners of cattle that have tested positive for H5N1 must provide epidemiological information (i.e. information about how the disease spreads, who is infected etc.) which will help with activities such as contact tracing and disease surveillance.
Private laboratories and state veterinarians must report positive results from tests performed on raw milk samples as part of the NMTS.

NOTE: The first round of testing – initially in six states only – is scheduled for the week beginning Dec 16, 2024, so don’t be alarmed if there is an increase in findings of H5N1 in milk and cattle reported in the coming days and weeks – scientists think that the presence of H5N1 in cattle has been largely underestimated, as testing has been minimal and sporadic in many states (because if you don’t look for it, you won’t know what’s there).

Reminder – although the risk remains low, here are a few things you can do to:

🚫 Avoid raw milk and raw milk products. Pasteurized milk is safe as the pasteurization process kills the virus.

🚫 Don’t feed raw milk products to your pets.

🚫 Don’t let your pets play with sick or dead birds and if you find any dead wild birds report them.

🧤 If you have bird feeders in the backyard, make sure to wear gloves when cleaning or refilling them and thoroughly wash your hands afterward.

Bottom line:

H5N1 is not going away anytime soon, but for now, the risk to the public remains low.

We don’t want you to worry about this too much. Rest assured that we are keeping an eye on this and will update you with any important news or changes.

Stay safe. Stay well and enjoy the festive season.

Love,

Those Nerdy Girls

Useful reading:

CDC – H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation

USDA – HPAI confirmed cases in livestock

CDC – Avian influenza technical update Dec 10

CIDRAP – Avian flu infects another California dairy worker as more raw milk positives prompt wider recall

CDC – Raw milk

Christina Pagel: Diving into Data And Decisionmaking – How close is a new bird flu (H5N1) pandemic?

Previous TNG posts about Bird Flu:

What’s the latest on Bird Flu? – Oct’24