United States: On Monday, the disease struck California, and this made it the number fourteen states in the country to be affected by bird flu on dairy cows.
More about the news
Some have been keen to ask how the Golden State has not been affected by the bird flu epidemic that has hit other regions of the country, leaving nearly 200 outbreaks of the virus from Colorado, through Texas, to Michigan.
It is quite odd bearing in mind that California remains the largest producer of dairy products in the United States. So, now that time has come for it.
According to Terry Lehenbauer, a bovine disease epidemiologist and professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, “It seemed like it might be only a matter of time.” That time has arrived, as salon.com repoted.
What more are the experts stating?
In late August, cows in three farms in the Central Valley showed what was to be highly pathogenic avian influenza, which was later confirmed by the California Department of Food and Agriculture. No human has been reported to be affected or infected by the virus so far.
Such infections as bird flu keep public health experts worried because the H5N1 virus has the ability to turn into a pandemic, as it did with swine flu(H1N1) and the recent COVID-19.
It is very easily transmittible and has the potential to claim lives. The virus has been circulating through birds and other wildlife for several years now but has recently infected dairy cows, and that scares scientists since the virus transmission from birds to mammals could make humans more vulnerable to disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the current exposure risk for the general public still remains low, but farmworkers remain the most vulnerable, salon.com reported.
Since 2022, 14 people have been infected with H5N1; 10 cases are traced to exposure to poultry, and the other cases to dairy cows.
Although none of the cases were fatal, some studies indicate that there are many unidentified cases in the population.
Rising cases in the US
This year’s multi-state outbreak is the first time there have been more than one case in a state; the US Department of Agriculture reports that there are 197 cases so far, including those in California.
According to specialists from around the country, if we do not successfully monitor this virus through testing and quarantining dairy herds, then further issues could arise.