Bird Flu Found in Oklahoma Dairy Cows

Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Brijesh Patel reported Monday that “Oklahoma has become the 13th U.S. state to detect bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday, though the state said the infection happened months ago.”

“The confirmation shows the outbreak was more widespread than U.S. authorities knew after the virus was first found in dairy cattle in late March,” Polansek and Patel reported. “Bird flu has since been detected in more than 150 dairy herds nationwide. The cases are part of a far-reaching outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that has been spreading globally in wild birds, infecting poultry and various species of mammals. Four dairy workers have tested positive this year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the risk to the general public remains low.”

The Oklahoma Case

Polansek and Patel reported that “an Oklahoma dairy collected the positive sample in April when it suspected its herd may have been infected, said Lee Benson, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Foresty. The dairy recently sent stored samples to USDA for testing after the farm learned it could receive financial assistance for lost milk production from bird flu, Benson said.”

“USDA, on its website, reported two positive herds in Oklahoma. Benson said the confirmed positive sample is from one Oklahoma dairy that has two separate barns,” Polansek and Patel reported. “Oklahoma’s agriculture department thinks USDA received the dairy’s samples in the first week of July, Benson said. The herd has fully recovered, and Oklahoma has not received reports of other possible infections, the state said.”

Colorado Receiving CDC Assistance for its Outbreak

In addition to the identification of the Bird Flu virus in Oklahoma, Reuters reported that “the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deployed a nine-member field team to Colorado to help the state manage a bird flu outbreak in humans and poultry” after “Colorado confirmed four infections and a suspected fifth case on Sunday.”

“The CDC, in a statement dated July 14, said its team of epidemiologists, veterinarians, clinicians and an industrial hygienist was working to support Colorado’s assessment of the outbreak and the human cases,” Reuters reported. “Based on current information, it said it believes the risk to the public to be low.”

“The CDC said genetic sequencing of the virus was underway and it would look for any mutations that could impact its risk assessment,” Reuters reported.

Concern Growing About Low Testing Numbers In Some US States

The Missouri Independent’s Mary McCue Bell reported Monday that “as the number of dairy cows infected with a strain of bird flu virus grows across the country, 17 of Missouri’s roughly 60,000 dairy cows have been tested while agriculture officials and farmers keep watch for signs that the outbreak has entered the state.”

“So far, Missouri farmers haven’t reported any cows with the virus, called H5N1, state officials said,” McCue Bell reported. “However, national biosecurity and public health experts are concerned that a lack of testing in states across the country, and the economic implications of quarantining cattle, may be allowing the virus to spread undetected.”

“Missouri State Veterinarian Steve Strubberg acknowledged that only a small fraction of the state’s dairy cows have been tested for the virus,” McCue Bell reported. “Strubberg, who leads the Missouri Department of Agriculture Animal Health Division, said he believes Missouri farmers would have reported sick cows to their veterinarians if their herds were becoming infected.”

“‘We just feel like most livestock producers, they really do a great job of watching the health of their animals,’ Strubberg said. ‘I mean, it’s their livelihood,'” McCue Bell reported.