More than a dozen states are quarantining COWS to halt the spread of bird flu as experts grow increasingly concerned about the outbreak in humans
Farms in several states are quarantining cows amid fears of rapidly spreading bird flu.
Health officials in 18 states have imposed restrictions on livestock imports from states where bird flu, also known as H5N1, has been confirmed in dairy cows.
Although officials say the risk to people who eat beef is “very low,” some experts are concerned about a possible outbreak in humans — after a Texas dairy farmer became the second American ever to test positive for bird flu.
Last week, Dr. Darin Detwiler, former FDA and USDA Food Safety Advisor, told DailyMail.com that Americans should avoid rare meat and runny eggs while the outbreak in livestock was ongoing.
In humans, severe infections can lead to respiratory failure, encephalitis, and multi-organ failure.
Last week, Maryland and North Carolina became the last states to impose restrictions on cow movement, as North Carolina detected its first infection.
Experts fear infections in cattle and other mammals could increase the risk of the virus adapting to spread among humans.
The list also includes Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Nebraska and Tennessee, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA).
States like New York have also warned residents to keep their distance from local wildlife such as geese, falcons and hawks, which can also carry the deadly virus.
As of April 2, the USDA said it will not issue federal quarantine orders or recommend state-level restrictions.
‘However, we strongly recommend minimizing the movement of livestock as much as possible, with special attention to evaluating risk and factoring that risk into movement decisions. Do not move sick or exposed animals,” the agency said.
Officials with the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) said that if livestock need to be moved, it encourages “extreme dedication” from producers, veterinarians and health officials to ensure only healthy livestock are moved.
The map above shows states with herds of livestock diagnosed with bird flu
Each state has different restrictions. For example, Maryland, the latest state to implement limits, bans dairy cattle from states where bird flu has been confirmed.
Bird flu is a disease caused by infections with influenza A viruses, which typically spread to waterfowl. It can then infect farm animals such as poultry and livestock.
So far, 28 farms in eight states have reported H5N1 infections in their cows, including 11 in Texas and six in New Mexico.
States such as Iowa, California and Minnesota have started testing their animals for the virus. Infected cattle are described as ‘sleepy’, eat less food and produce less milk.
But it’s not clear how the cows became infected, whether through exposure to infected feces, bird carcasses or some other route.
However, some researchers suggest that livestock become ill after drinking contaminated water from birds passing through the area.
Earlier this month, a farmer in Texas became the second American ever to test positive for H5N1. The CDC says the patient had a “mild” infection with only one symptom — inflammation of the eye — and that he was isolated and “recovering well.”
They are also being treated with the drug oseltamivir, or Tamiflu, and are not believed to have passed the virus on to anyone else.
Texas has also reported 11 farm outbreaks, the most of any other state.
There are still many unknowns surrounding the human case.
It can come from direct contact with cows or from touching a surface contaminated with the virus and then touching their face.
While many mammals become infected, experts say there is one species in particular they are targeting: pigs.
These animals have the same receptors in their lungs as humans, meaning an outbreak among them could portend a similar episode in humans.
But no infections in pigs are currently recorded.
According to the CDC, some people infected with bird flu may not experience any symptoms.
Those who did have reported flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache and fatigue.
Earlier this month, the CDC told state health officials to prepare for more human cases of bird flu, including “current operational plans” in case more farmworkers tested positive. However, the agency also emphasized that the risk to the public is low.
This came after CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said the agency is taking bird flu “very seriously.”
The above shows how bird flu in the US is moving closer to human spillover
Dr. Darin Detwiler said that while the chance of catching bird flu from properly cooked food is low, “the severity is high” once someone gets sick.
“The risk increases with improperly cooked eggs or meat, just as the risks increase in a car accident if you don’t wear your seat belt.”
“However, looking at severity, the H5N1 strain has caused severe illness and fatalities in infected people.”
He noted that serious complications include respiratory failure, encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS, which causes fluid to build up in the air sacs of the lungs) and multi-organ failure.
The World Health Organization estimates the fatality rate for H5N1 at 52 percent, based on the 462 deaths recorded since 2003 among the 887 people diagnosed with the virus.
Dr. Detwiler also warned against eating foods that contain improperly cooked meat and eggs, such as rare steak, eggs benedict and even Caesar salad, to reduce the risk of transmission.