Cows in a dairy farm
GH Photos / Alamy
Dairy cows in a number of US states have fallen ailing with chook flu, in keeping with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). The virus has killed tens of millions of birds worldwide, however that is the primary time it has been detected in cattle.
How many cows are affected by chook flu?
As of 25 March, milk samples collected from two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas have examined optimistic for a subtype of avian influenza known as H5N1, in keeping with The New York Times. This pressure is extremely deadly in birds. A cattle throat swab taken from a dairy farm in Texas additionally examined optimistic. No cows have died from the virus up to now.
US businesses started testing cattle for chook flu on 22 March after farms in Texas, Kansas and New Mexico reported some dairy cows had fallen ailing, and that useless wild birds had been on their properties.
On the affected farms, about 10 per cent of milking cows seem like sick, most of whom are older. It is unclear if chook flu is liable for all the animals’ diseases. US businesses are shifting rapidly to conduct extra testing.
How did the cows catch the virus?
The USDA says it seems the cattle caught the virus from contaminated wild birds. However, it’s unclear precisely how the virus transmitted between the species.
Most mammals who fall ailing with chook flu are carnivores, reminiscent of foxes or seals, which means they most probably contracted the virus from consuming useless and contaminated birds. As cows don’t eat birds, it’s tougher to clarify the supply of transmission, says Richard Webby at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee. It could possibly be that faeces or saliva from wild birds contaminated the cattle’s water or meals.
“The biggest question I can’t quite get my head around is how to explain infections across such a geographic spread of states,” says Webby.
The worst-case situation is the virus unfold among the many cows, however that is maybe unlikely, he says. That is as a result of we haven’t discovered proof that chook flu can transmit between mammals.
Do the sick cows enhance the chance of chook flu spreading to individuals?
The danger of contracting chook flu stays low for most individuals. Initial testing of samples from contaminated cattle haven’t discovered genetic modifications that might counsel the virus has grow to be extra transmissible to people.
Yet any time a mammal turns into ailing with chook flu, it gives the virus a chance to achieve the required mutations to transmit between mammals, says Webby. “But we still need some answers to put this into perspective: most of all, how many cows show evidence of being infected with the virus?” If few cows are ailing, it will most probably be one other useless finish for the virus, very similar to foxes, bears and different beforehand contaminated animals had been.
Is milk protected to drink?
Yes, milk continues to be protected to drink. The USDA already requires that dairy farms solely ship milk from wholesome cattle in for processing. Milk from contaminated cows has additionally been destroyed so it gained’t enter the meals provide.
Even if some contaminated milk entered the provision chain, pasteurisation kills micro organism and viruses, together with influenza.
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