The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported more cases of H5N1 avian flu in wild birds and animals. This included finding the virus in several pigeons in Michigan's Ionia County, which is also where it has been found in dairy cows.
Another event in the US was yesterday when a top official from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) told state health and veterinary officials
to make sure that workers on dairy farms, chicken farms, and slaughterhouses
have access to personal safety equipment (PPE).
There are Pigeons in a Part of Michigan Where There is a Cheese Problem.
Yesterday, APHIS reported finding H5N1 in 16 more wild birds. Half of these
birds were rock pigeons that the agency had caught in Michigan's Ionia County,
which is one of five counties in the state that has found the virus in dairy
farms.
While it was only found in dairy cows, the B3.13 gene has sometimes spread to
wild birds and animals. So far, though, APHIS data shows that the samples from
Ionia County are from the Eurasian H5N1 strain.
The virus was also found in birds that were found dead in New Mexico,
Pennsylvania, and Virginia, per the agency. All of them have something to do
with the Eurasian H5N1 strain.
Some of the most recent samples of wild birds were taken between the middle and
end of April.
In other news, APHIS reported another outbreak in poultry. This time, it's a
group of 600 birds in Idaho's Cassia County. This comes after H5N1 was found in
a dairy stock there last month. The State Department of Agriculture for Idaho
said that the place had birds in the backyard.
CDC Tells Farm Workers Who are at Risk to Wear PPE
The meeting was read out by the CDC and included Nirav Shah, JD, MD, as the
senior deputy director. He talked about PPE for farm workers with state health
officials, vets, and leaders from public health partners. Shah asked for PPE to
be made available to farm workers and also said that PPE should be sent first
to farms where H5N1 has been found in dairy cows.
He told the states how to get more PPE from the federal government's Strategic
National Stockpile if they needed it and told them to use the PPE they already
had on hand.
The CDC said again that the risk to the general public in the US is still low,
but it said that people who are exposed at work may be at a higher risk.
Shah also said that the CDC is still ready to help state health officials who
are responding to outbreaks.
