Animals

Officials warn of risks to ‘certain groups’ of people amid bird flu outbreak in cows - POLITICO

The Biden administration said Wednesday it’s working to strengthen federal testing guidance and the overall public health response should the bird flu outbreak in cows spread among humans.

State health labs have sent “around 25” human test samples to the CDC for reference testing amid the current dairy outbreak, according to officials. More than 100 workers are being monitored. Officials declined to answer questions from reporters about where in the country the monitored workers are, saying only that officials are “following the herd” of infected cows.

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Massive amounts of H5N1 vaccine would be needed if there's a bird flu pandemic. Can we make enough? The first signs that H5N1 avian flu was starting to spread from person to person would trigger a race to produce massive amounts of vaccine. Helen Branswell STAT

There is no way to predict if the virus will acquire the capacity to spread between people, or when and under what conditions it would make that fateful leap if it does.

H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle: A wake-up call to action Comparisons to seasonal flu management underestimate the unique challenges posed by H5N1 bird flu. Patrick Skerrett STAT

The recent detection of H5N1 bird flu in U.S. cattle, coupled with reports of a dairy worker contracting the virus, demands a departure from the usual reassurances offered by federal health officials. While they emphasize there’s no cause for alarm and assert diligent monitoring, it’s imperative we break from this familiar script.