The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Thursday (Apr 4) that avian flu has infected a dairy herd in Ohio for the first time and had also been found in herds in Kansas and New Mexico. The USDA has confirmed infections in herds in six states since March 25, when it first reported cases in Texas and Kansas.
The infected dairy in Ohio got animals from a Texas dairy on March 8, which later confirmed the presence of avian flu, according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
The USDA stated that the initial bird flu cases in Texas and Kansas looked to be brought by wild birds, and the viral strain in later instances in New Mexico, Michigan, and Idaho was extremely similar.
Bird flu has been identified in three dairy herds in Kansas, two in New Mexico, seven in Texas, and one each in Ohio, Idaho, and Michigan, according to the department.
USDA researchers evaluated milk, nasal swabs, and cow blood from impacted farms
USDA researchers evaluated milk, nasal swabs, and cow blood from impacted farms and discovered clear signs of the virus in the milk.
USDA official Suelee Robbe Austerman stated on Thursday at a meeting organized by the World Organization for Animal Health and the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, “Right now, we don’t have evidence that the virus is actively replicating within the body of the cow other than the udder.”
According to the USDA’s Mark Lyons, the virus could spread from cow to cow via milk droplets on dairy workers’ clothing or gloves, or the suction cups fixed to the udders for milking.
A Texas agricultural worker tested positive for avian flu
In Texas, officials revealed on Monday (April 1) that a farm worker tested positive for bird flu, with the only symptom being eye inflammation. This is the second reported case of a human catching the H5N1 virus in the country.