The United States Department of Agriculture has confirmed cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza or bird flu in Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Idaho and Ohio.
Brett Hurst studies virology and antiviral therapies at the Institute for Antiviral Research at Utah State University. He said the outbreak in dairy cows is part of a larger outbreak that has been going on for about two years.
“Up until this past month, it has never been detected in cows,” he said.
Hurst said this form of the virus is unique because of its ability to infect and spread from cow to cow and the spread from mammal to mammal may be cause for concern as it typically only spreads through birds.
“The major concern with this virus that they've had for a number of years is that this virus would gain the ability to spread from person to person,” he said.
The World Health Organization said one person working at a commercial dairy cattle farm in Texas has been confirmed to have avian influenza as of April 1.
Hurst said the risk to the general public is low, but there are significant health concerns for those who work in and around dairy farms since they are more likely to come into close contact with sick cattle.
Like with previous outbreaks in chickens, there may also be economic impacts as farmers may have to euthanize sick animals to prevent further spread.
“If you had to euthanize all those animals that would be a tremendous impact for those farmers,” Hurst said.
For now, the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food has issued restrictions on the import of dairy cattle to prevent the spread to hurds in Utah. The restrictions require a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection for the importation of lactating dairy cattle from any affected state, issued within seven days of transport.
The Utah Department of Agriculture and Food says any Utah veterinarians who suspect cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza should immediately report to the state veterinarian’s office.
You can track cases nationwide using the USDA's tracker here.
