On Wednesday, members from a variety of organizations, including the CDC, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, discussed the most recent bird flu information.
The organizations are working to track farm staff for more bird flu cases, and they are working to continue testing milk, dairy products, and foods to prevent spreading the virus.
Here’s a look at some of the issues they addressed.
Q: Has the disease spread between individuals?
A: Although there are some uncommon instances of human to human transmission of bird flu, there are n’t any such cases in the US. The USDA’s main veterinarian, Dr. Rosemary Sifford, claimed that there are no signs that the virus may be spreading more easily between people. The cheese worker reported with animal virus on April 1 is the second human case of the disease reported in the U. S. The worker had infection, a slight eye disease, and recovered.
Q: What is the CDC doing to listen to the bird flu outbreak?
A: The CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases is looking for unusual changes in infection and flu-like illnesses, particularly in areas where dairy animals or other animals have been found to contain H5N1 virus. CDC’s virus surveillance methods are not showing any signs of strange virus activity, which may imply avian influenza.
Daskalakis claimed that the CDC is also in favor of monitoring the workplaces who are exposed. People who have been exposed to sick pets like cows, chickens, and other animals are monitored for ten days and tested if they exhibit symptoms. So far over 100 land staff have been monitored.
He added that the CDC is also providing guidance on protecting farm workers, including a visual that outlines recommendations for personal protective equipment for those who work with land creatures and is available in both Spanish and English.
He added that genomic sequencing is another area of focus for the organization. He claimed that the CDC is continuously studying the virus to discover any genetic variations that might indicate that these viruses may spread more easily between people or change in a way that reduces the effectiveness of antivirals and vaccines.
Q: How are cheese cattle becoming more susceptible to the disease?
A: The USDA’s chief veterinarian, Dr. Rosemary Sifford, claimed studies show that one” spillover event” from wild animals caused the recent infection of dairy cattle in the United States, and that they are not finding more than that one incident.
She claimed that there were a number of animals in Texas where that second overflow from species to cows took place. The disease spread after those cattle ‘ infected were relocated to different states. As of Wednesday, 36 U. S. animals in nine states , had confirmed infection, according to the U. S. Agriculture Department.
Sifford claimed that the virus is spread through cattle movements, but that it can also spread through farming machinery. She claimed that about 10 % of farmers ‘ affected herds reported symptoms.
After recovering from the disease, which is taking about two weeks, these animals with symptoms “generally” returned to close to their past rates of dairy production. She claimed that the majority of calves are recovering, with” no or little mortality” at all.
Q: Where can I buy dairy goods that have been tested for bird flu?
The FDA announced last week that it had tested 96 economically available dairy products and found biological traces in one of five examples, but earlier research revealed that there had not been any live viruses. The FDA’s acting director, Donald A. Prater, stated on Wednesday that the agency had tested an extra 201 products, including cottage cheese and sour cream, and that beginning research revealed none of the examples had “viable virus.”
The results of these tests, which included some samples of dry infant formula, were even negative.
Federal agencies reaffirmed their caution against drinking organic milk or consuming organic cheese and expressed more concern about the potential risks of drinking organic milk.
Q: What treatments are available?
According to the CDC, four prescribed antiviral medications that have been FDA-approved and are currently on the market are recommended for use in the virus.
When reporters pressed CDC’s Daskalakis about land workers being given the antimicrobial medicines Tamiflu “prophylactically”, to shield them from disease, he said for the workers being offered this, it’s a medical decision made on a case- by- case basis.
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