US Witnesses A Surge In Bird Flu Virus In Dairy Herds; Government Accused Of Lagging Tests (image@Pixabay)
It has been nearly three months since the US announced an outbreak of bird flu virus in dairy herds. Due to its potential to cause a pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers the H5N1 virus a public health concern.
Reportedly, the cases are increasing. While four herds were released from quarantine, the number of those put under quarantine continues to increase. As of June 18, at least 114 herds from 12 states were infected by the virus, as per media reports.
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According to Helen Branswell, who covers infectious diseases, infected foxes and coyotes have already been found, having scavenged on wild birds.
1. Some thoughts on #H5N1 #birdflu in cows. A 🧵
A bunch of new herds were announced by a couple of states today — Colorado and Iowa. The former reported +5 & looks like it may have another pending; It now has 18 in total, maybe 19. Iowa reported 2 more, taking it to 10. https://t.co/WQyx8XvKXI— Helen Branswell 🇨🇦 (@HelenBranswell) June 22, 2024
The US government is accused of lagging the tests, which is so far 45 people across the country. Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health said it is impossible to know how many farmworkers have been infected, or how serious the disease is with the very few tests that has been done.
Researchers said that the CDS (Clinical Decision Support) are not moving fast enough in removing stumbling blocks that prevent labs from testing. In one case, the diagnostics company Neelyx Labs was on hold with a query for more than a month, said KFF Health News.
In a statement released on June 10, the CDS stated that “the limited availability and accessibility of diagnostic tests for Influenza A(H5) poses several pain points.”
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Though the CDS and other health departments have tried to bolster the bird flu test among the farmworkers, asking them to test when they felt sick, it is failing. Farmworker advocates list out several reasons for the failure. The outreach might not be in the languages the farmworkers speak, for example, or address such concerns as a loss of employment, they said.
The CDC has given seven companies, including Neelyx, licenses for its tests — although none have been cleared to use them by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
