BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain

malloc@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 298 points –
BREAKING: Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas Dairy Cattle is Confirmed as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strain
agweb.com
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Has anyone reminded the cows that it's just the flu, and they really should just suck it up and get back to work?

Fun fact: the earliest known case of the 1918 "Spanish flu" was in Kansas.

The "German cockroach" didn't originate from Germany.

If we have another pandemic on top of the current one I will be displeased.

None of them are even good plagues, there were no zombies and I still had to go to work. I don't think it should count if you still have to go to work.

It's been hitting South America hard. Only a matter of time until it spread to the US.

Mystery Illness Impacting Texas, Kansas

Only a matter of time until it spread to the US.

...good distinction.

I don't know, they always have wanted to secede

I meant now that they have identified the mystery illness as the highly pathogenic avian flu, it's not surprising that it has moved into the US. It has been in South America for several seasons, and avian flu can be carried by migratory birds. It was only a matter of time until it spread like this.

Unfortunate, but not surprising.

Elderly cows can take care of themselves and wouldn’t want to sacrifice their grandcalf’s economic future. Keep them all together going strong.

I was wondering what the hell that was. It tore through my workplace like a tornado on meth. I figured it was covid V78.2 or some shit.

Can we please invent one that ends all Society humans I'm sick of living inside a portal to other dimensions

Bird flu still hasn't migrated to mammals. Let alone humans.

USDA reports that affected dairy cows do not appear to be transmitting the virus to other cattle within the same herd. APHIS says based on findings from Texas, "the detections appear to have been introduced by wild birds. Initial testing by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories has not found changes to the virus that would make it more transmissible to humans, which would indicate that the current risk to the public remains low."

Yes, it has infected plenty of mammals. It has caused mass die offs in aquatic mamals in South America and has spread through a mink farm in Europe. But no, it does not appear to have adapted to transmit more easily between humans yet.

I heard a marine biologist just last week saying marine mammals were being infected by sick birds that they had eaten. At most I see talk of suspicion of transmission between mammals like in that Spanish mink farm. So I still think people are getting carried away ITT until I see some science to the contrary.

It has, over the past few years, adapted to spread from birds to mammals more effectively, but so far does not seem to be transmitted from one mammal to another more easily. The fear with finding large numbers of herbivores (who don't eat dead birds) positive is, I suppose, that this could signify further genetic changes. Not saying this is definately the case, but it is still an important development and it's good that people are taking this seriously. Furthermore, humans have a lot more contact with farm animals than wild predators, so zoonosis is probably more likely to occur from one of these animals than like... a sea lion.

Just to be clear, I'm not saying we should panic - the fact the animals are not too sick is good to hear - we just don't want to be caught with our trousers down (again).

Agreed on all points. But ITT there are people jumping the gun a bit. And some heavy downvoting if you don't join the chorus.

Are you saying that cattle aren't mammals?

They're trying to say that cattle can't give it to other cattle, only birds can give it to mammals.. so far!

We should continue our horrid factory farming practices and give it the best chance. /s

You can't expect people like this to understand anything beyond their agenda.