Bird Flu in Dairy Cattle

[BurbMum]

Someone asked how it might be migrating herd to herd above and I thought of the image below.

>70% of all herds in California have now been infected.

https://t.co/gGywFJBFnO

 

[Perris]

The most obvious source is poultry waste in cows' feed. Compare the spread of H5N1 to cats:
"All recent detections of H5N1 [bird flu] in cats had these things in common: the infected cats ate wild birds, unpasteurized milk, raw poultry, and/or raw poultry pet food," a Food and Drug Administration spokesperson told CBS News.
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-bird-flu-million-chickens-egg.html

 

[NewcoopNewpoop]

Birds and their droppings can carry over 60 diseases

This link above is a quick reference. You can find more info on each by a google search. A family member of one of my mother's friends had kept pigeons for years, and then came down with a lung ailment one day (which he ultimately died from). They determined it came from inhaling the dried pigeon droppings (he never wore a mask). That was how I learned about this issue.

Histoplasmosis is the most concerning: Histoplasmosis - Mayo Clinic

"Histoplasmosis is caused by the reproductive cells (spores) of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. They float into the air when dirt or other material is disturbed.

The fungus thrives in damp soil that's rich in organic material, especially the droppings from birds and bats. It's particularly common in chicken and pigeon coops, old barns, caves, and parks."

One of my friends died from this as well. He didnt keep chickens but had a massive swift population overtake his barn.

 

[Seaslug]

The most obvious source is poultry waste in cows' feed.

The most alarming thing that I heard was on NPR the other day -- that the dairy farmers are having to dump the milk of their infected cows, often into manure ponds, where birds often gather to drink. This could lead to bird reinfection and virus mutation. Not cool.

 

[Bawkbok]

Oh my, this is all going from bad to worse.
Next we'll be reading about the culling of huge bovine herds. It's all so sad

 

[My15Ducks]

Oh my, this is all going from bad to worse.
Next we'll be reading about the culling of huge bovine herds. It's all so sad

I’m optimistic that they won’t cull cows. Cows only get mildly sick, and you can’t easily replace a cow. I think dairy farmers would strongly oppose mass culling

 

[NewcoopNewpoop]

It would be interesting to see if drinking an infected cows pasturized milk creates antibodies much like vaccinating people with a dead virus does.
Probably not but it would be crazy if it did!

 

[My15Ducks]

It would be interesting to see if drinking an infected cows pasturized milk creates antibodies much like vaccinating people with a dead virus does.
Probably not but it would be crazy if it did!

It would also be interesting if drinking raw milk from a cow who has recovered from bird flu would give any protection from the antibodies.

 

[Perris]

for @NanaK in response to

It is my understanding the US is the only country testing dairy cattle and bulk milk tanks. Through bulk milk tank testing the US has found cattle testing positive that are asymptomatic. These would not have been found without routine testing.

See
https://assets.publishing.service.g...Report_H5N1_survey_dairy_cattle_2024_v1.4.pdf

"Executive summary
In March 2024, several cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 in dairy cattle were confirmed in the USA. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) carried out testing of pasteurised milk sold at grocery stores and detected fragments of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA), although this was reported as viral
particles in the popular press, sparking concerns in the Competent Authorities of multiple countries.

The findings of the preliminary outbreak assessment and Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group risk assessment conducted in Great Britain (not including Northern Ireland) were that risk to the general public of the same strain circulating in the UK in either birds or cattle is not only very unlikely but is also a very low impact. However, due to the high level of uncertainty and knowledge gaps at the time, there was a need to provide reassurance that there was not silent circulation of avian influenza virus in Great Britain dairy herds.

A cross-sectional survey was carried out over a period of six weeks from May to June 2024, testing 508 bulk milk samples from 455 dairy farms distributed across England, Scotland and Wales. All samples were negative to HPAI H5N1 real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. "

You might also appreciate this bit of the report: "The origin of infection in cattle is undefined although environmental pressure from wild birds is high and practises of utilising composted poultry litter as cattle feed and bedding are all potential methods that might have driven the initial infection event... While some other countries chose to test retail pasteurised milk to detect traces of viral nucleic acid, Defra and Devolved Administrations, in consultation with APHA, decided to test raw milk taken directly from dairy processors, using a highly specific PCR test for HPAI H5 viruses, which had been proven to detect very low viral levels in spiked milk samples."

 

[NanaK]

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) carried out testing of pasteurised milk sold at grocery stores and detected fragments of viral ribonucleic acid (RNA), although this was reported as viral
particles in the popular press, sparking concerns in the Competent Authorities of multiple countries.

Yes, I've read this before. It was only a look at product across the US in stores on pasturized dairy to make sure these products were safe.

I used to drink skim milk daily. I stopped about a year ago because I did not think enough was known at the time. I was afraid I would expose my chickens through my consumption of milk. I was concerned that maybe some live virus could have been missed during that one time testing.

Since that testing on pasturized milk, there is a federal order implementing the National Milk Testing Strategy . This is on raw milk in bulk tanks before pasturization or being sold as raw milk. This is how they found asymtomatic cases in cattle in the US.

A cross-sectional survey was carried out over a period of six weeks from May to June 2024, testing 508 bulk milk samples from 455 dairy farms distributed across England, Scotland and Wales. All samples were negative to HPAI H5N1 real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. "

This explains my point. Some countries did one round of testing and stopped looking. Yes, it is good they found nothing but they stopped looking.
I think at least periodic testing would be better the way this virus mutates.

"The origin of infection in cattle is undefined although environmental pressure from wild birds is high and practises of utilising composted poultry litter as cattle feed and bedding are all potential methods that might have driven the initial infection event...

You know how I feed about manure in animal feeds. I think it should not be allowed.

The US has no federal regulations for the use of litter in cattle feed. This has been left for the states to decide. Some states completely ban the use. So this feed in not in all states.

"Though there are no federal regulations, some states like California ban the use of poultry litter as feed for lactating dairy cows—which are the only cows affected by the bird flu outbreaks circulating in the U.S.—but still allow its use in beef cows and other cattle."
https://www.unmc.edu/healthsecurity...ird-flu-outbreaks-in-cows-heres-what-to-know/

****Other types of cattle are not testing positive. They eat the same types of feed. Why???****

Interesting article about the Processing of poultry litter for feed. Avian influenza virus does not live very long at high temps.

Another interesting report about possible risk factors and transmission routes in dairy cattle.


@Perris Not trying to argue only discuss. I always enjoy reading your posts. I like hearing opinions from our neighbors across the big pond. Thanks for your interactions here. Yes, I do wish they would get the poop out of the feed.