CDC issues alert on bird flu case
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Mark Siegel explains what to know about bird flu and why it’s important not to look directly at the solar eclipse without proper glasses.
- Despite growing concern about bird flu, many US dairy farms have not increased health protections for employees.
- On May 22, 2024, the US government said a second dairy worker had contracted bird flu since cattle first tested positive in late March.
- The US Department of Agriculture said it believes unpasteurized milk is the primary vector for the spread of the virus in cows, although officials do not know exactly how it spreads.
Many U.S. dairy farms have not yet increased health protections for employees during an outbreak of bird flu in cows, according to workers, activists and farmers, leading health experts to worry about the risk of more human infections of a virus with pandemic potential. There is concern.
Epidemiologists worry the virus could spread and cause serious illnesses because farmers are underestimating the risk to workers while employees are not widely aware of cases in U.S. cattle.
The US government said on Wednesday that Another dairy worker got bird flu Since the cattle man first tested positive in late March, investigators have been looking into whether the man wore or was given protective equipment.
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About 24,000 farms sell milk across the country and they offer varying degrees of protection to workers. The lobby group National Milk Producers Federation said it encouraged farms to use protective equipment in line with federal recommendations and listened to calls to increase worker safety.
Three dairy workers, seven activists and two lawyers who assist farm staff told Reuters that dairy owners have not provided equipment such as face shields and goggles to workers who spend 10 to 12 hours a day with cows. Three large dairy companies with thousands of cows each declined to comment on their processes.
Employees at a major dairy producer based in New York said they heard about the new disease affecting cattle through the media or community organizers, not through their employers. Luis Jimenez, 39, of Mexico, said business was normal last week.
An employee helps milk Holstein cows using an automated machine at the Aeroso Circle A Dairy in Pixley, California, on October 2, 2019. Workers attaching and disassembling equipment that milk milk cows have their faces close to unpasteurized milk. The US Department of Agriculture said it believes unpasteurized milk is the primary vector for spreading the virus in cows. (Reuters/Mike Blake/file photo)
“They’re not doing anything,” he said.
In April and May the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised workers to use personal protective equipment (PPE) if they may come into contact with sick livestock. Texas dairy worker tests positive For bird flu, on May 6, the agency asked states to provide equipment to workers.
“CDC wants to ensure that agricultural workers across the country, whether or not they work on a farm with an affected herd, have access to PPE,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah said last week.
New York state said it is assessing the CDC’s recommendation and has not yet distributed the devices. Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, where cattle were infected, said they jointly distributed the devices to eight dairies. Kansas, Idaho and Wisconsin said they had the equipment, but no farmers asked for it.
Michigan, where a second dairy worker tested positive, said many farms have protective gear, but the state is coordinating to make it available to those who need it more.
Dairies became more aware of the dangers of bird flu in late April, when the U.S. government began requiring cows to test negative before crossing state borders, said Emily Yesser Stepp, who oversees a National Milk Producers Federation program covering workforce development.
Still, “it takes a little longer to reach some of our rural networks,” he said, when asked about workers who said they were not informed about recommendations for protective equipment.
close contact with cows
The US has confirmed bird flu in dairy cattle in nine states. Scientists have said they believe the outbreak is more widespread. Conclusion of H5N1 particles It was found in about 20% of retail milk samples.
Bird flu has caused serious or fatal infections globally in people who have close contact with wild birds or poultry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that in cows, it believes unpasteurized milk is the primary vehicle for spreading the virus, though officials don’t know exactly how it spreads.
Health experts advise dairy workers to wear gloves and disposable coveralls that can prevent splashes of milk on their bodies or clothing.
Jimenez said her co-workers are pressured to work so fast that they sometimes don’t have time to wash their hands before meals and often go home in their work clothes.
Workers attach and detach milking equipment from cows, keeping their faces close to the unpasteurized milk. Most are immigrants and many do not have health insurance.
Another New York employee, requesting anonymity, said, “When you’re milking, splashes can’t be avoided. When it falls into our eyes, we wash it off with water.”
Lucas Sjostrom, a farmer and executive director of the Minnesota Milk Producers Association, uses robotic machines to set up milking equipment for cows, but he said he’s extra conscious of what human workers do when transporting unpasteurized milk. Wear gloves. Minnesota has not reported bird flu in cows.
In Indiana, another state without confirmed cases, farmer Steve Obert said he has not increased precautions for workers, although that could change if his herd tests positive. He said wearing additional protective equipment is not comfortable.
“We’re fairly isolated and I don’t think the risk is really that high,” said Obert, executive director of the industry group Indiana Dairy Producers.
blood-red eyes
The infected Texas worker suffered conjunctivitis and broken blood vessels, causing his eyes to turn red, according to a photo published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The magazine said he wore gloves while working with the cows, but not respiratory or eye protection.
Scientists are tracking changes in the virus that could make it more easily spread among humans. Epidemiologists said if it mutates or infects someone with a weakened immune system, it could cause more severe illness.
Gregory Gray, a professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch who studies cattle diseases, said some dairies with infected cows have resisted allowing federal officials onto their farms because of financial concerns.
C.D.C. he said He would like to test more farm workers, but it is not necessary.
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There were anecdotal reports of workers in New Mexico with conjunctivitis-like symptoms, but most were not tested, according to internal state documents that were released April 26 and obtained by Reuters under a public records request. The New Mexico Health Department said the workers were not tested because they had not sought health care.
Brian Castrucci, an epidemiologist and CEO of the health policy group de Beaumont Foundation, said policy changes are needed to encourage workers to seek treatment, such as emergency income assurance for those who test positive.
“I don’t want to wait until we have a dead dairy farm worker before we can ramp up our operations,” he said.
