Sick dairy cattle in five U.S. states have tested positive for bird flu, federal officials said. As of Monday, the highly contagious pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus had been found in unpasteurized clinical milk samples from sick cows on two Kansas dairy farms and one in Texas, plus a swab from a Texas dairy cow, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced in a news release.
The U.S.-Mexico Commission for the Prevention of Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Other Exotic Animal Diseases, CPA, will visit the cattle barns to take samples for laboratory analysis, said a statement from Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture. The Texas Animal Health Commision confirmed the flu virus is the Type A H5N1 strain, known for decades to cause outbreaks in birds and to occasionally infect people. The virus, the state agency said, is affecting older dairy cows in Texas and Kansas, as well as cattle in New Mexico, causing symptoms including decreased lactation and low appetite.
Additional testing took place Friday and over the weekend, the USDA reported, because farms have also reported finding dead wild birds on their properties. Wild migratory birds are believed to be the source of the infection, USDA wrote, and viral testing and epidemiological efforts are continuing this week.
The SAG in Chile, Mexico's sanitary institution, activated the alert issued from the United States due to the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza positive cows from dairy farms. This was after receiving information from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Millions of consumers in the United States are on alert, as Texas has confirmed that one person has been infected with Avian Influenza, a virus that until now had only been reported in cattle within the State. This is a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus type A, also known as H5N1 avian influenza.
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