Scientists worry government may be repeating COVID mistakes with new virus
Last week, the USDA released the genetic sequences of a strain of influenza that originated in birds and has now spread to dairy cattle in at least eight states. While scientists welcomed the information, there has been growing concern that the USDA isn’t moving fast enough to address a threat to the nation’s food supply and the potential source of a new pandemic. Stories about the danger of Avian Influenza Type A, also known as bird flu or H5N1 flu, have made their way into the news for years. The flu was blamed for a spike in the price of eggs in 2022 when about 10% of the nation’s laying hens were lost. It spread rapidly through wild bird populations affecting already-threatened species and creating one of the worst wildlife disease outbreaks in history. Some researchers labeled it a panzootic, the multi-species equivalent of a pandemic. During this massive outbreak, there were instances of H5N1 flu spreading to other animals and even people, but those cases could be traced directly to contact with infected birds. Now the disease has completed the jump from birds to mammals. The USDA recently announced that it is spreading cow to cow. And that raises real concerns that humans might be next. As of Monday, 33 herds in eight states are known to be infected. Some of these infections have been traced to contact with dairy cows from Texas that are thought to have been infected after contact with the bodies of dead birds killed by avian flu. However, not all the infected cows can be tied to this source, which could indicate that the virus has made the leap from birds to mammals more than once. Genetic analysis suggests that the virus moved into cattle several months earlier than the first detections and is now well entrenched. More worrisome, one of those outbreaks in Virginia was found only by testing, with no apparent symptoms in the infected herd. At least 21 states have now restricted cattle importation, but there is no national ban. These infected cows represent a potential danger to other farm animals. With some dairy farms located near large poultry operations, there’s a chance that the flu could spread back into chicken and turkey populations that have only just recovered from a previous round of infections. Earlier this month, new avian flu outbreaks were found among poultry producers in Michigan and Texas. At least one person has caught the flu after contact with infected cows. There is also concern that the virus may make its way into pigs near some of the infected dairy operations. Pigs have long been thought of as an intermediate host in the movement of avian viruses to humans, though a review of the evidence suggests that may not be the case. Humans seem to pick up the infection just as readily as pigs. But the biggest concern among scientists is that the USDA appears to be repeating some of the same mistakes that made the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic so devastating. There is concern the USDA is moving too slowly and not providing enough information. The agency has been tracking the movement of the virus for almost two decades, but it took almost a month following the discovery of the first infected dairy cattle before the FDA determined that viral fragments can be found in pasteurized milk from infected cows. According to the FDA, the virus is inactivated and the milk is safe to drink, but the delay in getting out this information has added to concerns. The most worrying factor may be that the USDA is not requiring tests of asymptomatic herds despite already finding that one such herd was infected. This could mean that the virus is already far more widespread than is known and that many more farm workers are being exposed without having a chance to take precautions. While STAT notes that the USDA has reiterated its commitment to “the timely and transparent release of information,” concern is growing that the pace of the agency’s releases represents a threat on many levels. “They are creating the perception that something is happening or not happening that would not meet with the public’s approval,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “And this is really unfortunate. There’s no evidence here that there’s some kind of a smoking gun, that somebody did something wrong. Just tell us what you’re doing. And that’s not happening.” Campaign Action
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Last week, the USDA released the genetic sequences of a strain of influenza that originated in birds and has now spread to dairy cattle in at least eight states. While scientists welcomed the information, there has been growing concern that the USDA isn’t moving fast enough to address a threat to the nation’s food supply and the potential source of a new pandemic.
Stories about the danger of Avian Influenza Type A, also known as bird flu or H5N1 flu, have made their way into the news for years. The flu was blamed for a spike in the price of eggs in 2022 when about 10% of the nation’s laying hens were lost. It spread rapidly through wild bird populations affecting already-threatened species and creating one of the worst wildlife disease outbreaks in history. Some researchers labeled it a panzootic, the multi-species equivalent of a pandemic.
During this massive outbreak, there were instances of H5N1 flu spreading to other animals and even people, but those cases could be traced directly to contact with infected birds. Now the disease has completed the jump from birds to mammals. The USDA recently announced that it is spreading cow to cow. And that raises real concerns that humans might be next.
As of Monday, 33 herds in eight states are known to be infected. Some of these infections have been traced to contact with dairy cows from Texas that are thought to have been infected after contact with the bodies of dead birds killed by avian flu. However, not all the infected cows can be tied to this source, which could indicate that the virus has made the leap from birds to mammals more than once.
Genetic analysis suggests that the virus moved into cattle several months earlier than the first detections and is now well entrenched. More worrisome, one of those outbreaks in Virginia was found only by testing, with no apparent symptoms in the infected herd. At least 21 states have now restricted cattle importation, but there is no national ban.
These infected cows represent a potential danger to other farm animals. With some dairy farms located near large poultry operations, there’s a chance that the flu could spread back into chicken and turkey populations that have only just recovered from a previous round of infections. Earlier this month, new avian flu outbreaks were found among poultry producers in Michigan and Texas. At least one person has caught the flu after contact with infected cows.
There is also concern that the virus may make its way into pigs near some of the infected dairy operations. Pigs have long been thought of as an intermediate host in the movement of avian viruses to humans, though a review of the evidence suggests that may not be the case. Humans seem to pick up the infection just as readily as pigs.
But the biggest concern among scientists is that the USDA appears to be repeating some of the same mistakes that made the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic so devastating. There is concern the USDA is moving too slowly and not providing enough information. The agency has been tracking the movement of the virus for almost two decades, but it took almost a month following the discovery of the first infected dairy cattle before the FDA determined that viral fragments can be found in pasteurized milk from infected cows. According to the FDA, the virus is inactivated and the milk is safe to drink, but the delay in getting out this information has added to concerns.
The most worrying factor may be that the USDA is not requiring tests of asymptomatic herds despite already finding that one such herd was infected. This could mean that the virus is already far more widespread than is known and that many more farm workers are being exposed without having a chance to take precautions.
While STAT notes that the USDA has reiterated its commitment to “the timely and transparent release of information,” concern is growing that the pace of the agency’s releases represents a threat on many levels. “They are creating the perception that something is happening or not happening that would not meet with the public’s approval,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “And this is really unfortunate. There’s no evidence here that there’s some kind of a smoking gun, that somebody did something wrong. Just tell us what you’re doing. And that’s not happening.”
