Bird flu spreads among dairy cattle, birds in US What does that mean for New Mexico?

New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich questioned Dr. Robert Califf, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on May 8 on progress made in combating bird flu after Califf warned that the virus is mutating and there is a possibility it could spread to humans . populations.

The FDA said that as spread among dairy cows is controlled and populations of commercial and backyard herds are found infected, it is important to

This is what we know about the spread of bird flu among cows and we are working on a vaccine for humans.

Milk from herds of dairy cows infected with bird flu is tested

Califf said the FDA’s jurisdiction extends to ensuring the safety of milk for consumers and that the agency has launched a testing program to that end.

“Knowing that there were probably more infected herds than we initially knew. That’s basically what we found. When we just looked at the milk before pasteurization, that is, raw milk that came into the tanks, it turned out that about 20% of a national sample contains virus fragments. The question then was, is this contagious virus or is it essentially fragments of a dead virus that have been pasteurized,” Califf said.

“We had good reason to believe that pasteurization would work because of 100 years of pasteurized milk and it did. We found no evidence of a live virus.”

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Human vaccines are among the options being explored

USA TODAY reported that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would spend $93 million to expand testing and monitoring for the virus among those exposed not only to infected dairy animals but also to birds.

Califf testified that work was underway to test an antiviral drug and create a vaccine.

“What used to be a mystery – how do you make a vaccine? – according to the old method that would take many months. Now we can do it in a few weeks to a few months,” Califf said.

He said viruses are easy to understand compared to other organisms.

“Devising a suitable vaccine with the exact genetic makeup of the virus is entirely possible in a very short time,” he said.

Read previous coverage of bird flu here to stay informed:

Bird flu is spreading in the US

According to the CDC, bird flu has infected one person in Texas since April 2024. The CDC tracked people exposed to infected livestock for 10 days after exposure. Since March 2024, the CDC has monitored 260 people and tested 33 people for bird flu.

The virus has been found in commercial and residential flocks in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states.

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As of May 7, 90,891,636 poultry and 36 herds of livestock had been infected in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported.

Dairy cattle in 10 states, including New Mexico, Texas and Colorado, have tested positive for bird flu.

According to the CDC, the current public health risk is low.

Juan Corral can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @Juan36Corr.

This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: Avian flu spreads among dairy cattle, birds; Scientists are working on human vaccine