Another update......

H5N1 is here in the US now.

Tiggity® · 2024-04-02T00:35:02.555Z

It has been running rampant across the world infecting around 40+ mammal species. Many birds, seals, chickens, turkey, and now.....COWS. They have identified the "bird flu" virus H5N1 in dairy and other cows in multiple states now. And here we go, two human cases with cow contact. This is a ticking time bomb for a pandemic flu strain. This is more of a when thing than an if thing. Once it's in birds, and especially cows now, it's just a matter of time. When it jumps to humans, and we get human to human transmission to match cow to cow transmission, we will know soon enough. https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/dshs-reports-first-human-case-avian-influenza-texas

This is a very typical, and American reaction. Very "American". A flu that's particularly deadly to humans is spreading among mammal species, and ends up in cows (after leaving the bird kingdom), who spread it to humans with close contact to cattle. And what is the reaction? BEEF AND MILK FUTURES!!! MONEY!!!!$$$$$

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spread-bird-flu-cases-cattle-150631182.html

That's the big "concern" among idiots, the money. The big concern is the jump to cows means the "bird" flu is mutating to diversify available mammal hosts. When you go from birds to seals, to dolphins, to buzzards, to COWS, humans are not a big step further. The fear is millions of people dying from a novel flu strain, COWS BE ######.

I am not scared to eat beef, even if they were all infected with H5N1. We've been eating chickens for two years who have been infected. You wash your hands after handling raw poultry, and you COOK IT. No flu danger. In fact, the danger will only come when it jumps from human to human, and then you'd better be worried about people and not cows.

I just find it fascinating, how people react.

I for one hope everyone freaks out, because brisket is expensive. If this jumps to humans, cows should be the least of anyone's concern.

Tiggity®

Ultimate Clemson Legend [108954]

TigerPulse: 100%

Posts: 70719

Joined: 2002

UPDATE. So far things are progressing with H5N1 pretty much the same as covid.

Apr 24, 2024, 10:03 AM

The US data is being released slowly, and only after protest. USDA finally released genomes from cows in the US. BUT, no dates of collection or location, which is present with ALL genomes released publicly, normally. And this only came after scientists worldwide complained. For all scientists know, the sequences could have come from the same farm, or state, who knows.

Second, it's found in milk. There "is no evidence" it can transmit via milk, of course. But the virus is present, either dead, or alive, who knows.

Little story about cows and flu. Back in 2011 a new influenza was found that infected pigs, and especially cows. Most cows carry antibodies to this flu today. It's called influenza-D, and it has never been found to sicken humans. Humans have been deemed "immune" to influenza-D. HOWEVER, some intrepid scientists decided to study influenza-d further. They tested farm workers in Florida for antibodies to this strain of flu. What they found was shocking. 97% of farm workers exposed to cows in Florida tested positive for antibodies to flu-d. They had been exposed to it, and never got sick. 18% of random people in Florida, NOT farm workers, also have antibodies to it. This is called a seroprevalence survey. It's something public health is supposed to do as well, but they never do, or never release the data, normally. Below is a link to the study for Flu-D. THIS is what the CDC/USDA SHOULD be doing yesterday with H5N1. Similar findings would be very good news, HOWEVER.......

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1386653216301160?via%3Dihub

.......again, as with covid, this IS SCIENCE that's being done. Just not by the CDC or USDA, obviously. But scientists in China, Japan, Asian countries, and other FOREIGN countries have done JUST THIS, with poultry workers mostly as for the past decade they're the most exposed. UNLIKE Flu-D, at least from poultry, there HAS NOT BEEN A HIGH LEVEL OF HUMAN EXPOSURE. Seroprevalence is BELOW 10% in all studies done, again with birds. This means, at least for the bird version of H5N1, it is a relatively "new" virus, that we have not been exposed to, even though millions of people work with chickens and around birds. The 40% or 50% death rate reported is likely still slightly high, but it is far more deadly than covid. Again, the bird version of the virus is what we have data on. But the most recent worldwide bird variant has been studied as well, and seroprevalence is STILl below 10% in poultry workers (per an Egyptian study).

WE NEED HUMAN H5N1 SEROPREVALENCE STUDIES WITH CATTLE WORKERS IN THE US. Yesterday. We really are no better than China in this regard. No one wants to be the originating country for a pandemic virus. And I have zero doubt if this pops as a pandemic virus in the US, we will do everything possible, as did China, to hide it until it pops in some other country where we can then point a finger. Maybe we can blame Spain, again. Some things never change.

UPDATE - 38% of samples of grocery store milk contained the H5N1 virus. Basically 1/3 of the domestic milk supply has the virus present (in midwest anyway). It is presumably safe though due to pasteurization. Presumably.

UPDATE - 8 poultry farms in 5 states have poultry infected with THE IDENTICAL variant of influenza infecting the cows. This means the virus didn't "jump" to cows, but this version can infect cows and poultry interchangeably.

UPDATE - Cats have been dying on dairy farms from swollen brains caused by H5N1. Same variant.