ETIDIOH - NEW

Abstract The recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cows has created public health concerns about the potential of consumers being exposed to live virus from commercial dairy products. Previous studies support that pasteurization effectively inactivates avian influenza in milk and an earlier retail milk survey showed viral RNA, but no live virus could be detected in the dairy products tested. Because of the variety of products and processing methods in which milk is used, additional product testing was conducted to determine if HPAI viral RNA could be detected in retail dairy samples, and for positive samples by quantitative real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) further testing for the presence of live virus. Revised protocols were developed to extract RNA from solid dairy products including cheese and butter . The solid dairy product was mechanically liquified with garnet and zirconium beads in a bead beater diluted 1–4 with BHI media. This preprocessing step was su...

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) is alerting pet owners that samples of Northwest Naturals brand 2lb Turkey Recipe raw & frozen pet food tested positive for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus .  Testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ODVL) at Oregon State University confirmed a house cat in Washington County contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the raw frozen pet food .  Tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected cat. “We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food ,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz.  “This cat was strictly an indoor cat ; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pe...

Assessment based on data as of 18 November 2024   12 December 2024  Key points   At the present time , based on available information , FAO-WHO-WOAH assess the global public health risk of influenza A(H5N1) viruses to be low , while the risk of infection for occupationally exposed persons is low to moderate depending on the risk mitigation measures in place and the local avian influenza epidemiological situation.  Transmission between animals continues to occur and, to date, a growing yet still limited number of human infections are being reported.  Although additional human infections associated with exposure to infected animals or contaminated environments are expected to occur, the overall public health impact of such infections at a global level, at the present time, is minor .  This risk assessment from FAO, WHO, and WOAH updates the assessment of the risk of zoonotic transmission (for example, animal to human) considering additional information made a...

In an update on the mutating virus - known as H5N1 – Dr. Madhur Dhingra from the Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, said that it had “spilled over into wildlife”.  More than 500 bird species have been infected along with at least 70 mammalian species , including the endangered California condor and polar bears .  In regions that are heavily reliant on poultry as a primary source of protein, the FAO medic insisted that avian influenza “poses a serious threat to food and nutrition security”. Economic damage Dr Dhingra warned that hundreds of millions of people’s livelihoods have been affected by the virus – an economic burden on farmers that could prevent them from investing in adequate biosafety measures. Following the emergence of H5N1 influenza virus in dairy cattle , the WHO has joined calls for strengthened surveillance and biosecurity on farms, to keep animals and people safe. The UN health agency said that in 2024, 76 people have been infected with the H5 avian influ...

 {Excerpt} (Xinhua) 13:20, December 17, 2024 LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. state of California has recalled raw milk produced and packaged by Valley Milk Simply Bottled , a local dairy company based in Stanislaus County, due to detection of bird flu virus . The recall order came following the detection of Influenza-A H5N1 (bird flu) virus in samples taken from a raw milk bulk tank at the Valley Milk Simply Bottled dairy farm , said the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) in a release. The order applies to all "Valley Milk Simply Bottled Raw Cow Milk" and "DESI Milk Raw Cow Milk" distributed in quart, half-gallon, and one-gallon plastic jugs with a code date marked on the container of DEC 23 2024 through DEC 30 2024. CDFA urged consumers not to consume any product remaining in their refrigerators. No illnesses have been reported in the state yet. (...) Source: People's Daily,  http://en.people.cn/n3/2024/1217/c90000-20254910.html   __...

Abstract Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses with H5 hemagglutinin (HA) genes (clade 2.3.4.4b) are causing an ongoing panzootic in wild birds . Circulation of these viruses is associated with spillover infections in multiple species of mammals , including a large, unprecedented outbreak in American dairy cattle . With limited testing of dairy herds, there is an unmet need for genomic surveillance . Infected cattle can shed high amounts of HPAI H5N1 viruses in milk , allowing detection in pasteurized retail dairy samples. Over a 2-month sampling period in one Midwestern city , we obtained dairy products processed in 20 different states . Here we demonstrate that a tiled-amplicon sequencing approach produced over 90% genome coverage at greater than 20x depth from 5 of 13 viral RNA positive samples. A combination of RT-qPCR testing and sequencing from retail dairy prod- ucts can be a useful component of a One Health framework for responding to the avian influenza outbreak in ...