#h5n1

Bowman and colleagues have been following the disease since its emergence on dairy farms, reporting early this year on detection of the virus in retail milk supplies – at that time, 36.3% of samples tested were positive for H5N1 particles 36%! and once a cow's infected, they produce high-viral-titer milk for a week-plus So that raw milk, hmm? Hmm. THey found: Bottle-feeding calves high-viral-titer milk collected from infected cows led to minimal virus detection and inflammatory signs in the calves, suggesting transmission through feeding doesn't spread enough material to establish an infection but "doesn't spread enough" will eventually take hold in some (likely mostly immune suppressed) people, and eventually one of the many mutations or recombinations (common in influenza) will be a viral genome with human-human fitness. Tests for transmission among cows through milk machinery or through feeding of calves, and between birds and cattle through shared indoor air, didn't show results of disease spread isn't very reassuring in the context of viral particle inoculations into individual cow teats, where mammary glands are located. Results showed that the smallest dose of 10 particles resulted in productive infection but fewer clinical signs compared to higher doses, as well as shedding of milk containing high concentrations of viral particles https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260615/Just-ten-viral-particles-can-infect-cows-with-bird-flu.aspx h/t you know who you are #H5N1 #influenza #birdFlu #milk

I did not forget about bird flu. "CDC confirms cat-to-human transmission of avian influenza" <🙀> Last spring, investigators with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interviewed individuals who had been exposed to HPAI-infected pet cats that consumed raw animal products. ... The 19 cats in the study all had become sick after consuming commercially purchased raw milk, raw meat, or raw pet food between November 2024 and January 2025. Nine cats were tested and all came back positive for H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype B3.13, which is also what most human H5N1 infections have involved. The remaining cases were detected through veterinarian reports, commercial laboratory reports, or routine influenza A reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing of brain tissue from euthanized cats. https://www.avma.org/news/cdc-confirms-cat-human-transmission-avian-influenza "H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype B3.13" is the one going through US cow herds and bird flocks. #birdFlu #avianInfluenza #mooFlu #h5n1 #cats #zoonosis

USA epidemiologists find cluster of confirmed #H5N1 infections in humans Outbreak growth unknown because undocumented workers undercounted #BirdFlu spreads unchecked to contacts, animals; surviving cats potential viral reservoir https://www.altitudesmagazine.com/h5n1-bird-flu-cases-among-farm-workers-trigger-expanded-federal/ #SamaraBirdFlu #SamaraCat