#BirdFlu Cattle #Outbreak Feels Like 2020, Former Surgeon General Warns >>>
The cow-to-cow transmission is the latest escalation in a global outbreak that began when the #virus reemerged in Europe in '20. It has since killed tens of millions of birds and more than 40k sea lions.
#WHO called this an "animal pandemic" on April 18.
Genetic fragments of the virus, discovered in grocery store milk, suggest the outbreak is more widespread than officials believed.
cont'd >> Experts say that drinking pasteurized milk is probably still safe. Pasteurization deactivates pathogens, probably including H5N1, according to the #FDA. However, no studies have specifically tested whether pasteurizing milk deactivates #H5N1, and the FDA is testing that now.
One human in #Texas has tested positive for the virus after exposure to dairy cattle. According to the #CDC, that person's only symptom was eye redness.
cont'd >> "If it keeps spreading in #animals, then it is eventually going to cause problems for #humans, either because we don't have #food because they've got to start exterminating flocks, or because it starts to make a jump in humans. The more it replicates, the more chances it has to mutate."
Though he agrees with the CDC's assessment that the current risk to humans is low, Adams fears the US is repeating many mistakes it made in the early days of #COVID-19.
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