Add another name to the list of mammal species infected with #H5N1#avianflu: alpacas.
It’s not surprising at this point but it certainly isn’t reassuring either that this virus just keeps spreading farther and wider…
"We say we don’t believe that there are cases of H5 novel influenza circulating because we haven’t seen any evidence that would be suggestive of that. But until and unless we enhance our subtyping...
👉 we are basing that conclusion on negative implication rather than on affirmative data,” Shah said in the interview.
When H5N1 goes off the rails as it almost certainly will in the not-too-distant future, who do you want to be in charge of the country?
Competent leaders and scientists or a clown show. Because this stuff is not a joke.
A new unreviewed preprint is ringing alarm bells about the possibility of human to human transmission coming from cows. (Similar to the problem with pigs.) It's not good.
With latest update from @USDA the total number of herds affected in the #H5N1#avianflu outbreak in the US is 49 herds in 9 states (without widespread testing mind you…)
8 of the last 12 confirmations are from herds in Michigan
Sitting with the fact that cattle industry has more power over whether humans in their employ get tested for #AvianFlu than #PublicHealth authorities do.
Hence #CDC preparing to launch wastewater dashboard for tracking spring and summer influenza surveillance...
To address absence of #BirdFlu testing. Taking a page out of the #CovidIsNotOver handbook of better too-late-to-be-actionable data than no data.
@grumpybozo@justyourluck People just don't want to accept that the world is different today. There wasn't even an interstate highway (I90) to Seattle until 1987
Trade is different, farming is different. The goods you buy are not from your local community anymore. People are constantly traveling across the country. Pathogens and food contamination is no longer localized. We're feeding stuff to our cows that are increasing their risk of illness (broiler litter -- chicken shit)
If you live in TX and you're not aware of H5N1 (Avian Flu), you really need to get it on your radar ASAP.
Due to various political/social factors in this state that I won't need to explain to anyone who lives here, it is quite likely that in the event this goes human to human this state will become an epicenter.
Also, anyone anywhere feeding their pets a raw diet, REALLY think about shifting that. This virus is transmitted through raw meat/dairy.
it makes me so impossibly sad to think that i may only have a couple years of seeing wild birds left with the way #avianFlu is going. but hey, the people have spoken: eating tortured chickens is priority number one, even if it drives an apocalyptic wildlife pandemic (and a human one, too!). healthy, delicious, climate-friendly alternatives be damned.
We're Watching The Elite Panic in Real Time
by Jessica Wildfire
"The #AvianFlu situation is evolving daily now. Farmers & ranchers are starting to show "bird flu-like symptoms," but they aren't getting tested. Nobody is forcing them, either. The USDA is inspecting ground beef, but only in states with outbreaks in dairy cows, & only because other countries started rejecting our beef. As one epidemiologist told Scientific American, "We don't have a good sense of the spread because testing is voluntary and certainly not being done in a systematic way."
Avian flu has been spreading for months in cattle, & none of our government institutions can tell us anything except, "Don't panic."
It's pathetic.
You can look at nuclear meltdowns, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, & pandemics. Almost every single time, government authorities rush out to calm down the population. They censor accurate information. They put most of their emphasis on protecting the assets of the rich***." https://www.okdoomer.io/were-watching-the-elite-panic-in-real-time/
Normal people aren't panicking. The politicians are panicking. Their super donors are panicking. The dairy industry is panicking. The beef industry is panicking. They're not panicking about avian flu. They're not worried your cat is going to bring home bird flu. They're not worried your kid is going to drink bird flu milk & die. They're worried about money.
So, they're going to lie as long as they can. They're going to go through this charade of testing cattle, only in places where they absolutely have to. They're going to pretend they don't know that human transmission of bird flu is standing right around the corner, & it might've already started happening. They're going to act like everything is fine, until so many people start getting sick & dying that they have to do something, & what they'll do is mainly manage the panic they project onto us."