Bird

By Deena Beasley and Leah Douglas (Reuters) – Farm workers who have been exposed to animals with bird flu should be tested for the virus even if they do not have symptoms, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. The change to the agency’s testing recommendation…

By Leah Douglas (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will soon begin testing bulk raw milk across the country for bird flu, a significant expansion of the agency’s efforts to stifle the rapid spread of the virus, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters. The move comes after livestock and…

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture weakened an emergency order last spring designed to prevent the spread of bird flu among the nation’s dairy cattle after pushback from state and industry officials, according to state and federal records seen by Reuters. The communications,…

By Leah Douglas (Reuters) – Cows in California are dying at much higher rates from bird flu than in other affected states, industry and veterinary experts said, and some carcasses have been left rotting in the sun as rendering plants struggle to process all the dead animals. Carcasses left in…

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – U.S. farmers are increasing pressure on the Biden administration to allow vaccinations for chickens, turkeys and cows to protect them from bird flu infections that have devastated flocks for three years. This autumn, flocks in the $67 billion U.S. poultry industry…

By Tom Polansek and P.J. Huffstutter WEST ALLIS, Wisconsin (Reuters) – In Michigan this year, where dairy workers and herds have fallen ill from bird flu, a pair of unlikely prized cows are being prepped to take the state fair stage.  State fair organizers are this year featuring Milkshake and…

By Leah Douglas and Tom Polansek WASHINGTON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. bird-flu outbreak in dairy cattle is much larger than official figures suggest due to farmers’ reluctance to test their animals and risk the economic consequences of a positive result, according to Reuters interviews with dairy experts, veterinarians, and farmers…

By Tom Polansek and Leah Douglas CHICAGO (Reuters) – Colorado began requiring dairies to test milk supplies for bird flu every week, the state’s veterinarian told Reuters on Tuesday, as a federal team arrived to help investigate an escalating outbreak in cows that has spread to chickens and people. The…

By Leah Douglas and P.J. Huffstutter (Reuters) – States in the U.S. are playing a key role in the nation’s response to a growing outbreak of avian flu among dairy cattle that has also infected a small number of humans. The states are chiefly responsible for testing cows and people…

By Julie Steenhuysen and Jennifer Rigby CHICAGO/LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists tracking the spread of bird flu are increasingly concerned that gaps in surveillance may keep them several steps behind a new pandemic, according to Reuters interviews with more than a dozen leading disease experts. Many of them have been monitoring…