With the outbreak of Avian flu H5N1 in Minnesota, Midwest state bordering Canada, the number of infected cattle in the United States confirmed has reached over eighty animals across some eleven states. Besides Minnesota the other states with infected cattle include, South Dakota, New Mexico, Michigan, Iowa, Idaho, Ohio, Colorado and North Carolina. And even when the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, has insisted that the risk for humans was low and there have been no reported full cases, except for a controversial situation in Mexico, which the country's authorities vehemently deny, three farm workers in the US have tested positive for the virus.
According to a statement from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health, after observing clinical signs in cows, samples were collected and sent to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which confirmed the presence of the virus. “We knew it was only a matter of time before this detection would reach our doorstep,” state veterinarian Brian Hoefs said in the statement published on June 6, 2024. Following federal protocol the cows have now been quarantined for the next 30 days to further prevent their spread to other animals on the farm.
The milk collected from these infected animals needs to be disposed of. The herd will later be retested for the disease before its release from the quarantine. The press statement said the risk to the public from the virus at present remains low.
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