The bird flu outbreak is growing. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 36 dairy cow herds in 9 states have been infected with H5N1, also known as avian or bird flu, as of April 30, 2024. This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also announced it is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with bird flu outbreaks in dairy cows. According to NBC News, the agency will test beef to see “whether any viral particles are present.” Previously, viral particles have been discovered in as much as 1 in 5 samples of cow's milk.
Additionally, the USDA started mandating that dairy cows have to test negative for bird flu before being shipped across state lines. The news comes after several infectious disease experts have criticized the government for not doing enough testing and being “blind” to the true size of the current outbreak — and after a report published in Emerging Infectious Diseases found that cats died after they were fed raw colostrum from sick cows.
