The first human case of avian influenza in Texas this week has prompted Congress to gather information about the risks to public health and agriculture.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention held a bipartisan briefing with congressional agriculture staff about the person infected after exposure to infected dairy cattle, according to a congressional aide. And members of Congress plan to schedule a meeting with the Agriculture Department, which announced last month that “there is no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply or that this circumstance poses a risk to consumer health.”
The human case of bird flu in Texas, the second reported in the United States, comes as the House and Senate Agriculture committees are drafting a new farm bill that typically lasts for about five years and includes funding for the animal health system.
