Health officials announced last week that they suspected cows at three Central Valley dairies had contracted the illness, and were awaiting testing for confirmation. On Tuesday, officials said those tests revealed that the strain of virus that infected California herds was nearly identical to that found in Colorado dairy herds - suggesting the infections were the result of interstate transfer of cattle. The B3.13 genetic sequence found in the infected cows was clearly the result of "anthropogenic movement; essentially zero chance it was an independent spill from wild birds into these dairies" said Bryan Richards, the Emerging Disease Coordinator at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Wildlife Health Center.
In a statement from the California Department of Food and Agriculture, officials said there were no confirmed human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the state, and neither the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention nor state officials see this development as a significant public health threat; the risk to humans is considered low. The primary concern is for dairy workers who come into close contact with infected dairy cows, with four cases of human infection from dairy reported in other states.
Officials also said the state's supply of milk and dairy foods is not affected. Contaminated milk is not permitted to be sold and pasteurization inactivates the virus, "so there is no cause for concern for consumers from" pasteurized milk or dairy items. We have been preparing for this eventuality since earlier this year when highly pathogenic avian influenza detections were confirmed at dairy farms.
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