The H5N1 bird flu virus, first discovered in late March, has caused concern among public health officials in the US. While its effects on humans are not yet clear, it is known to be a deadly virus that has caused millions of bird deaths. Farmers were instructed to discard the milk of sick cows and check cows displaying symptoms suspicious of the disease. However, the presence of the virus in commercial milk suggests that these measures were not entirely effective. The virus was detected in cattle herds in eight states: Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, Ohio, and Texas.
Cows that test positive for the virus must undergo a 30-day quarantine period before being tested again. Despite mandatory pasteurization of milk in the US, which is supposed to kill any bacteria or virus, the presence of the bird flu strain in milk products raises questions about how the virus survived the process. Public health officials are concerned about the spread of bird flu as it can be highly deadly to humans. However, it does not spread easily from person to person so far only one person infected with the virus has been identified experiencing a viral eye infection while 44 others are under active surveillance for potential infection.
Bird flu is a viral disease that primarily affects birds but can also be transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected birds or their feces or through contaminated food and water sources. Symptoms in humans are similar to regular flu and COVID-19 including fever, cough sore throat muscle pain fatigue diarrhea and vomiting. In severe cases it can lead to pneumonia breathing difficulties and death especially at risk populations Diagnosis is done using a PCR test on a nasal wash and treatment involves antiviral medications like Tamiflu Relanza oseltamivir and zanamivir among others.
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