How might the recent spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HAPI) H5N1 virus among dairy ... [+]
During the earlier days of the Covid-19 pandemic, when social distancing measures reduced direct human-to-human connection, many people sought bovine intervention. Yes, cow cuddling experienced a surge in popularity, as I reported for Forbes back in May 2021. But how might the recent spread of the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus among dairy cattle affect this practice of paying a farm, an animal sanctuary or some other keeper of cows for the opportunity to wrap your arms around a cow and whisper sweet nothings?
Well, like what cows may be thinking when you embrace them, the current situation is a bit complicated. As of May 2, nine states have reported bird flu outbreaks among a total of 36 dairy herds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has detected fragments of bird flu virus in some samples of pasteurized milk. This doesn’t mean that the milk supply is unsafe since these fragments haven’t been enough to infect anyone drinking milk. There’s a big difference between finding viral fragments rather than whole live viruses. It’s akin to finding Harry Styles’ jacket in your milk rather than an entire live Styles. However, finding such fragments in the milk supply does further highlight how widespread the virus already is among dairy cattle.
At the same time, this virus has not yet been deemed a threat to humans—with an emphasis on the words “not yet.” So far, there’s been only two confirmed human cases of HPAI A(H5N1) virus infections in the U.S. The first was in Colorado in 2022. The second was in Texas this year, as described by the CDC. This more recent case involved someone with exposure to dairy cattle. The person’s only reported symptom was eye redness, which would be consistent with some form of conjunctivitis. And the person has been recovering after being told to isolate and take an antiviral medication for the flu. So, neither person got very sick.
Nevertheless, the CDC has been monitoring over a hundred people who have been exposed to this bird flu virus. While it doesn’t seem to pose an immediate threat to humans, there is always the possibility that the virus could mutate to the point that it could more readily jump from birds or cattle to humans and cause more serious illness.
So right now, the CDC’s interim recommendations are for you to avoid unprotected exposures to any sick or dead animals—including birds and cattle—as well as any of their feces, raw milk and other materials that they may produce or may have contaminated. This is yet another reason to avoid playing with animal poop. But it also does suggest that you be careful about cow cuddling. You may not always be sure whether a cow that you are about to hug is sick. It’s not as if the cow will tell you, “Hey, dude, been feeling under the weather for the past day. So you may want to keep one Ryan Gosling or six feet away from me.” Plus, even if the specific cow that you are getting close with is not sick, there is the possibility that some other cow has contaminated the area.
The continuing spread of the HPAI A(H5N1) virus doesn’t necessarily mean that you should have a cow—figuratively. Again, there’s doesn’t seem to be an immediate threat to humans. However, the risk of this virus mutating does suggest that you should be wary about having a cow, literally, and minimize unprotected exposure to any cow who could possibly be infected.
