Another view...
... Migratory waterfowl are to blame for widening avian-flu outbreaks in Texas cows and poultry, and wild birds carrying the virus should be heading north soon, state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said on Tuesday.
The U.S. government since last week has reported cases of the disease in seven dairy herds in Texas and one person who had contact with cows, making it the state most affected by the country's first-ever outbreaks in cattle. Texas is the biggest U.S. cattle producer.
The cases in dairy cattle and the second human case in two years in the United States renewed concerns about the virus, which has been infecting poultry flocks and a growing number of other species globally since 2022.
A positive test at a Texas egg farm led egg producer Cal-Maine (CALM.O), opens new tab to cull 1.6 million laying hens, the company said on Tuesday. Texas had never before suffered such a major outbreak at a commercial poultry facility, Miller said.
"This is spread by waterfowl," he said in an interview. "It's migratory season."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) first reported on March 25 that a cow and milk from two dairies in Texas tested positive for bird flu, with along milk from two dairies in Kansas. The agency later confirmed positive tests in additional dairy herds in Texas, New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho.
The strain of the virus found in the subsequent states is very similar to the strain confirmed in the initial cases in Texas and Kansas that appear to have been introduced by wild birds, the USDA said.
"We're ready for the ducks to head north to their nesting grounds," Miller said. "We think within a week or a little longer they'll all be out of Texas and we'll be out of the woods."
USDA said that transmission of the disease between cattle cannot be ruled out.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of bird flu for humans to be low. The Texas patient's only symptom was eye inflammation, according to the state's health department. ...
