Migratory birds are considered responsible for the increase in cases of bird flu in cows and poultry in Texas, according to state Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. According to him, wild animals carrying the virus are expected to migrate north soon.
In recent days, cases of the disease have been reported in seven dairy herds in Texas, in addition to a case in a person who had contact with cows. According to a report from Reutersthe state is the most affected by the first outbreaks of bird flu in the United States and is the largest livestock producer in the country.
The cases in dairy cattle and the second human case in two years have renewed concerns about the virus, which has been infecting poultry and other species since 2022.
An egg farm in Texas tested positive for the disease, prompting the Cal-Maine company to cull 1.6 million chickens. According to Miller, there has never been such a large outbreak at a commercial poultry facility in Texas.
Virus transmission
The state commissioner stated in an interview with Reutersthat the virus is transmitted by water birds and that we are in migration season.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) first reported in March that a cow and milk from two farms in Texas tested positive for bird flu, as did milk from two farms in Kansas.
Positive tests were later confirmed in other dairy herds in Texas, New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho. The strain of the virus found in those states is similar to the strain in the initial cases in Texas and Kansas, which were likely introduced by wild birds, according to the USDA.
Migration of water birds
Commissioner Miller said they are prepared for waterfowl to migrate north to where they nest. He believes that in about a week or so, they will all be out of Texas, reducing the danger.
The USDA warned that transmission of the disease among livestock cannot be ruled out.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers the risk of bird flu to humans to be low. The only symptom shown by the infected person in Texas was eye inflammation, according to the state health department.
Outbreak in Texas
Miller said the outbreak in Texas may have started about a month ago, when an unknown disease affected approximately 40% of the state’s dairy herds. Although authorities didn’t know it at the time and can’t confirm it, he suspects it was bird flu.
“We were testing cattle for every possible disease and someone asked, ‘What are all these dead birds doing around here?’“Miller said.
