In this artwork, a person handles a test tube labeled “Bird Flu.”
May 18, Beijing (TazaWorldNews) – Concerns over a U.S. outbreak that is affecting cattle herds are growing as cases of bird flu have been identified among wild fowl in western China, the agriculture ministry announced on Saturday.
According to a notice published on the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs’ website, China, two counties in Qinghai province have identified 275 cases of H5 influenza among dead Pallas’s gull and other wild birds.
The announcement stated that the national Avian Influenza Reference Laboratory verified the findings after the ministry received a report on the cases from the China Animal Disease Control Center.
Since late March, there has been an H5N1 outbreak in dairy cattle in at least nine states in the United States, prompting concerns about potential human infection. There have been no reports of similar cases.
On May 11, the United States declared that it would invest about $200 million to combat the outbreak.
News of the China charges broke on Saturday, when the country’s anti-graft authority declared that the agriculture minister was the subject of a corruption investigation.
TazaWorldNews reported, and Kishan Viradiya edited.
The CDC releases public influenza wastewater information to support the avian flu probe:-
This image illustration shows test tubes labeled “Bird Flu” and a sheet of paper in the colors of the American flag.
May 14, TazaWorldNews In a public dashboard, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made data on influenza A detected in wastewater available on Tuesday. This information may help in monitoring the H5N1 avian flu outbreak that has affected cattle herds.
The United States intends to release data gathered by its surveillance technology to the public, an agency official informed Reuters last week.
Although the virus’s current threat to humans is deemed low, experts are actively monitoring any modifications to the virus that might facilitate its transmission among humans.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, testing wastewater from sewers proved to be an effective method for identifying SARS-CoV-2 virus variants.
The agency’s surveillance system did not reveal any signs of abnormal influenza activity in humans, including the H5N1 virus, for the week that concluded on May 4. Since late March, the virus has been found in dairy cattle throughout nine states in the United States.
Saline County, Kansas, did have abnormally high amounts of influenza A, according to the testing. Four herds in Kansas tested positive, with the final one being confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on April 17. The counties where the animals were situated have not been posted by the USDA or Kansas.
The CDC stated that it is actively monitoring for influenza A, of which H5N1 is a subtype, by looking for a variety of flu indications. One such indicator is the presence of symptoms of viral transmission to or among persons in locations where the virus has been found.
The CDC uses the most recent weeks’ influenza A virus levels recorded at a wastewater site in comparison to the levels reported for the same wastewater site between October 1, 2023, and March 2, 2024, in order to monitor influenza A virus in wastewater. People are classified as high if they are at or above the 80th percentile.
Nevertheless, the testing is unable to pinpoint the virus’s origin or determine whether it originated in milk, humans, or infected birds.
“By tracking the percentage of specimens tested that are positive for influenza A viruses, we can monitor for unusual increases in influenza activity that may be an early sign of spread of novel influenza A viruses, including H5N1,” according to the study by the CDC.
People can use the public database to look up any unusual flu activity or see if there have been an increase in influenza A cases in their area.
For more information about avian influenza :-
