United States: The United States has been reporting a sudden upsurge in the cases linked to bird flu. The health authorities have reported four (4) human cases across the nation, and around 12 states have reported infection in dairy cattle.
The majority of the cases linked to the highly pathogenic virus – avian flu, were seen in Michigan, where the spread has reached to 26 herds and two (2) humans have caught the infection.
According to the reports by the US government, it is for the every first time that the virus has been reported in cows.
Elaborating the spread among humans, the health experts outlined that if the virus is developed in humans it can attack the human respiratory tract which increases the chances of human pandemic, as per the reports by Sky News.
Human Outbreak – A Growing Concern!
A new pandemic could unfold in slow motion, according to Reuters. Additionally, as per reports by BBC, more than 50 percent of the infected people have died because of the disease, making it severe and contagious for humans.
While elaborating the matter, the Association of America Medical Colleges mentioned that the intensity and possibility of potential human outbreak remains unclear as the flu isn’t passed on to people easily. However, on the other hand the experts have also outlined that the spread is easy between cows and humans.
For protection against the infection, the government has already introduced protective measures and have ordered to bring more than a half of million doses of the vaccine against avian flu, also known as bird flu.
Farmers are tracking COVID-like measures!
The US state of Michigan has been putting efforts to curb the spread of bird flu. According to the government, the authorities have been sending daily texts and phone calls and have also been offering free tests for the patients who might have contracted to the disease, as reported by the Guardian.
However, these efforts are not praised by all farmers. As per Reuters, one of the local dairy farmer said, “Nobody knows if these things that we’re being told to do are going to stop it. Just like 2020, people didn’t like to be told what to do.”