(Avian Flu hits dairy cattle, causing devastating economic and genetic losses as dairy farmers struggle with outdated infrastructure and inadequate government responses. Misleading media reports and strict biosecurity measures exacerbate the crisis, while concerns grow over the push for mRNA vaccines in livestock. Dive into the full story to uncover the urgent challenges facing the dairy industry)
Industry-ignorant media have exacerbated the Avian Flu issue among dairy farms and employees, reports Dr. Max Thornsberry, a leading dairy calf veterinarian who chairs The Animal Health Committee for R-CALF USA.
Thornsberry, a seasoned veterinarian of decades, and a member of the American Academy of Dairy Veterinary Consultants, has traveled the world on mission trips to help ranchers impacted by various viral outbreaks.
However, it wasn’t until Monday, August 5, 2024, that Thornsberry had seen a case of Avian Flu in cattle. Upon watching a presentation by fellow veterinarian Dr. Barb Petersen of Texas, Thornsberry says it’s time to correct the record.
“It’s almost as if the public has been propagandized,” Thornsberry said during a phone interview with BeefNews. “For whatever reason, the media and the USDA have really downplayed the impacts of this virus on dairy farms, while misleading the public on human risks.”
Following the devastating Texas panhandle fires in early March, dairy farms in the Texas Panhandle began to notice a decrease in milk production in a few lactating cows. Initially, symptoms were thought to be connected to the fires, until some cows began discharging thick, yellow milk, about the consistency of Elmer’s glue. Tests for mastitis came back negative as other symptoms began to present in a small percentage of the regional dairy herd.
According to the presentation, about 20 percent of the Texas dairy herd Petersen oversaw began going off their feed and salivating excessively. A smaller percent of the herd (about 5 percent) exhibited significant symptoms—such as high fevers between 105-107 degrees.
As one of the first veterinarians on the front lines, Petersen ran every test she could think of, but they all came back negative. Casting a wider net, Petersen sent in samples to test for Avian Flu, which then came back as positive.
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While the virus itself winds down, the media narrative and federal regulations are ramping up—neither of which appear to be helpful.
Lessons Learned from Texas
As the cattle industry becomes more consolidated due to increased federal regulations, and a lack of grazing access, Thornsberry shares the concerns of many across the industry for herd health.
“You’ve got to realize that our dairy industry has been consolidated to such a degree today that your average regional dairy is operating multiple herds across nearby farms. That closer proximity of cattle, potentially increases the risk of viruses spreading,” Thornsberry said. “While this virus only impacted about 20 percent of lactating cows in a particular dairy herd, the acute care required can be devastating for small family farms and mid-sized producers.”
While no cows died from the virus itself, teams were organized to administer fluids, electrolytes, and life-saving supportive care for the lactating cows that stopped eating.
With early treatment, impacted dairy cows recovered fairly quickly, with one exception. Thornsberry explains that the virus causes scar tissue damage to the udder, so even after cows recover, their milk supply does not.
Aside from the costs of supportive care, a 20 percent loss in milk production in a dairy herd creates significant financial losses for producers—forced to cull years ahead of schedule.
These losses can be difficult to calculate as they include the loss of genetic lines and two, even three years of unrealized milk revenues.
It has been reported that one Kansas dairyman had to cull one-third of his herd. Meanwhile, others have been forced to cull 20-25 percent of their herds, a full two to three years ahead of schedule. In total, the USDA currently reports one hundred and ninety confirmed cases, impacting dairy herds across thirteen states.
While the USDA has an emergency fund (ELAP), it only covers 90% of lost revenue per cow, per day, for up to 90 days—a far cry from two-to-three years of lost revenues. In addition, significant hoops must be jumped through in order to access these federal livestock-loss dollars, such as an official positive test.
Unfortunately, this is only the beginning of the headache for dairy farmers in such a politically charged, and agenda-driven world.
Covid-19 Traumas Resurface
Upon receiving the official diagnosis of Avian Flu in cattle, an immediate media frenzy began—exacerbating fears over honest information sharing. The government’s response has not been much better.
Culling, the act of indiscriminate slaughter, has been the primary response of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and its parent agency, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
In addition, APHIS has created new guidelines around this outbreak that require all official testing and diagnostics to go through the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), where hotly contested rt-PCR tests are again determining results, without threshold cycle transparency.
Upon receiving results, some veterinarians (who have asked to remain anonymous) told BeefNews they were asked not to share information with their clients.
Trust issues – resulting from the government’s response to Covid-19, in addition to new regulations, and the ramping up of federal biosecurity requirements – presented unique barriers to reporting among migrant dairy workers.
While reports from Texas indicate that human symptoms included conjunctivitis (pink eye), upper respiratory issues, nasal discharge, bleeding, and flu-like symptoms, the greatest concern for dairy farmers and migrant employees was another lockdown scenario.
“Draconian biosecurity measures are ramping up,” Thornsberry said. “This caused anxiety in mostly migratory dairy workers, who were afraid to report symptoms due to fear that the government would not allow them to go to work, or worse, not allow them to leave work.”
As the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) increases federal biosecurity regulations, many have voiced concerns that this approach, similar to culling, will prove to be an ineffective focus of time and public funding.
Mainly, Thornsberry says that he’s shocked after all this time, there’s still no evidence of how the virus is transmitting beyond waterfowl.
“We know the primary source of this infection is from migratory waterfowl,” Thornsberry said. “However, I’m shocked that we still have no idea if the virus is being passed from humans to cattle, cattle to humans, from birds to humans, birds to cattle, feed bins, or water sources. Now, closed herds without interaction from outside cattle have been impacted. We need answers, and dairy farmers need better financial support.”
Brass Tacks
The virus has not impacted beef cattle breeds, not even while lactating, despite the virus’s affinity for the glandular tissue in the udder. Nor has the virus affected the calves of dairy cattle—only the lactating females of dairy breeds.
After rigorous testing, the USDA in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that the virus does not affect meat, or pass to humans through meat consumption.
The FDA also designed a study to mimic commercial dairy processing and found that the most commonly used pasteurization time and temperature requirements were effective at inactivating the H5N1 HPAI virus in milk. These results complement the FDA’s initial retail sampling study, which found all 297 samples of dairy products collected at retail locations were negative for viable (infection-causing) H5N1 HPAI virus.
Meanwhile – after the USDA awarded MERCK’S Harrisvaccines a $6 million mRNA National Stockpile contract in 2015 to mitigate an Avian Flu outbreak in poultry – 100 million domestic poultry have still been culled and incinerated during this outbreak.
October Surprise
Migratory waterfowl spread the H5N1 variant along their route North. Beginning this October, another outbreak is now being anticipated along Southern migratory routes, as the government refuses to address federally protected Canadian geese—the primary source of infection.
Amid the devastating economic losses to the United States poultry industry, the sole focus of government agencies and the media alike have taken aim at cows and humans.
Although no evidence exists that human-to-human transmission is occurring, HHS Secretary Xavier Beccera just expanded a 2013 PREP Act rule to create Emergency Use Authorization for in vitro testing across all Avian Flu strains—”H5.” The emergency declaration, coupled with sensationalized media reports, appears to be laying the ground for a new round of EUA-approved mass mRNA injections.
mRNA Research and Development
According to multiple sources, new narratives are likely leading towards private contracts for mRNA platforms with pharmaceutical companies, like MERCK Animal Health.
In 2022, MERCK’s SEQUIVITY RNA platform was licensed for use in swine. The platform, offered as a private NDA contract with producers, covers a wide range of viral strains. The concept is simple; a producer enters into a use contract directly with the manufacturer. Once an infection is detected, samples are sent for diagnostic, sequenced, and then sent electronically for insertion into the proprietary RNA platform. Within weeks, a custom mRNA vaccine is created, and then sent to the producer for the rest of their herd.
Whereas the NDA prohibits published results, word of mouth has spread of anaphylaxis. One producer reported using the platform for a Circovirus outbreak, only to lose 5-8% of his entire hog herd to anaphylactic shock.
Similarly, the Covid-19 injections showed that mRNA technologies, while quick to create, are still in their infancy and not as reliable as traditional vaccines.
Companies like MERCK, and Moderna – just awarded a government contract to develop an H5N1 RNA vaccine for humans worth $176 million – have teamed up to quietly work out the kinks.
Launched through their Animal Health research divisions, companies like Tiba Biotech and MERCK have expressed a desire to work through previous mRNA failures, using real-time livestock research and development.
From the Jan. 2023 release from the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) on its partnership with Tiba Biotech;
“The project aims to generate valuable data on the potential for Tiba Biotech’s vaccine platform to make the production of RNA vaccines less costly and more efficient, and to develop vaccines that have fewer side effects and are more effective. If successful, the parties have the option to extend the initial project to develop vaccine libraries against known pathogens with pandemic risk, and novel pathogens with epidemic or pandemic potential that could cause the next ‘Disease X’.”
Common Sense…
However, an increasing chorus of medical and veterinary doctors have begun speaking out to challenge this coordinated approach.
“In general, viruses become less severe and more infectious through normal viral mutations,” Dr. Kat Lindley said, a board-certified family medicine physician and the President and co-founder of the Global Health Project. Lindley maintains that it would take significant artificial manipulation, like Gain-of-Function research to make H5N1 a pathogen of pandemic potential.
“For the Bird Flu to become a virus with pandemic potential, there would have to be a significant manipulation of the amino acids, even according to Dr Redfield, former CDC Director. Despite all this we need to be aware that HHS has added it to the list of viruses with pandemic potential, paving the way for the FDA commissioner to issue an EUA for Bird Flu products.”
Unfortunately, H5/H7 Avian Flu strains have been the subject of Gain-of-Function research since 2017.
“We should be focused on mitigating the primary source of infection,” Thornsberry said. “We also need to pinpoint the exact mode of transmission, increase funding for losses, and not create a false sense of security by again, employing a new and potentially flawed technology,” Dr. Thornsberry concluded.
The official positions of R-Calf USA, and The Beef Initiative are that mandatory labeling must be required for meat injected with the mRNA platforms, as genetic fragments may potentially pass through raw meat to humans. Consumers across the country agree, and have begun increasing the demand for clean meat.
To discover the network of ranches within The Beef Initiative near you, visit BeefMaps.com and BeefIndex.org for detailed listings and connections.
A very special thank you to Dr. Max Thornsberry of R-CALF USA, and Dr. Kat Lindley of the Global Health Project.
Republished from Beef News
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