At least 42 dairy herds in nine states have tested positive for avian influenza
CDC increases testing and laboratory capacity, surveillance, genomic sequencing, and wastewater monitoring
US government offers up to $28,000 per farm for bird flu prevention
In recent news, the US government has announced financial incentives for farms to prevent the spread of bird flu in dairy cattle. The US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture will provide up to $28,000 per farm over four months specifically for protective measures and losses. This comes as concerns rise about the potential impact on human health if the virus mutates. According to reports, at least 42 dairy herds in nine states have tested positive for avian influenza.
The USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack stated that the mission is to contain the virus as an animal health event. The federal government will compensate impacted farmers for costs associated with the virus and support testing and tracing efforts. The CDC has also found additional funding to increase testing and laboratory capacity, surveillance of potential exposures, genomic sequencing, and wastewater monitoring.
Despite these efforts, some farmers have expressed concerns about the compensation provided to workers for participating in studies or wearing protective gear. For instance, Texas has only sent protective gear to four farms out of those that have been offered gloves, masks, goggles and gowns since early April. In contrast, Idaho health department began offering protective gear to farms when the flu's presence was confirmed in one herd there but had no takers. Michigan health department has left PPE coordination to local governments.
It is important for farmers and workers to prioritize safety measures as the virus continues to spread among dairy cattle. The CDC recommends that farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers, but enforcement of this recommendation remains a challenge.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that dairy and poultry farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers to prevent human transmission of the H5N1 virus.
As of the report, six additional infected herds were reported in Michigan, Idaho, and Colorado, bringing the total to 42.
Texas has sent protective gear to some farms – four farms exactly – despite offering gloves, masks, goggles and gowns to dairy farms since early April.
Idaho health department began offering protective gear to farms when federal officials confirmed the flu’s presence in one herd there early last month but have had no takers.
In Michigan, state officials have left PPE coordination to local governments, making it difficult to track protective measures on the ground.
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
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Deception
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The article reports on the resistance of farmers to wear protective gear against bird flu virus. The author quotes several health officials and experts expressing concerns about human transmission of the virus and the importance of protective measures for those in contact with infected animals. However, she also reports that some states have had little success in getting farmers to accept offers of free PPE for their workers, despite the ongoing spread of the virus. This selective reporting implies that there is resistance from farmers to take necessary precautions against the virus and downplays the importance of protective measures. It creates a false narrative that farmers are not taking proper safety measures, which could potentially endanger public health.
The challenge now is making it happen. Health officials in some of the nine states with reported outbreaks in cattle have had little luck getting farmers to take them up on offers of free personal protective equipment for their workers...
But while federal officials and infectious disease experts maintain the risk to the general public is still very low, the threat is more significant for those in contact with cows...
Similarly, in Idaho, the health department began offering protective gear to farms when federal officials confirmed the flu’s presence in one herd there early last month. They have had no takers...
Fallacies
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The author makes an appeal to authority when quoting Michael Osterholm and Shira Doron. They suggest that protective gear should be used at all dairy farms, not just those with confirmed cases.
“Once [cows] are sick, they’re probably not contagious anymore within days, then they become the least concerning.”
“But the barrier before health officials is who would launch a drive to broadly mask and goggle at dairy farms, let alone potentially require safety measures. State and federal health agencies do not have that authority.”
Biden administration announced $200 million in funding to help contain bird flu in dairy cattle
One known person infected with bird flu from exposure to dairy cattle in the US
Dairy farmers may be compensated for lost milk supply and veterinary costs under new funding plan
CDC found additional funding to increase testing and laboratory capacity, surveillance of potential exposures, genomic sequencing, and wastewater monitoring
Accuracy
No Contradictions at Time
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Deception
(100%)
None Found At Time Of
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Fallacies
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The article contains some instances of appeals to authority and inflammatory rhetoric, but no formal or informal fallacies are explicitly present in the author's statements. The author quotes FDA Commissioner Robert Califf making an appeal to authority when he states that reducing the spread of the virus will make it less likely for a mutation to jump to humans. Additionally, there is inflammatory rhetoric used in 'Between the lines: Dairy farmers have been hesitant to allow health officials on farms to test potentially infected cattle out of concern for how it could affect their businesses' and 'Farmworkers, including migrant workers, reportedly have been avoiding testing out of fear they would miss work or get tracked by the government'. However, these statements do not directly contain fallacies.
]The highly contagious and often deadly bird flu has been spreading globally among mammals in recent years.[/
Go deeper: Charted: Where bird flu has been detected in wild mammals
