As if Americans didn’t have enough to worry about already amid stubborn inflation, a high-stakes election season, and record numbers of illegal border crossings, now a new study claims that bird flu viruses can linger on hard surfaces for hours, leaving people and animals more vulnerable than previously thought.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Texas became ground zero for confirmed bird flu cases in cattle.
The CDC warns that people should take precautions when dealing with potentially infected animals. Symptoms are similar to seasonal flu, including fever, sweating, chills, runny nose, and difficulty breathing. Anyone who suspects that he may have been exposed to the virus and is exhibiting flu-like symptoms should seek medical attention.
Here’s some of what Pandora Dewan reported on the new study for Newsweek:
The findings are particularly concerning for dairy farmers as the virus was found to remain stable in unpasteurized milk on the metal and rubber components of commercial milking equipment.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is an infectious viral illness that spreads primarily among wild and domestic birds. But the virus that causes bird flu can sometimes jump into animals, including dairy cows and, in some cases, humans.
A “multi-state outbreak” of the virus has emerged among dairy cattle since mid-March, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and three cases have been confirmed in humans.
All cases so far have been among dairy workers who are exposed to infected cows.
“Dairy cows have to be milked even if they are sick, and it has not been clear for how long the virus contained in residual milk from the milking process remains stable on the equipment,” Valerie Le Sage, a research assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at the Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a statement.
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