Perhaps you’ve heard about the “Bird Flu” which has infected US dairy herds, been found in milk, maybe killed some cats and caused pink eye (‘conjunctivitis’) in a single farm worker.
Is this a big thing? Is it worth worrying about?
Short answer: No, it’s not yet worth worrying about from a personal health standpoint.
Longer answer: I have concerns about both the origin of this particular H5N1 clade and the government’s responses to it.
There’s a non-zero chance that this virus came about as a consequence of lab experiments. Of course I bring the receipts.
The government’s immediate response of requiring testing of all dairy cows crossing state lines to be tested for Avian Influenza will create huge issues for a smoothly functioning culling, transport, and meat plant processes.
This is one more huge cost pressure on already shaky dairy operations which have been struggling for years under low prices and rising expenses.