US CDC asks states to make worker protective gear available to combat
bird flu
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 [May 07, 2024]
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) said on Monday it had met with state health officials and asked
them to facilitate distribution of protective gear for farm workers to
avoid infection against H5N1 bird flu.
The CDC said it asked state health departments to work with their
agriculture department counterparts and partners in communities to
prioritize the distribution of personal protective equipment from their
stockpile to workers on farms where dairy herds have been known to be
infected with bird flu.
Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah said while the risk to the U.S.
public remains low, states should act to protect people with work
exposures including people on dairy farms, poultry farms and in
slaughterhouses.
The CDC urged farmers, workers and emergency responders last week to
wear appropriate protective gear when in direct or close physical
contact with sick birds, livestock, feces, raw milk or contaminated
surfaces.
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A dairy cow stops to look up while feeding at a dairy farm in
Ashland, Ohio, December 12, 2014. REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk/File Photo
 An analysis of the outbreak released
on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggests the virus
has been circulating in the country's dairy cows for about four
months before being reported on March 25.
Preliminary tests of milk, baby formula and other dairy products
suggests they are safe to consume, according to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration.
(Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Caroline Humer
and Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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