Re: Dairy cattle mortality

On 10/13/2024 8:15 AM, RonO wrote:

https://www.newsweek.com/disturbing-footage-reveals-bird-flu-infected- cattle-dumped-roadside-1967813
 As noted in previous posts the California strain of the dairy influenza virus has a higher mortality rate among cattle than the initial virus. Apparently dead cattle are piling up and not being disposed of in a biosecure manner.
 The esimate is that there are over 1,100 dairy herds in California and 100 have already been confirmed to be infected with more herds detected by California health officials and already submitted for verification.
 20% of the dairy herd in the US is in California (over a million cattle).  The mortality rate was initially 2%, but around 15% of the infected cattle are dying in California.  Initially around 10% of the herd was infected at any one time, but now 50% of the herd is found to be infected in some cases.
 Ron Okimoto

https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2024-10-17/cows-dead-from-bird-flu-rot-in-california-as-heat-bakes-dairy-farms
US News is also reporting dead animals piling up in California.  Dairies with mortality usually only 1 or 2 per month have had hundreds of animals die.  The mortality in the California herds has been 10 to 15% of infected.  California is claiming around 50% of a herd seems to be infected and herd size averages over 1,000.  Over 1.7 million dairy cattle and over 1,100 dairy herds in the state.
Disposal of the dead animals can't be done in the usual fashion (usually taken to rendering plants).  The USDA has allowed mass burials in the past for livestock, but there are likely too many dead cows for that alternative.
The worry is that the dead infected cattle could spread the virus to scavengers and other wildlife.  The dead are not being treated in a biosecure manner.
They had to resort to refrigerated trucks to take care of the human mortality during Covid, so my guess is that California will have to do something similar for dairy cattle.
Ron Okimoto