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118: How the Bird Flu Is Changing and Why It Matters Now · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Welcome back to another episode
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  of the Cattle USA Daily podcast where we are here today to talk
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  about H5 N one or better known as bird flu and some new reports
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  that we have seen from places like Science News and a few
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  other reports that have been coming out about this virus and
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  what it means for us as agricultural producers.
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  Here's the gist. This virus is evolving fast and
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  our current methods for keeping it out of livestock and poultry
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  barns, they're starting to fail. So what are the findings?
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  What do we need to be talking about as agriculturalist?
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  A-Team led by Anthony Singore looked at nearly 3000 virus
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  samples from wild birds, chickens and mammals.
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  What they found was that the virus isn't just mutating, it's
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  reassorting, which means it's picking up genetic material from
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  other viruses, like the seasonal flu, and swapping genes like a
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  deck of cards. This genetic remixing gives the
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  virus more tools to spread and makes it harder to contain, In
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  Singor's words, himself, the virus is producing more and more
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  offspring and finding ways to evade barriers.
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  And most of this evolution that we are seeing is happening in
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  wild birds, ducks, geese, migratory species.
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  And that's not something new. That's where this whole thing
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  started. So why does that matter?
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  It's because these birds don't show symptoms.
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  They move across continents and they're just the viruses perfect
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  incubator. They pass the virus along and it
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  continues as it goes, meaning even farms with strong bio
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  security are getting hit with newer, tougher strains.
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  Once that virus lands on your property, it's a different beast
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  than what showed up the year prior.
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  So why is it getting harder to keep out?
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  This article that I'm referring to today points out that even in
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  facilities with strict cleaning, disinfection and entry
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  protocols, outbreaks are still happening.
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  Why? Because the virus has evolved
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  and become more infectious, especially in our poultry
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  populations, traditional bio securities is still extremely
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  important, but it's simply just not enough anymore.
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  And that's not just me talking, that is the consensus of the
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  scientist studying this virus directly.
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  So I talked about reassortment and here's where it gets a
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  little technical, but please just try to stay with me.
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  H5 N 1 is reassorting with other flu viruses, meaning it can grab
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  genes from mammal adapted flus like swine flu or seasonal flu.
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  And that raises lots of red flags for a few reasons.
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  It could become more stable in mammals #2 it could spread more
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  easily between mammals on farms. It could also eventually learn
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  to infect humans more effectively.
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  We have seen some human cases. We've only seen one death on a
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  human population from infected cases, and we're not there yet,
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  guys. This article is clear.
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  We are not to that point yet, but we are inching closer as
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  this virus continues to evolve. It is extremely important that
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  we don't look at H5 N 1 as just something that we can brush off
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  or something that is only concerning dairies, only
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  concerning our poultry populations right now.
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  This article wasn't about cattle specifically, but here's what I
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  want you to hear. That if this virus can evolve
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  past poultry bio security, it could do the same across
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  species. And this article shows that no
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  system is foolproof when the virus itself keeps changing the
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  playbook consistently, effectively, and quickly.
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  So as cattle producers, what can we do?
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  We need to be tightening up our protocols.
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  We need to be watching wildlife access, especially wildlife
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  access for birds. And you need to be keeping up
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  with your local extension offices, your local vets, people
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  in your area and in your state that have new info and have it
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  quickly and effectively. This is a situation where you
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  need to be plugged into your team and your team of extension
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  people are the people that you need to be leaning on.
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  They are the ones plugged in to your local universities and
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  researchers and everything else and can take all of that
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  scientific jargon and explain that what we need to be doing at
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  a local level. The reality of it is, is it's
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  hitting different areas at different rates and there's
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  different concerns in different areas as well.
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  So you need to be plugged in in the local level.
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  The bigger concern of this virus is that it keeps reassorting.
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  Especially with human or mammal flu viruses.
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  We could see a new flu strain entirely.
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  We're not there yet, but we are closer than we were last year.
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  And as producers, we have to be eyes wide open, not panicked.
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  But we do need to be prepared. So here's the takeaways.
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  H5 N 1 is evolving and it is evolving fast.
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  Wild birds are driving its spread and genetic shifts that
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  we've been seeing. Containment, something that is
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  something that's getting harder each and every day, not easier.
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  As producers, we need to stay sharp, we need to keep our
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  protocols updated and we need to stay informed.
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  We will keep bringing new info to you guys as it rolls out, but
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  until then, you know the drill. Stay safe, stay smart, and stay
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  in the know. Lean into your team, lean into
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  the research that is coming out, lean into your local extension
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  offices and continue to stay informed.
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  I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode of the Cattle USA Daily
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  Podcast. If you did, this was an article
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  that was referenced in our Cattle USA Drive that we send
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  out every single day. It is a newsletter that brings
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  so much information to producers and industry professionals
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  alike. It houses everything from
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  current news to market reports to LRP rates to everything else
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  in between. So we enjoyed today's podcast.
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  Make sure you go check out the article.
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  I've got it down in the show notes for you guys.
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  I've got that Cattle USA drive link for you down there as well.
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  So make sure you go check that out and continue to stay
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  informed. As always, I hope you guys have
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  a great rest of your day. A blessed week and we'll see
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  y'all next time. Have a good one y'all.