From Newsgroup: talk.origins

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk-snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play major
roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued to occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and stepped-up
biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions and intense scientific investigations into other contributing factors.
END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had been
found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June 2024
report. Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from infected
farms working on poultry farms and other dairies. They also do not note
that the first human found to be infected was sheding live infective
virus, and they were able to culture the virus and create the dairy H5N1 research strain. They also do not note that at least 10% of dairy
workers are expected to be infected that work with the dairy cattle.
The number could be higher because the workers were tested before the
virus had been cleared from the herds that they were working at, so more
dairy workers could have been infected after the testing occurred at
those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not know how the
virus spread to poultry farms. Flies do not migrate from Texas to
Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that never got Texas
cattle, but dairy workers do. The USDA never started dairy worker
testing and contact tracing even after they had good evidence that they
were spreading the virus to poultry farms and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection. You can go
to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the Washington
poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage that ended up in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and Arizona dairy herds.
These were the same poultry workers that were detected when some of them
tried to leave Washington and were infected. They were found to be
positive in Oregon and sent back to Washington, but some were obviously
no identified and managed to get to Nevada and or Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now on a
branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny. The branch used to be
embedded in other D1.1 sequences. It now includes the Iowa farm worker infected with the D1.1 genotype. It turns out that the Iowa farm worker
was infected before the Washington poultry workers and has a sequence
more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases. So the infection
could have spread from Iowa. When they depopulate the poultry farms the
farm workers have to look for other employment. It should be no mystery
how these farm workers got infected if they had done contact tracing.
The Iowa infection was not announced as being D1.1 genotype at the time,
and it was assumed to be the same virus as was infecting surrounding
dairies and poultry farms. This is from my recollection, I do not
recall it being claimed as being D1.1 back in December 2024. The CIDRAP article that I found on the case does not state that it was the D1.1
genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-iowa-poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 7/18/2025 5:07 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk- snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play major
roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued to occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and stepped-up
biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions and intense scientific investigations into other contributing factors.
END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had been
found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June 2024 report.-a Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from infected
farms working on poultry farms and other dairies.-a They also do not note that the first human found to be infected was sheding live infective
virus, and they were able to culture the virus and create the dairy H5N1 research strain.-a They also do not note that at least 10% of dairy
workers are expected to be infected that work with the dairy cattle. The number could be higher because the workers were tested before the virus
had been cleared from the herds that they were working at, so more dairy workers could have been infected after the testing occurred at those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not know how the virus spread to poultry farms.-a Flies do not migrate from Texas to
Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that never got Texas
cattle, but dairy workers do.-a The USDA never started dairy worker
testing and contact tracing even after they had good evidence that they
were spreading the virus to poultry farms and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection.-a You can go
to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the Washington
poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage that ended up in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and Arizona dairy herds.
These were the same poultry workers that were detected when some of them tried to leave Washington and were infected.-a They were found to be positive in Oregon and sent back to Washington, but some were obviously
no identified and managed to get to Nevada and or Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now on a
branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny.-a The branch used to be
embedded in other D1.1 sequences.-a It now includes the Iowa farm worker infected with the D1.1 genotype.-a It turns out that the Iowa farm worker was infected before the Washington poultry workers and has a sequence
more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases.-a So the infection could have spread from Iowa.-a When they depopulate the poultry farms the farm workers have to look for other employment.-a It should be no mystery how these farm workers got infected if they had done contact tracing.
The Iowa infection was not announced as being D1.1 genotype at the time,
and it was assumed to be the same virus as was infecting surrounding
dairies and poultry farms.-a This is from my recollection, I do not
recall it being claimed as being D1.1 back in December 2024. The CIDRAP article that I found on the case does not state that it was the D1.1 genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-iowa- poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

Another CIDRAP article notes another cat infection in Oregon, but Oregon doesn't claim to have infected herds. It has been known since Michigan
cat infections that dairy workers were infecting their pets. This is
what Google remembers.

QUOTE:
Yes, two cats of dairy workers in Michigan died from highly pathogenic
avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1). These cats, which were kept indoors,
likely contracted the virus from their owners, who worked on dairy
farms. The cats exhibited severe neurological signs and respiratory
symptoms before succumbing to the illness. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the cats' owners had reported
close contact with the animals, and one owner had experienced vomiting
and diarrhea prior to the cat's illness.
The cases highlight the potential for human-to-cat transmission of HPAI, particularly in the context of dairy farm work. The cats' owners were
not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling raw milk
and did not remove their work clothing before entering their homes, potentially exposing their cats to the virus on their clothing and
boots. A study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR) suggests that the cats may have been infected through
fomites or other forms of transmission from the dairy workers.
The cats' symptoms included ataxia (loss of coordination), decreased
appetite, lethargy, and neurological signs like abnormal cranial nerve function and motor dysfunction. One cat initially showed some
improvement with antibiotics, but its condition worsened, and it was euthanized. The other cat also experienced severe neurological signs.
END QUOTE:

It is really stupid that they are looking for stupid vectors like flies
when they have known that dairy workers were likely transmitting the
virus to poultry farms and other dairies since the beginning of the
dairy epidemic.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7405a2.htm

The dairy workers declined testing, and gave the CDC the excuse to deny
human transmission to cats.

QUOTE:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus was detected in two indoor domestic cats with
respiratory and neurologic illness that lived in homes of dairy workers
but had no known direct exposure to HPAI A(H5N1)rCoaffected farms. Both
dairy workers declined testing; other household members received
negative test results for influenza A.
END QUOTE:

This was May 2024 and a month before in the June report acknowledging
that dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on poultry farms
that were infected, and other dairies.

The CDC had all they needed to start testing and contact tracing over a
year ago and would have likely saved around 60 million birds and most of
the dairies infected since then. Look at all the dairies California
initially identified by contact tracing even though they stopped testing
the dairy workers to see if they were positive or not after finding
around 20 of them positive. It is just sad that California never
restricted dairy worker movements and ended up losing over 40% of their
layer flocks, and had over 80% of their dairy herds infected.

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 7/21/2025 9:56 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/18/2025 5:07 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk-
snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play major
roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued to
occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and stepped-up
biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions and intense
scientific investigations into other contributing factors.
END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had been
found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June 2024
report.-a Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from infected
farms working on poultry farms and other dairies.-a They also do not
note that the first human found to be infected was sheding live
infective virus, and they were able to culture the virus and create
the dairy H5N1 research strain.-a They also do not note that at least
10% of dairy workers are expected to be infected that work with the
dairy cattle. The number could be higher because the workers were
tested before the virus had been cleared from the herds that they were
working at, so more dairy workers could have been infected after the
testing occurred at those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy
worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not
know how the virus spread to poultry farms.-a Flies do not migrate from
Texas to Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that never got
Texas cattle, but dairy workers do.-a The USDA never started dairy
worker testing and contact tracing even after they had good evidence
that they were spreading the virus to poultry farms and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection.-a You can
go to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the Washington
poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage that ended up
in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and Arizona dairy
herds. These were the same poultry workers that were detected when
some of them tried to leave Washington and were infected.-a They were
found to be positive in Oregon and sent back to Washington, but some
were obviously no identified and managed to get to Nevada and or
Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to
the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now
on a branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny.-a The branch used to
be embedded in other D1.1 sequences.-a It now includes the Iowa farm
worker infected with the D1.1 genotype.-a It turns out that the Iowa
farm worker was infected before the Washington poultry workers and has
a sequence more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases.-a So
the infection could have spread from Iowa.-a When they depopulate the
poultry farms the farm workers have to look for other employment.-a It
should be no mystery how these farm workers got infected if they had
done contact tracing. The Iowa infection was not announced as being
D1.1 genotype at the time, and it was assumed to be the same virus as
was infecting surrounding dairies and poultry farms.-a This is from my
recollection, I do not recall it being claimed as being D1.1 back in
December 2024. The CIDRAP article that I found on the case does not
state that it was the D1.1 genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-iowa-
poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

Another CIDRAP article notes another cat infection in Oregon, but Oregon doesn't claim to have infected herds.-a It has been known since Michigan
cat infections that dairy workers were infecting their pets.-a This is
what Google remembers.

QUOTE:
Yes, two cats of dairy workers in Michigan died from highly pathogenic
avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1). These cats, which were kept indoors,
likely contracted the virus from their owners, who worked on dairy
farms. The cats exhibited severe neurological signs and respiratory
symptoms before succumbing to the illness. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the cats' owners had reported close contact with the animals, and one owner had experienced vomiting
and diarrhea prior to the cat's illness.
The cases highlight the potential for human-to-cat transmission of HPAI, particularly in the context of dairy farm work. The cats' owners were
not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling raw milk
and did not remove their work clothing before entering their homes, potentially exposing their cats to the virus on their clothing and
boots. A study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly
Report (MMWR) suggests that the cats may have been infected through
fomites or other forms of transmission from the dairy workers.
The cats' symptoms included ataxia (loss of coordination), decreased appetite, lethargy, and neurological signs like abnormal cranial nerve function and motor dysfunction. One cat initially showed some
improvement with antibiotics, but its condition worsened, and it was euthanized. The other cat also experienced severe neurological signs.
END QUOTE:

It is really stupid that they are looking for stupid vectors like flies
when they have known that dairy workers were likely transmitting the
virus to poultry farms and other dairies since the beginning of the
dairy epidemic.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7405a2.htm

The dairy workers declined testing, and gave the CDC the excuse to deny human transmission to cats.

QUOTE:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus was detected in two indoor domestic cats with
respiratory and neurologic illness that lived in homes of dairy workers
but had no known direct exposure to HPAI A(H5N1)rCoaffected farms. Both dairy workers declined testing; other household members received
negative test results for influenza A.
END QUOTE:

This was May 2024 and a month before in the June report acknowledging
that dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on poultry farms
that were infected, and other dairies.

The CDC had all they needed to start testing and contact tracing over a
year ago and would have likely saved around 60 million birds and most of
the dairies infected since then.-a Look at all the dairies California initially identified by contact tracing even though they stopped testing
the dairy workers to see if they were positive or not after finding
around 20 of them positive.-a It is just sad that California never restricted dairy worker movements and ended up losing over 40% of their layer flocks, and had over 80% of their dairy herds infected.

Ron Okimoto

The USDA is no longer announcing new dairy cases, but they are still
updating the excel file that they have archived. They removed the page
that was linked to by the CDC, and claimed to have archived the site.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

The archive site is still being updated. 2 new California dairies have
been added to the list July 21. The USDA do not list reinfected herds
on this list, so these new herds have to come from the around 15% of California dairy herds not yet infected. Herds in other states are
being reinfected, but they are not being counted and new infections.

The USDA is no longer annoucing if the infection is the B3.13 (dairy and poultry) or the D1.1 (Nevada and Arizona dairy and poultry) genotype.

It is crazy that the infection is still spreading and reinfecting herds
in California. The last report in May 21 from California claimed that
630 of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus. Since that report 5
new dairy infections and an unknown number of herds have been
reinfected. The farms get quarantined, but they do not restrict the
movement of dairy workers between farms. They do not even require that workers wear protective equipment. That is still only recommended.
They have to understand how the virus is spreading by now, but they are
so deeply into denial that they won't do what they need to do to stop
the spread. They need to start testing and contact tracing dairy
workers and preventing infected workers and probably their close
contacts from going to other farms.

California hasn't updated the situation since May 21, and they have
never been listing the number of herds reinfected after being cleared. https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/HPAI.html

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 7/23/2025 9:07 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/21/2025 9:56 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/18/2025 5:07 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk-
snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play major
roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued to
occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and stepped-up
biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions and intense
scientific investigations into other contributing factors.
END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had
been found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June
2024 report.-a Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from
infected farms working on poultry farms and other dairies.-a They also
do not note that the first human found to be infected was sheding
live infective virus, and they were able to culture the virus and
create the dairy H5N1 research strain.-a They also do not note that at
least 10% of dairy workers are expected to be infected that work with
the dairy cattle. The number could be higher because the workers were
tested before the virus had been cleared from the herds that they
were working at, so more dairy workers could have been infected after
the testing occurred at those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy
worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not
know how the virus spread to poultry farms.-a Flies do not migrate
from Texas to Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that never
got Texas cattle, but dairy workers do.-a The USDA never started dairy
worker testing and contact tracing even after they had good evidence
that they were spreading the virus to poultry farms and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection.-a You can
go to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the
Washington poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage
that ended up in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and
Arizona dairy herds. These were the same poultry workers that were
detected when some of them tried to leave Washington and were
infected.-a They were found to be positive in Oregon and sent back to
Washington, but some were obviously no identified and managed to get
to Nevada and or Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to
the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now
on a branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny.-a The branch used to
be embedded in other D1.1 sequences.-a It now includes the Iowa farm
worker infected with the D1.1 genotype.-a It turns out that the Iowa
farm worker was infected before the Washington poultry workers and
has a sequence more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases.
So the infection could have spread from Iowa.-a When they depopulate
the poultry farms the farm workers have to look for other
employment.-a It should be no mystery how these farm workers got
infected if they had done contact tracing. The Iowa infection was not
announced as being D1.1 genotype at the time, and it was assumed to
be the same virus as was infecting surrounding dairies and poultry
farms.-a This is from my recollection, I do not recall it being
claimed as being D1.1 back in December 2024. The CIDRAP article that
I found on the case does not state that it was the D1.1 genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-
iowa- poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

Another CIDRAP article notes another cat infection in Oregon, but
Oregon doesn't claim to have infected herds.-a It has been known since
Michigan cat infections that dairy workers were infecting their pets.
This is what Google remembers.

QUOTE:
Yes, two cats of dairy workers in Michigan died from highly pathogenic
avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1). These cats, which were kept indoors,
likely contracted the virus from their owners, who worked on dairy
farms. The cats exhibited severe neurological signs and respiratory
symptoms before succumbing to the illness. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the cats' owners had
reported close contact with the animals, and one owner had experienced
vomiting and diarrhea prior to the cat's illness.
The cases highlight the potential for human-to-cat transmission of
HPAI, particularly in the context of dairy farm work. The cats' owners
were not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling raw
milk and did not remove their work clothing before entering their
homes, potentially exposing their cats to the virus on their clothing
and boots. A study published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality
Weekly Report (MMWR) suggests that the cats may have been infected
through fomites or other forms of transmission from the dairy workers.
The cats' symptoms included ataxia (loss of coordination), decreased
appetite, lethargy, and neurological signs like abnormal cranial nerve
function and motor dysfunction. One cat initially showed some
improvement with antibiotics, but its condition worsened, and it was
euthanized. The other cat also experienced severe neurological signs.
END QUOTE:

It is really stupid that they are looking for stupid vectors like
flies when they have known that dairy workers were likely transmitting
the virus to poultry farms and other dairies since the beginning of
the dairy epidemic.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7405a2.htm

The dairy workers declined testing, and gave the CDC the excuse to
deny human transmission to cats.

QUOTE:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus was detected in two indoor domestic cats with
respiratory and neurologic illness that lived in homes of dairy
workers but had no known direct exposure to HPAI A(H5N1)rCoaffected
farms. Both dairy workers declined testing; other household members
received negative test results for influenza A.
END QUOTE:

This was May 2024 and a month before in the June report acknowledging
that dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on poultry farms
that were infected, and other dairies.

The CDC had all they needed to start testing and contact tracing over
a year ago and would have likely saved around 60 million birds and
most of the dairies infected since then.-a Look at all the dairies
California initially identified by contact tracing even though they
stopped testing the dairy workers to see if they were positive or not
after finding around 20 of them positive.-a It is just sad that
California never restricted dairy worker movements and ended up losing
over 40% of their layer flocks, and had over 80% of their dairy herds
infected.

Ron Okimoto

The USDA is no longer announcing new dairy cases, but they are still updating the excel file that they have archived.-a They removed the page that was linked to by the CDC, and claimed to have archived the site.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian- influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

The archive site is still being updated.-a 2 new California dairies have been added to the list July 21.-a The USDA do not list reinfected herds
on this list, so these new herds have to come from the around 15% of California dairy herds not yet infected.-a Herds in other states are
being reinfected, but they are not being counted and new infections.

The USDA is no longer annoucing if the infection is the B3.13 (dairy and poultry) or the D1.1 (Nevada and Arizona dairy and poultry) genotype.

It is crazy that the infection is still spreading and reinfecting herds
in California.-a The last report in May 21 from California claimed that
630 of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus.-a Since that report 5
new dairy infections and an unknown number of herds have been
reinfected.-a The farms get quarantined, but they do not restrict the movement of dairy workers between farms.-a They do not even require that workers wear protective equipment.-a That is still only recommended. They have to understand how the virus is spreading by now, but they are so
deeply into denial that they won't do what they need to do to stop the spread.-a They need to start testing and contact tracing dairy workers
and preventing infected workers and probably their close contacts from
going to other farms.

California hasn't updated the situation since May 21, and they have
never been listing the number of herds reinfected after being cleared. https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/HPAI.html

Ron Okimoto

The CDC is no longer tracking the dairy herds infected, and what is put
out by the USDA isn't accurate anyway. The USDA is not reporting herds
that have been reinfected, and have archived their list of infected
herds, but they are still updating this list even though it is no longer
at it's original link.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

Another California herd was confirmed Aug 1. They are only listing
herds in the likely less than 15% of California herds that were not
infected in the original California epidemic. It is known that herds
are being reinfected, but they are not listed as recently infected
herds. It is claimed that herds in other states are being reinfected,
but are not being counted or considered as part of the current continued spread of the virus. California's last report in May claimed that 630
of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus. It was known at that time
that some herds were being reinfected, but were not being claimed as new infections.

There is no reason for the virus to continue to spread and reinfect
herds. They have understood that they needed to restrict dairy worker movements since early in the dairy epidemic, but they kept lying about
Dairy worker transmission even though they knew that some infected
states had never gotten infected cattle, and dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on surrounding poultry farms that were infected.

If they had implemented dairy worker testing and contact tracing they
likely would have detected more infected states earlier and might have
been able to prevent the spread. As stupid as it may be dairy worker restrictions for working on more than one farm have always only been a recommendation for workers working on infected farms. It was never a
true quarantine, and even states like California never restricted dairy
worker movements, and ended up with over 630 infected herds.

The CDC and USDA are only pretending that the dairy epidemic is under
control. The reinfected herds in multiple states should be telling them
the opposite. It is obvious that the epidemic is not going to be
contained until they start dairy worker testing and restrict the
movements of infected workers, and likely their close contacts.

The D1.1 sequences indicate that, that dairy and poultry virus is being
spread by farm workers. The Washington poultry workers had the same
lineage of the D1.1 virus as infected the Wyoming and Nevada farm
workers, and the Nevada and Arizona dairies and poultry farms. You can
see from the GISAID phylogeny that this is the case, but that
information is not being acted on. Some of the Washington poultry
workers were found to have left the state and were detected as positive
for the virus in Oregon before being sent back to Washingtion. Some of
the infected poultry workers obviously were not detected, and spread the
virus to Wyoming and Nevada. https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 8/4/2025 8:44 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/23/2025 9:07 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/21/2025 9:56 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/18/2025 5:07 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk-
snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play
major roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued
to occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and
stepped-up biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions
and intense scientific investigations into other contributing factors. >>>> END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had
been found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June
2024 report.-a Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from
infected farms working on poultry farms and other dairies.-a They
also do not note that the first human found to be infected was
sheding live infective virus, and they were able to culture the
virus and create the dairy H5N1 research strain.-a They also do not
note that at least 10% of dairy workers are expected to be infected
that work with the dairy cattle. The number could be higher because
the workers were tested before the virus had been cleared from the
herds that they were working at, so more dairy workers could have
been infected after the testing occurred at those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy
worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not
know how the virus spread to poultry farms.-a Flies do not migrate
from Texas to Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that
never got Texas cattle, but dairy workers do.-a The USDA never
started dairy worker testing and contact tracing even after they had
good evidence that they were spreading the virus to poultry farms
and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection.-a You
can go to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the
Washington poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage
that ended up in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and
Arizona dairy herds. These were the same poultry workers that were
detected when some of them tried to leave Washington and were
infected.-a They were found to be positive in Oregon and sent back to >>>> Washington, but some were obviously no identified and managed to get
to Nevada and or Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to
the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now
on a branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny.-a The branch used to >>>> be embedded in other D1.1 sequences.-a It now includes the Iowa farm
worker infected with the D1.1 genotype.-a It turns out that the Iowa
farm worker was infected before the Washington poultry workers and
has a sequence more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases.
So the infection could have spread from Iowa.-a When they depopulate
the poultry farms the farm workers have to look for other
employment.-a It should be no mystery how these farm workers got
infected if they had done contact tracing. The Iowa infection was
not announced as being D1.1 genotype at the time, and it was assumed
to be the same virus as was infecting surrounding dairies and
poultry farms.-a This is from my recollection, I do not recall it
being claimed as being D1.1 back in December 2024. The CIDRAP
article that I found on the case does not state that it was the D1.1
genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-
iowa- poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

Another CIDRAP article notes another cat infection in Oregon, but
Oregon doesn't claim to have infected herds.-a It has been known since
Michigan cat infections that dairy workers were infecting their pets.
This is what Google remembers.

QUOTE:
Yes, two cats of dairy workers in Michigan died from highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1). These cats, which were
kept indoors, likely contracted the virus from their owners, who
worked on dairy farms. The cats exhibited severe neurological signs
and respiratory symptoms before succumbing to the illness. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the
cats' owners had reported close contact with the animals, and one
owner had experienced vomiting and diarrhea prior to the cat's illness.
The cases highlight the potential for human-to-cat transmission of
HPAI, particularly in the context of dairy farm work. The cats'
owners were not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when
handling raw milk and did not remove their work clothing before
entering their homes, potentially exposing their cats to the virus on
their clothing and boots. A study published in the CDC's Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) suggests that the cats may have
been infected through fomites or other forms of transmission from the
dairy workers.
The cats' symptoms included ataxia (loss of coordination), decreased
appetite, lethargy, and neurological signs like abnormal cranial
nerve function and motor dysfunction. One cat initially showed some
improvement with antibiotics, but its condition worsened, and it was
euthanized. The other cat also experienced severe neurological signs.
END QUOTE:

It is really stupid that they are looking for stupid vectors like
flies when they have known that dairy workers were likely
transmitting the virus to poultry farms and other dairies since the
beginning of the dairy epidemic.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7405a2.htm

The dairy workers declined testing, and gave the CDC the excuse to
deny human transmission to cats.

QUOTE:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus was detected in two indoor domestic cats with
respiratory and neurologic illness that lived in homes of dairy
workers but had no known direct exposure to HPAI A(H5N1)rCoaffected
farms. Both dairy workers declined testing; other household members
received negative test results for influenza A.
END QUOTE:

This was May 2024 and a month before in the June report acknowledging
that dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on poultry farms
that were infected, and other dairies.

The CDC had all they needed to start testing and contact tracing over
a year ago and would have likely saved around 60 million birds and
most of the dairies infected since then.-a Look at all the dairies
California initially identified by contact tracing even though they
stopped testing the dairy workers to see if they were positive or not
after finding around 20 of them positive.-a It is just sad that
California never restricted dairy worker movements and ended up
losing over 40% of their layer flocks, and had over 80% of their
dairy herds infected.

Ron Okimoto

The USDA is no longer announcing new dairy cases, but they are still
updating the excel file that they have archived.-a They removed the
page that was linked to by the CDC, and claimed to have archived the
site.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-
influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

The archive site is still being updated.-a 2 new California dairies
have been added to the list July 21.-a The USDA do not list reinfected
herds on this list, so these new herds have to come from the around
15% of California dairy herds not yet infected.-a Herds in other states
are being reinfected, but they are not being counted and new infections.

The USDA is no longer annoucing if the infection is the B3.13 (dairy
and poultry) or the D1.1 (Nevada and Arizona dairy and poultry) genotype.

It is crazy that the infection is still spreading and reinfecting
herds in California.-a The last report in May 21 from California
claimed that 630 of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus.-a Since
that report 5 new dairy infections and an unknown number of herds have
been reinfected.-a The farms get quarantined, but they do not restrict
the movement of dairy workers between farms.-a They do not even require
that workers wear protective equipment.-a That is still only
recommended. They have to understand how the virus is spreading by
now, but they are so deeply into denial that they won't do what they
need to do to stop the spread.-a They need to start testing and contact
tracing dairy workers and preventing infected workers and probably
their close contacts from going to other farms.

California hasn't updated the situation since May 21, and they have
never been listing the number of herds reinfected after being cleared.
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/HPAI.html

Ron Okimoto

The CDC is no longer tracking the dairy herds infected, and what is put
out by the USDA isn't accurate anyway.-a The USDA is not reporting herds that have been reinfected, and have archived their list of infected
herds, but they are still updating this list even though it is no longer
at it's original link.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian- influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

Another California herd was confirmed Aug 1.-a They are only listing
herds in the likely less than 15% of California herds that were not
infected in the original California epidemic.-a It is known that herds
are being reinfected, but they are not listed as recently infected
herds.-a It is claimed that herds in other states are being reinfected,
but are not being counted or considered as part of the current continued spread of the virus.-a California's last report in May claimed that 630
of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus.-a It was known at that time that some herds were being reinfected, but were not being claimed as new infections.

There is no reason for the virus to continue to spread and reinfect
herds.-a They have understood that they needed to restrict dairy worker movements since early in the dairy epidemic, but they kept lying about
Dairy worker transmission even though they knew that some infected
states had never gotten infected cattle, and dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on surrounding poultry farms that were infected.

If they had implemented dairy worker testing and contact tracing they
likely would have detected more infected states earlier and might have
been able to prevent the spread.-a As stupid as it may be dairy worker restrictions for working on more than one farm have always only been a recommendation for workers working on infected farms.-a It was never a
true quarantine, and even states like California never restricted dairy worker movements, and ended up with over 630 infected herds.

The CDC and USDA are only pretending that the dairy epidemic is under control.-a The reinfected herds in multiple states should be telling them the opposite.-a It is obvious that the epidemic is not going to be
contained until they start dairy worker testing and restrict the
movements of infected workers, and likely their close contacts.

The D1.1 sequences indicate that, that dairy and poultry virus is being spread by farm workers.-a The Washington poultry workers had the same lineage of the D1.1 virus as infected the Wyoming and Nevada farm
workers, and the Nevada and Arizona dairies and poultry farms.-a You can
see from the GISAID phylogeny that this is the case, but that
information is not being acted on.-a Some of the Washington poultry
workers were found to have left the state and were detected as positive
for the virus in Oregon before being sent back to Washingtion.-a Some of
the infected poultry workers obviously were not detected, and spread the virus to Wyoming and Nevada. https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

Ron Okimoto

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/air-wastewater-may-play-roles-h5n1-transmission-dairy-farms

They have found dairy virus in the air and waste water of infected
farms. The waste water is old news, but they are claiming that 6 out of
71 "air" samples taken on infected dairies and from or around infected
cattle were positive for the virus. 5 of the six positive air samples
were collected by putting the collection device directly in the face of
the animal and collecting the air that they breathed in and out and
likely snorted out.

It has been known since early in the infection that most of the cattle
did not have a respiratory infection and nasal swabs were negative. It
is usually a gut infection and the mammary glands are infected. It
isn't surprising that less than 10% of the air samples were positive.

The article notes the new dairy infection in California, but they do not
note reinfections because they are not being reported by the USDA. Is
it really known if the rate of herd infections is on the decline? The
Hogvet blog claimed his contacts were noting reinfections in multiple
states with some of those states noting poultry infections, but not
claiming infected herds. If the virus is making a second round of
infections they need to figure out how these herds are being reinfected
when cattle movements are restricted from infected dairies.

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: talk.origins

On 8/4/2025 8:44 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/23/2025 9:07 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/21/2025 9:56 AM, RonO wrote:

On 7/18/2025 5:07 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/flies-milk-
snatching-among-h5n1-transmission-contributors-dairy-cattle

QUOTE:
In the early days of H5N1 outbreaks in dairy cattle, movement of
infected cattle and contaminated equipment were thought to play
major roles in the spread of the virus. However, outbreaks continued
to occur, despite curbs on moving dairy cows among states and
stepped-up biosecurity measures on farms, raising ongoing questions
and intense scientific investigations into other contributing factors. >>>> END QUOTE:

They do not note that dairy workers from infected dairy farms had
been found to also work at infected poultry farms way back in a June
2024 report.-a Both Texas and Michigan reported dairy workers from
infected farms working on poultry farms and other dairies.-a They
also do not note that the first human found to be infected was
sheding live infective virus, and they were able to culture the
virus and create the dairy H5N1 research strain.-a They also do not
note that at least 10% of dairy workers are expected to be infected
that work with the dairy cattle. The number could be higher because
the workers were tested before the virus had been cleared from the
herds that they were working at, so more dairy workers could have
been infected after the testing occurred at those farms.

They restricted cattle movements, but they never restricted dairy
worker movements between farms, and they are still claiming to not
know how the virus spread to poultry farms.-a Flies do not migrate
from Texas to Kansas to North Dakota to infect dairy herds that
never got Texas cattle, but dairy workers do.-a The USDA never
started dairy worker testing and contact tracing even after they had
good evidence that they were spreading the virus to poultry farms
and other dairies.

They never did the epidemiology on the D1.1 dairy infection.-a You
can go to the GISAID influenza phylogeny and determine that the
Washington poultry workers were infected by the same viral lineage
that ended up in Wyoming and Nevada farm workers, and Nevada and
Arizona dairy herds. These were the same poultry workers that were
detected when some of them tried to leave Washington and were
infected.-a They were found to be positive in Oregon and sent back to >>>> Washington, but some were obviously no identified and managed to get
to Nevada and or Wyoming to spread the infection.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

For some reason GISAID removed samples that were closely related to
the Washington poultry worker-Nevada dairy worker clade so it is now
on a branch all by itself in the D1.1 phylogeny.-a The branch used to >>>> be embedded in other D1.1 sequences.-a It now includes the Iowa farm
worker infected with the D1.1 genotype.-a It turns out that the Iowa
farm worker was infected before the Washington poultry workers and
has a sequence more closely related to the Nevada and Wyoming cases.
So the infection could have spread from Iowa.-a When they depopulate
the poultry farms the farm workers have to look for other
employment.-a It should be no mystery how these farm workers got
infected if they had done contact tracing. The Iowa infection was
not announced as being D1.1 genotype at the time, and it was assumed
to be the same virus as was infecting surrounding dairies and
poultry farms.-a This is from my recollection, I do not recall it
being claimed as being D1.1 back in December 2024. The CIDRAP
article that I found on the case does not state that it was the D1.1
genotype.

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/h5n1-sickens-
iowa- poultry-worker-virus-strikes-more-cats-wild-birds-and

Ron Okimoto

Another CIDRAP article notes another cat infection in Oregon, but
Oregon doesn't claim to have infected herds.-a It has been known since
Michigan cat infections that dairy workers were infecting their pets.
This is what Google remembers.

QUOTE:
Yes, two cats of dairy workers in Michigan died from highly
pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1). These cats, which were
kept indoors, likely contracted the virus from their owners, who
worked on dairy farms. The cats exhibited severe neurological signs
and respiratory symptoms before succumbing to the illness. The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the
cats' owners had reported close contact with the animals, and one
owner had experienced vomiting and diarrhea prior to the cat's illness.
The cases highlight the potential for human-to-cat transmission of
HPAI, particularly in the context of dairy farm work. The cats'
owners were not wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when
handling raw milk and did not remove their work clothing before
entering their homes, potentially exposing their cats to the virus on
their clothing and boots. A study published in the CDC's Morbidity
and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) suggests that the cats may have
been infected through fomites or other forms of transmission from the
dairy workers.
The cats' symptoms included ataxia (loss of coordination), decreased
appetite, lethargy, and neurological signs like abnormal cranial
nerve function and motor dysfunction. One cat initially showed some
improvement with antibiotics, but its condition worsened, and it was
euthanized. The other cat also experienced severe neurological signs.
END QUOTE:

It is really stupid that they are looking for stupid vectors like
flies when they have known that dairy workers were likely
transmitting the virus to poultry farms and other dairies since the
beginning of the dairy epidemic.

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/74/wr/mm7405a2.htm

The dairy workers declined testing, and gave the CDC the excuse to
deny human transmission to cats.

QUOTE:
HPAI A(H5N1) virus was detected in two indoor domestic cats with
respiratory and neurologic illness that lived in homes of dairy
workers but had no known direct exposure to HPAI A(H5N1)rCoaffected
farms. Both dairy workers declined testing; other household members
received negative test results for influenza A.
END QUOTE:

This was May 2024 and a month before in the June report acknowledging
that dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on poultry farms
that were infected, and other dairies.

The CDC had all they needed to start testing and contact tracing over
a year ago and would have likely saved around 60 million birds and
most of the dairies infected since then.-a Look at all the dairies
California initially identified by contact tracing even though they
stopped testing the dairy workers to see if they were positive or not
after finding around 20 of them positive.-a It is just sad that
California never restricted dairy worker movements and ended up
losing over 40% of their layer flocks, and had over 80% of their
dairy herds infected.

Ron Okimoto

The USDA is no longer announcing new dairy cases, but they are still
updating the excel file that they have archived.-a They removed the
page that was linked to by the CDC, and claimed to have archived the
site.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian-
influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

The archive site is still being updated.-a 2 new California dairies
have been added to the list July 21.-a The USDA do not list reinfected
herds on this list, so these new herds have to come from the around
15% of California dairy herds not yet infected.-a Herds in other states
are being reinfected, but they are not being counted and new infections.

The USDA is no longer annoucing if the infection is the B3.13 (dairy
and poultry) or the D1.1 (Nevada and Arizona dairy and poultry) genotype.

It is crazy that the infection is still spreading and reinfecting
herds in California.-a The last report in May 21 from California
claimed that 630 of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus.-a Since
that report 5 new dairy infections and an unknown number of herds have
been reinfected.-a The farms get quarantined, but they do not restrict
the movement of dairy workers between farms.-a They do not even require
that workers wear protective equipment.-a That is still only
recommended. They have to understand how the virus is spreading by
now, but they are so deeply into denial that they won't do what they
need to do to stop the spread.-a They need to start testing and contact
tracing dairy workers and preventing infected workers and probably
their close contacts from going to other farms.

California hasn't updated the situation since May 21, and they have
never been listing the number of herds reinfected after being cleared.
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/HPAI.html

Ron Okimoto

The CDC is no longer tracking the dairy herds infected, and what is put
out by the USDA isn't accurate anyway.-a The USDA is not reporting herds that have been reinfected, and have archived their list of infected
herds, but they are still updating this list even though it is no longer
at it's original link.

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/livestock-poultry-disease/avian/avian- influenza/hpai-detections/hpai-confirmed-cases-livestock

Another California herd was confirmed Aug 1.-a They are only listing
herds in the likely less than 15% of California herds that were not
infected in the original California epidemic.-a It is known that herds
are being reinfected, but they are not listed as recently infected
herds.-a It is claimed that herds in other states are being reinfected,
but are not being counted or considered as part of the current continued spread of the virus.-a California's last report in May claimed that 630
of 766 infected herds had cleared the virus.-a It was known at that time that some herds were being reinfected, but were not being claimed as new infections.

There is no reason for the virus to continue to spread and reinfect
herds.-a They have understood that they needed to restrict dairy worker movements since early in the dairy epidemic, but they kept lying about
Dairy worker transmission even though they knew that some infected
states had never gotten infected cattle, and dairy workers from infected dairies also worked on surrounding poultry farms that were infected.

If they had implemented dairy worker testing and contact tracing they
likely would have detected more infected states earlier and might have
been able to prevent the spread.-a As stupid as it may be dairy worker restrictions for working on more than one farm have always only been a recommendation for workers working on infected farms.-a It was never a
true quarantine, and even states like California never restricted dairy worker movements, and ended up with over 630 infected herds.

The CDC and USDA are only pretending that the dairy epidemic is under control.-a The reinfected herds in multiple states should be telling them the opposite.-a It is obvious that the epidemic is not going to be
contained until they start dairy worker testing and restrict the
movements of infected workers, and likely their close contacts.

The D1.1 sequences indicate that, that dairy and poultry virus is being spread by farm workers.-a The Washington poultry workers had the same lineage of the D1.1 virus as infected the Wyoming and Nevada farm
workers, and the Nevada and Arizona dairies and poultry farms.-a You can
see from the GISAID phylogeny that this is the case, but that
information is not being acted on.-a Some of the Washington poultry
workers were found to have left the state and were detected as positive
for the virus in Oregon before being sent back to Washingtion.-a Some of
the infected poultry workers obviously were not detected, and spread the virus to Wyoming and Nevada. https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

Ron Okimoto

There seems to be some type of cover up going on. The GISAID have
removed the Nevada, Wyoming and Washington farm workers that all were
infected by the same lineage of the D1.1 genotype from their D1.l
phylogeny. They have removed all the samples related to the Nevada D1.1
dairy infection. The phylogeny clearly indicated that the D1.1
infection came from Washington poultry workers and infected Wyoming and
Nevada farms. Now that branch of the D1.1 phylogeny has been removed.
I do not know why the GISAID does not comment on their epdemiology data.

https://gisaid.org/phylogeny-influenza/hpai-h5n1-usa/

Ron Okimoto

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2