Cats suffer H5N1 brain infections, blindness, death after drinking raw milk
Cats suffer H5N1 brain infections, blindness, death after drinking raw milk
arstechnica.com
Cats suffer H5N1 brain infections, blindness, death after drinking raw milk
74 comments
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Get fuckin hyped for the end of the world, maybe it'll finish us off this time.
No more of these half measures
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Mammal-to-mammal transmission raises new concerns about the virus's ability to spread.
On March 16, cows on a Texas dairy farm began showing symptoms of a mysterious illness now known to be H5N1 bird flu. Their symptoms were nondescript, but their milk production dramatically dropped and turned thick and creamy yellow. The next day, cats on the farm that had consumed some of the raw milk from the sick cows also became ill. While the cows would go on to largely recover, the cats weren't so lucky. They developed depressed mental states, stiff body movements, loss of coordination, circling, copious discharge from their eyes and noses, and blindness. By March 20, over half of the farm's 24 or so cats died from the flu. ...
The early outbreak data from the Texas farm suggests the virus is getting better and better at jumping to mammals, and data from elsewhere shows the virus is spreading widely in its newest host. On March 25, the US Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of H5N1 in a dairy herd in Texas, marking the first time H5N1 had ever been known to cross over to cows. Since then, the USDA has tallied infections in at least 34 herds in nine states: Texas, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Idaho, Ohio, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Colorado.
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In the meantime, it's definitely not the time to start drinking raw cow's milk. While drinking raw milk is always dangerous because it carries the threat of various nasty bacterial infections, H5N1 also appears to be infectious in raw milk. And, unlike other influenza viruses, H5N1 has the potential to infect organs beyond the lungs and respiratory tract, as seen in the cats. The authors of the new study note that a 2019 consumer survey found that 4.4 percent of adults in the US consumed raw milk more than once in the previous year, suggesting more public awareness of the dangers of raw milk is necessary.
Just great.
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What about cheese made from raw milk?
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I think I read something saying that they don't know for sure.
googles
The FDA says that they don't know yet and don't recommend eating it.
Because of the limited information available about the possible transmission of H5N1 virus via raw milk, the FDA continues to recommend that industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products, including raw milk cheese, made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including those infected with avian influenza viruses or exposed to those infected with avian influenza viruses.
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Cheese made from raw milk is a great way to get all sorts of fun diseases like listeriosis.
The cheese making process is also unlikely to kill then virus but the aging process likely will.
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Are you really gonna chance it?
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Cheese from raw milk is already "not recommended" in my country for a number of people like immuncompromized, pregnant, etc. Basically, it is already known to be risky because of other sources of infection, H5N1 is just another "+1" for the pool of problems.
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God dammit, we've got cowvid infecting cats now
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Texas Moo Flu.
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Cowrona Virus
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Don’t drink raw cow milk unless you’re a cow baby.
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I think the story goes beyond not drinking raw cow milk and pasteurization at this point. Behind the scenes there is def 'concern'. The first time cattle were known to ever be infected was March of this year.
Two possible bird flu vaccines could be available within weeks, if needed The H5N1 virus has infected at least 36 herds across nine states, raising the risk of potential human spread, federal health officials said Wednesday. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/two-possible-bird-flu-vaccines-available-weeks-needed-rcna149961
“The risk here of something going from one or two sporadic cases to becoming something of international concern, it’s not insignificant,” CDC Principal Deputy Director Nirav Shah said at a Council on Foreign Relations event on Wednesday. “We’ve all seen how a virus can spread around the globe before public health has even had a chance to get its shoes on. That’s a risk and one that we have to be mindful of.” https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/01/bird-flu-outbreak-cows-biden-00155452
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I always thought raw milk was only really useful for making cheese.
I can't see any reason to drink it.
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It’s not worth the risk but there is certainly some loss of nutritional value when being pasteurized.
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Stay away from the farms. Stay away from the city. Got it.
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Obligatory reminder to get your flu shots!
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I did and got the flu twice anyway :(
I'm still going to get this one too once it's available.
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While that experience likely sucked, imagine how much worse it would have been if your body didn't have a head-start on making antibodies.
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Could always stop contributing to this and just eat/drink plants.
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No way! I've lived this way and I'll destroy my world this way. You must be some kind of crazy /s
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Hahahaha! Been a triathlete for 6 years and a distance runner for 20. Not hurting for protein or calcium at all after dropping cow dairy and most meat (I occasionally have fish 1-3 times a week). Went off eggs a few years, too, and was fine. There's so many alternatives these days—even for people who don't have time to prepare/cook.
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Absolutely hate being alive. Near constant terror and horror. And anxiety… God is torturing us.
How I managed to avoid getting covid, even one time, remains a miraculous mystery.
Another way to see it, maybe. Maybe I’ve just been alive too long. And it’s time to go. In any way that comes. And bird flu is a way.
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In case you are being serious, and didn't read the article. Cats were not made to drink infected milk. They were found infected with H5N1 on a farm after drinking raw milk from cows.
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Why oh why can't you people ever be bothered to read the article you're commenting on?
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These were farm cats living with the cows to catch mice that eat cow food.
Most cats don't digest cow milk well, but it's common for cats on dairy farms to consume some milk, so maybe they self-select for lactose tolerance.
Anyway, they got sick and the farmer's vets tried to help them. It wasn't an experiment.
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That's not what happened? Also why is a cat pure but not a cow? Hell, if we applied human morals to other animals, cows are probably much better on average.
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74 comments
That's the reason why most people drink pasteurized milk. Those who don't will soon find out about the dangers of raw milk.
Yes, but they will not be the only ones affected. Mutations and transmissions are not so tidy.
Pasteurization is pretty effective at killing stuff. That's literally what it's meant to do.
Mutations and transmission require a vast array of infections to net appreciable results. I don't think the rare raw milk drinkers will likely be a huge problem.
If those tradfluencers could read they'd be very upset.
Do they even sell raw milk in stores? I assume you need to get this straight from a farm? And I’m a bit shocked if 4.4 percent of the US is getting their milk from farms. That’s like what ~12million people?
The FDA bans it, so it can't cross state lines, but they don't have authority to ban stuff internal to a state. A handful of states allow raw milk from in-state cows to be sold in stores.
This article has a map.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_raw_milk_debate
Most people get them from farmers' markets. There are supposedly health advantages to it, but I'd assume this would be the case from buying from a smaller responsible farm over a corporate factory farm anyhow—regardless of whether it's pasteurized or not.
They did at whole foods like 15 years ago when I worked there. They pulled it from the shelves I believe because of some new law. A handful of our customers got super mad about it.
They sure do! And it's outrageously expensive.
Back in my day, people read articles instead of just looking at the title and commenting on it.
I already tried telling them you can still get the flu from pasteurized milk and also from just being near the cattle.
Braindead apes will do anything to defend their bovine titty pus juice.
It's in pasteurized milk as well.
And is harmless.
Yes, but the idea of pasteurisation is to get the amount of surviving microorganisms down to less than one in a million or better (depending on local definitions). The human body can then easily take care of the few remaining viruses.
Any kind of pasteurisation is not about eliminating 100% of MOs. It is always a compromise, but also always on the side of "better safe than sorry".