Blech.

Obviously we dont want anyone to get sick. But the normal cases that we have seen so far, the symptoms are mild. These cases have been, for the most part, from individuals that had handled infected animals or had close proximity to them. Dairy workers, poultry farmers, back yard chicken enthusiasts, etc. The more severe cases tend to be individuals with compromised immune systems or pre existing conditions.

What we want to avoid, and what has not happened so far, is the virus spreading from human to human. All cases so far are believed to be from infected animals infecting a human. This is good. Just like with covid, or any novel disease for that matter, the worst thing you can do is have a spillover event where a new virus mutates just enough to infect a new species and the infection is contagious between individuals in that population . The new bird flu has not reached that stage. It may eventually, or it may never. But for the vast majority of the population, dont touch dead birds, dont drink raw milk, dont lick bird poop off of park benches. And you will be fine.

Ah i understand. No problem.

The current vector that is infecting dairies is from infected wild bird populations. We cant stop that. Blackbirds pigeons starlings finches. Theres too much bird food around everywhere. Cow to cow transmittion from one location to another is not really a factor. Its wild birds.

My dairy has implemented extra tracking in the form of, well, its basically a fitbit for cows. And with the data we collect, we can detect sick cows when they are still subclinical. It gives us a huge heads up and improves the health of the herd because we can start supportive treatment sooner. But it is not preventative.

What we need is vaccinations. The poultry industry had vaccinations for decades for bird flu. They didnt use it. We could have a cow vaccine spun up in 6 weeks, but for some reason we couldnt get usda approval in the last year before trump. The likelihood of us getting that cow vaccine approved now… its not looking too good in my opinion.

I used to drink raw milk on occasion too. Proximity and all that. But once we realized what we had in march of last year, that relaxed attitude went out the window.

I have not looked in depth about aging beef as a preventative measure, but given the mechanisms in action when you age beef, i would find it hard for the virus to remain intact. Looks like ive got more to research tonight. But, cooking your food properly will destroy the virus. Same as pasturization. Turns out viruses hate high temperatures.

I kind of understand where you’re coming from- I also care about the ethical treatment of animals and the environmental impact of industrial farming. These are serious issues that deserve attention. However, attacking individuals like this doesn’t help your cause; it just alienates people who might otherwise be open to conversation. Right now, this thread is about something else, and turning it into a hostile confrontation isn’t productive. Plus, we need to eat man, the world is falling to shit at the moment. Probably not the greatest time to tackle this.

Every person that exists, is a factor in climate change. It’s ok to hate the industry, but if you think everyone should conform to your idealism, you are gonna have some reality checks as you get older.