CDC to vaccinate livestock workers against seasonal flu in bird flu campaign

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will spend $5 million to vaccinate livestock workers against seasonal flu in an effort to prevent a possible interaction with bird flu, officials said July 30, 2024.

If someone gets both the H5N1 virus (highly pathogenic avian influenza) and seasonal flu, the result could be “an exchange of genetic material” that could lead to what scientists call “reassortment” and the development of a new influenza virus, said Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC.

Shah spoke to reporters on a call hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services. The $5 million will go to states, with $3 million earmarked for program implementation this fall and $2 million for purchasing the vaccine. There are about 200,000 official livestock workers in the United States and more who work informally and the CDC hopes to vaccinate half of them, officials said. Vaccinations will be voluntary.

In some cases, it will be difficult to reach them, but state officials have said that if the federal government provides the vaccine, it will reach workers. That may involve going to farms and churches, and Eric Deeeble, deputy assistant secretary of Agriculture for marketing and regulatory services, will offer additional ideas for reaching workers, an HHS official said.

State officials have told federal officials that the problem with vaccinating livestock workers is often not resistance to vaccination, but rather a lack of availability of the vaccine, particularly in remote rural areas. In addition, vaccinating livestock workers against seasonal flu will reduce the pressure on rural hospitals to provide services.

The campaign will begin with the 13 states with infections in cattle and poultry. Colorado and Michigan have had the most cases because authorities in those states have done the most testing, officials said.

The CDC will also launch a separate $5 million campaign to educate workers about the importance of biosecurity and the use of protective equipment to prevent infections.
Officials have confirmed there are now nine cases of poultry workers in Colorado who have contracted the H5N1 virus, but the symptoms are mild, mostly conjunctivitis.

Workers who slaughter birds are most at risk, officials said. Weld County, Colorado, has been particularly vulnerable because there are many agricultural operations in the county and they often share equipment, officials said.

Farms that report their cattle sick with H5N1 can continue to sell milk for commercial supply, but milk from sick cattle is not allowed, officials said. Milk from sick cattle is deposited in manure lagoons, an official added.

Meanwhile, Marion Nestle, professor emeritus of food science at New York University, blogged about the continued popularity of raw milk despite its dangers.

–The Hagstrom Report