Keith Poulsen’s jaw dropped when farmers showed him images on their cellphones at the World Dairy Expo in Wisconsin in October. A livestock veterinarian at the University of Wisconsin, Poulsen had seen sick cows before, with their noses dripping and udders slack.
But the scale of the farmers’ efforts to treat the sick cows stunned him. They showed videos of systems they built to hydrate hundreds of cattle at once. In 14-hour shifts, dairy workers pumped gallons of electrolyte-rich fluids into ailing cows through metal tubes inserted into the esophagus.
“It was like watching a field hospital on an active battlefront treating hundreds of wounded soldiers,” he said.
Nearly a year into the first outbreak of the bird flu among cattle, the virus shows no sign of slowing. The U.S. government failed to eliminate the virus on dairy farms when it was confined to a handful of states, by quickly identifying infected cows and taking measures to keep their infections from spreading. Now at least 875 herds across 16 states have tested positive.
Experts say they have lost faith in the government’s ability to contain […]
As the article states: “There is a fear within the dairy farmer community that if they become officially listed as an affected farm, they may lose their milk market,” said Jamie Jonker, chief science officer at the National Milk Producers Federation, an organization that represents dairy farmers. To his knowledge, he added, that hasn’t happened.”
and
““I have been distressed and depressed by the lack of epidemiologic data and the lack of surveillance,” said Nicole Lurie, an executive director at the international organization the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, who served as assistant secretary for preparedness and response in the Obama administration.”
and
“Although the bird flu is not yet spreading swiftly between people, a shift in that direction could cause immense suffering. The CDC has repeatedly described the cases among farmworkers this year as mild — they weren’t hospitalized. But that doesn’t mean symptoms are a breeze, or that the virus can’t cause worse.”
You see, American businesses have learned their lessons well from the over-reach of the COVID response which wiped out generations of wealth from small business owners and families, while the elites were protected. The Public Health community prefers surveillance, but the American public is tired of having it’s rights trampled in the post 9/11 “Patriot Act” era. The government would do well to build trust among the public, and a good start would be to stop warrentless surveillance, and demonstrate accountability for government officials who abuse their authority. The article discusses push back from the community. Members of the public will always assert the right to defend themselves from institutions they do not believe are working in their best interest. It might be a good idea for governmental officials to start building relationships which demonstrate good will instead of dictates from above which do nothing but demonstrate power.
I went to the supermarket just before christmas to get some eggs and the shelves were empty. A sign attached said all the eggs had been pulled because of possible bird flu contamination. This is Lowes Market a NC based chain, so I don’t know why there and not at my coop which had an abundance of eggs. There are several people locally that sell eggs so I think I may contact them in the future to ensure my supply as we eat a lot of eggs in this household between me, cats and dog and housemate.
I cooperated with covid protocols, more or less, but not this time with the bird thing. I will follow my own guidance and that of others I trust in the natural healing community-no I did not vote for 45.