TORONTO - Twenty one cases of mpox have been confirmed in Toronto since the start of this year compared with a total of 27 cases for all of 2023, Toronto Public Health said on Wednesday.
The public health unit is encouraging eligible residents to get vaccinated against the virus formerly known as monkeypox amid the rise in cases.
It said travel is not a significant factor among the current cases, which suggests local transmission. The public health unit also said none of the affected individuals were fully vaccinated.
"Amidst increased cases of mpox in Toronto, it's important to recognize that cases are predominantly non-travel-related, emphasizing the importance of vaccination," Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, wrote in a statement.
"Completing the two-dose vaccination series provides the best protection against mpox and helps reduce serious symptoms.
The public health unit said the virus has spread recently mostly between people who have had intimate or sexual contact, with men who have sex with men the most affected.
The virus spreads through contact with infected lesions, skin blisters, body fluids or respiratory secretions.
Symptoms can start five to 21 days after exposure and include fever, headache, muscle aches, exhaustion, swollen lymph nodes and a rash or blisters and lesions on the skin.
Individuals who are members of the LGBTQ+ community who had a confirmed sexually transmitted infection, have or are planning to have two or more sexual partners, or have attended venues for sexual contact such as sex clubs are among those eligible to receive the mpox vaccine.
"We want to remind cis and trans gay, bi, queer, and all men who have sex with men, to get their first and second dose of the mpox vaccine," Devan Nambiar, manager at Gay Mens Sexual Health Alliance wrote in a statement.
"Mpox has not been entirely eradicated and we want you to take care of yourself and protect your sexual partners."
The monkeypox disease comes from the same family of viruses that cause smallpox, which the World Health Organization declared eradicated around the globe in 1980. Smallpox vaccines have proven effective in combating the monkeypox virus.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
As winter ends, several viruses are still continuing to rise across the U.S., according to data from WastewaterSCAN, a network of wastewater surveillance sites. Norovirus, one type of influenza, and another respiratory virus are all increasing or have recently peaked in samples from the network's 190 wastewater treatment facilities, which are located in 41 states.
What were seeing right now for the major viruses we are monitoring is that there are similar patterns across the country, says Marlene Wolfe, assistant professor of environmental health at Emory University and one of WastewaterSCAN's program directors. Were not seeing widely divergent patterns geographically.
When people are infected, they shed viruses in their excretions, and analyzing samples from wastewater treatment plants is an efficient way to get almost real-time information on whats ailing people in a given community. This type of data is especially useful when people don't get tested at hospitals or doctors officesand therefore aren't registered in official case counts.
In general, the samples are picking up fewer cases of COVID-19 and influenza A, the type of flu that tends to cause more serious disease. RSV rates have also been steadily declining. Those patterns are typical as winter comes to a close.
But these other viruses make it clear that sick season isn't over yet.
The so-called "cruise ship virus" is very contagious and responsible for just over half of all food-borne illnesses in the U.S. each year. Cases generally build from November to April, and this year, infections have followed that rising trend, according to the WastewaterSCAN data. Last year, cases peaked earlier, at the end of February, says Wolfe, but infections only started inching down in the past few days. However, norovirus does not tend to strictly follow seasonal patterns, she says, because food-borne contaminations can occur at any time of the year.
Read More: Here's the Best Way to Cure an Upset Stomach
The best way to avoid the diarrhea and vomiting that infections cause is to thoroughly clean high-traffic surfaces, such as kitchens and bathrooms, and for public facilities like day care centers and schools to follow those same practices. I remind people to use bleach if they have a norovirus problem, says Wolfe. Hand sanitizer will not remove and inactivate this virusit likes to stick around.
HMPV was identified relatively recently, in 2001, although scientists believe it has been circulating for half a century. It belongs to the same family of viruses as RSV and affects similar populationsolder people and younger childrenby causing respiratory disease. Improved testing methods have helped health officials get a better sense of how prevalent infections are.
Many doctors and health centers dont test for the virus, but wastewater sampling can easily detect it. Collection sites have picked up a sharp increase in the virus since late February, and levels have continued to rise, only recently starting their descent. Wolfe says that HMPV is a late bloomer, with infections picking up when flu and RSV drop, so its not unusual to see more cases in the late winter and early spring.
Read More: The New RSV Drug Keeps Babies Out of the Hospital
There is no specific antiviral treatment for the virus, but health experts say the usual habits of hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home if you have a fever or dont feel well can help reduce the spread.
There are four types of influenza viruseslabelled A, B, C, and Dbut the viruses that return every year and cause the most problems belong to the A and B groups. Influenza A viruses tend to cause more serious disease in people and are responsible for large outbreaks and pandemics such as H1N1 and H3N2, because of their ability to mutate and change their genes more quickly. Influenza B viruses are slower to mutate, but can still cause illness especially among vulnerable groups like older people and those with weakened immune systems.
While influenza A viruses are declining in nationwide samples, B viruses have continued to rise and have only very recently peaked, says Wolfe. Thats a different pattern from last year, when there was much less influenza B overall, and those viruses peaked earlier.
The good news is that the annual flu shot is designed to target both influenza A and B viruses, so most vaccinated people dont need to take precautions beyond washing hands frequently and covering coughs and sneezes. Getting a flu shot at this point in the season won't hurt, but it's not likely to be as protective as immunizations earlier in the season, since casesand therefore the risk of infectionwill start to decline rapidly in the spring.
Read More: This Is the Best Time to Get a Flu Shot
Even though it's late in virus season, for scientists and vaccine makers, the wastewater information is valuable; it gives them insights into which types of viruses to continue targeting in the shots, and how long any protection provided by the vaccines will need to last to reduce serious disease.
Wolfe is encouraged by the consistency and reliability of wastewater surveillance in tracking infectious diseases, and says more pathogens will likely be monitored in this way to help health officials better manage them. This tool has matured since we started doing research on wastewater and COVID-19 in March 2020, and its really exciting and gratifying to see how useful it is for individual and public health responses for a much larger suite of viruses, she says.
PORTLAND, Maine -- Avian influenza is killing tens of thousands of seals and sea lions in different corners of the world, disrupting ecosystems and flummoxing scientists who don't see a clear way to slow the devastating virus.
The worldwide bird flu outbreak that began in 2020 has led to the deaths of millions of domesticated birds and spread to wildlife all over the globe. This virus isn't thought to be a major threat to humans, but its spread in farming operations and wild ecosystems has caused widespread economic turmoil and environmental disruptions.
Seals and sea lions, in places as far apart as Maine and Chile, appear to be especially vulnerable to the disease, scientists said. The virus has been detected in seals on the east and west coasts of the U.S., leading to deaths of more than 300 seals in New England and a handful more in Puget Sound in Washington. The situation is even more dire in South America, where more than 20,000 sea lions have died in Chile and Peru and thousands of elephant seals have died in Argentina.
The virus can be controlled in domesticated animals, but it can spread unchecked in wildlife and marine mammals such as South America's seals that lacked prior exposure to it have suffered devastating consequences, said Marcela Uhart, director of the Latin America program at the Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center at the University of California, Davis.
Once the virus is in wildlife, it spreads like wildfire, as long as there are susceptible animals and species, Uhart said. Movement of animals spreads the virus to new areas.
Scientists are still researching how the seals have contracted bird flu, but it is most likely from contact with infected seabirds, Uhart said. High mortality has affected South American marine mammals consistently since the virus arrived late in 2022, and birds in Peru and Chile have died by the hundreds of thousands from the virus since then, she noted.
The virus is still spreading and was detected in mainland Antarctica for the first time in February.
The deaths of seals and sea lions disrupts ecosystems where the marine mammals serve as key predators near the top of the food chain. Seals help keep the ocean in balance by preventing overpopulation of the fish species they feed on.
Many species affected, such as South American sea lions and Southern elephant seals, have relatively stable populations, but scientists worry about the possibility of the virus jumping to more jeopardized animals. Scientists have said bird flu might have played a role in the deaths of hundreds of endangered Caspian seals in Russia last year.
The loss of wildlife at the current scale presents an unprecedented risk of wildlife population collapse, creating an ecological crisis," the World Organisation for Animal Health, an intergovernmental organization, said in a statement.
In New England, scientists with the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University found an outbreak of bird flu that killed more than 330 harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in 2022 turned out to be worse than initially thought. It's possible the seals contracted the virus from gulls by coming into contact with sick gulls' excrement or by preying on an infected bird, the scientists reported.
The U.S. government determined the seal die-off was an unusual mortality event attributable to bird flu. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared the event is over, but concerns remain about a possible repeat.
Marine mammals are still pretty unique in the scale of the outbreaks that are occurring, said Wendy Puryear, an author of the Tufts study. One of the connections is there is a lot of virus that circulates in coastal birds. A lot of opportunities for those wild birds to host the virus and pass it on to marine mammals.
Some scientists and environmental advocates say there could be a link between the outbreaks and climate change and warming oceans. Warmer sea temperatures off northern Chile decrease the population of forage fish, and that makes sea lions weaker and more susceptible to disease, said Liesbeth van der Meer, director of the environmental group Oceana in Chile.
Scientists and environmentalists are hopeful vaccinating poultry will help lessen the spread of the disease, van der Meer said, adding that it's also important for people to avoid potentially infected animals in the wild.
Authorities have carried out campaigns about the disease, strongly recommending to stay away from seabirds or marine mammals with symptoms or found dead in the coastal areas, van der Meer said.
Even seals in aquariums are not considered completely safe from bird flu. The New England Aquarium, where outdoor harbor seal exhibits delight thousands of visitors every year, has taken strict sanitation precautions to prevent transmission of the virus to its animals, said Melissa Joblon, the Boston aquarium's director of animal health.
Staff aren't allowed to bring backyard poultry products to the aquarium, and an awning protects the seal exhibit from birds that could carry the virus, she said.
We do know that its a risk for the animals that reside here, said Joblon, adding that none of the aquarium's seals have been infected.
The deaths of marine mammals are even more concerning because of mutations of the avian virus, according to a paper in the journal Nature Communications last fall. The mutations "warrant further examination and highlight an urgent need for active local surveillance to manage outbreaks and limit spillover into other species, including humans," the study stated.
Another study, published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases in February, found the bird flu virus has adapted to spread between birds and mammals. Researchers found nearly identical samples of the virus in dead sea lions, a dead seal and a dead seabird. They said the finding is significant because it confirms a multispecies outbreak that can affect marine mammals and birds.
More seal deaths could disrupt critical ecosystems around the world, said Lynda Doughty, executive director of Marine Mammals of Maine, a marine mammal rescue organization that responded to seals with bird flu during the New England outbreak.
You need this happy ecosystem. If were taking out some important species, what is the trickle down effect of that? Thats the million dollar question, Doughty said.
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The data shared here is Emergency Department visits, outpatient visits and the number of positive flu tests from local providers.
Influenza like illness (ILI) is defined as: Fever >100 plus cough and/or sore throat, in the absence of a known cause.
Classification of ILI is based upon symptoms only and does not require testing.
Influenza is not a reportable condition, so any data collected is voluntarily provided by community members.
Not all Emergency Department (ED) visits published here are diagnosed as influenza; some are discharged with a diagnosis of rhinovirus, bronchitis, or other upper respiratory infection. This data is considered preliminary and are not confirmed diagnoses of the disease.
The ED data is retrieved from the Electronic Surveillance System for the Early Notification of Community-based Epidemics (ESSENCE-NSSP). Currently, 11 out of the 12 ED's in Shelby County submit data to ESSENCE-NSSP. Off-season ILI is included for baseline comparison.
Outpatient visit data is collected by the CDC's Sentinel Provider Network and reported to Tennessee Department of Health weekly.
Some local providers also voluntarily report the number of positive flu tests. This data is presented in a graph above.
For information about infection prevention, national activity or detailed information about the influenza virus, please visit the CDC Influenza page (link below).
For information about influenza activity in Tennessee please visit the TN Department of Health web page (link below).
With the Spring Break holiday, thousands of Americans have been travelling across the country. While vacations are necessary, they pose a risk of contracting contagious viruses. Recently, norovirus has been on the rise in the United States, causing illnesses among many. As the cases are on the rise, heres what you need to know about the highly contagious virus:
Norovirus or Norwalk virus is a highly contagious virus that affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is commonly known as stomach flu or stomach bug. Anyone can get infected with this virus and fall sick, CDC says. It is important to note that it is not related to the flu, which is caused by the influenza virus. CDC adds that it causes inflammation of the stomach or intestines. This condition is called acute gastroenteritis.
S. Wesley Long, MD, PhD, Medical Director of Diagnostic Microbiology at Houston Methodist Hospital, says, Its very contagious and easily spread on surfaces and through close person-to-person contact. Dahlia Philips, MD, an infectious disease physician and Medical Director at MetroPlusHealth, notes that norovirus is transmitted by the fecal-oral route.
A person who has been infected by norovirus will usually develop symptoms 12 to 48 hours after the exposure. While most people start feeling better within one to three days, they can still spread the virus for a few days. According to CDC, some of the symptoms of norovirus are:
Since norovirus is highly contagious, one of the most important ways to avoid contracting it is by washing your hands well with soap and water. It is crucial to wash hands prior to handling any type of food item, especially while eating and cooking. Other preventive measures listed by CDC are:
There has been an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in Ouagadougou, Burkina Fasos capital. The viral disease, also called avian influenza, killed 441 chickens out of a flock of 641 on a farm.
There have been several outbreaks bird flu across Africa over the past 18 years. Nigeria was the first African country to report an outbreak in February 2006.
Daniel Oluwayelu, a virologist and bird flu expert, tells us more about the disease.
Avian influenza, or bird flu, is a highly contagious viral disease of birds caused by the influenza A viruses. It was previously known as fowl plague and was recognised as an infectious disease of poultry in Italy as far back as 1878.
Although avian influenza A viruses occur naturally among wild aquatic birds worldwide, they are also known to infect other animals, including ducks, chickens, turkeys, pigs, whales, horses, seals, dogs and cats.
Exposure to animal influenza viruses can lead to infection and disease in humans ranging from mild, flu-like symptoms or eye inflammation to severe, acute respiratory disease or death.
Domestic poultry may be infected with two types of bird flu viruses: highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A viruses or low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) A viruses. All outbreaks of the highly pathogenic form have been caused by influenza A viruses of the sub-types H5 and H7.
The highly pathogenic viruses spread quickly and may kill nearly an entire poultry flock within 48 hours. The low pathogenic viruses may not cause symptoms or may cause only mild symptoms such as ruffled feathers or a drop in egg production.
Influenza A viruses circulate in their natural hosts: wild aquatic birds. Infected birds shed the bird flu virus in their saliva, mucus and faeces. Transmission or spread of the virus occurs primarily by the oral-faecal pathways through direct contact with secretions from infected birds, especially through faeces or indirectly through contaminated feed and surface water.
Most bird flu viruses, including sub-types H5 and H7, are of low pathogenicity and cause sub-clinical infections of the intestinal or respiratory tract. This means they do not easily cause disease and have only mild symptoms. The virus is spread mainly through faeces and droplets released during coughing and sneezing.
Highly pathogenic viruses have been proven to emerge after transmission from the wild bird reservoir and adaptation of low pathogenic virus sub-types H5 or H7 to new poultry hosts and subsequent mutation. A less dangerous virus spreads from wild birds to poultry and mutates to become more dangerous.
Low pathogenic strains result in mild or asymptomatic infections, whereas highly pathogenic strains cause up to 100% morbidity and mortality in animals.
Avian influenza A viruses are a public and occupational health concern. Human infection with LPAI and HPAI viruses can lead to infections and diseases in humans, ranging from mild to severe flu-like symptoms or eye inflammation to severe, acute respiratory disease and death. They may change into a form that is highly infectious in humans and spread easily from person to person.
As these viruses threaten domestic poultry globally, they are also a risk to people who have contact with poultry worldwide, including poultry farmers, farm workers, veterinarians, and sellers and butchers of chickens at live bird markets.
The virus may be transmitted to humans from contact with infected wild birds or poultry that are sick or dead, droppings of infected birds, contaminated litter, and contaminated materials or surfaces such as egg collection containers.
People rarely get bird flu; however, human infections with bird flu viruses can happen if enough virus is inhaled or gets into a persons mouth, eyes, or nose. Bird flu infections happen most often after people have had close, prolonged and unprotected (no gloves or other personal protective equipment) contact with infected birds and then touch their mouths, eyes, or noses.
Infections with bird flu viruses are difficult to eradicate and so efforts should be made to prevent their occurrence.
The best prevention is to avoid sources of exposure. Infection of poultry flocks can be prevented by practising biosecurity measures on farms. Biosecurity refers to steps taken to protect birds from harmful biological agents like viruses, bacteria, and parasites. In commercial poultry production, this generally means total confinement operations with strict rules to maintain flock health such as shower-in and out systems, special clothing and disinfection.
Vaccination is highly regulated and restricted in many countries, and not even approved in other countries.
People should minimise contact with birds in areas known to be affected by bird flu viruses, including farms and settings where live animals may be sold or slaughtered. They should also avoid contact with surfaces that appear to be contaminated with bird faeces.
The public should be educated to avoid contact with sick or dead animals, including wild birds, and report cases of unusually high deaths of birds to veterinary authorities.
People should observe hand hygiene, preferably washing their hands thoroughly either with soap and running water or using alcohol-based hand sanitisers as frequently as possible, but especially before and after contact with animals and their environments.
Steps that can be taken to control or stop the spread of bird flu include:
destroying birds carrying or suspected of carrying the virus
avoiding unprotected contact with birds and bird secretions or excrement
education of all poultry value-chain workers on the risks of the disease and personal protective measures that can be followed.
ST. PAUL A Stevens County juvenile goat residing on a farm with a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza positive poultry flock tested positive for the same virus.
This is the first U.S. detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in a domestic ruminant (cattle, sheep, goats, and their relatives), according to a news release from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health. All poultry on the property were already quarantined from the February avian influenza detection. Stevens County is located in west central Minnesota.
Following the confirmation of flu in the goat, the Board quarantined all other species on the premises. The Board is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to investigate the transmission of the virus in this case.
This finding is significant because, while the spring migration is definitely a higher risk transmission period for poultry, it highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species, said State Veterinarian, Dr. Brian Hoefs in the news release. Thankfully, research to-date has shown mammals appear to be dead-end hosts, which means theyre unlikely to spread HPAI further.
Earlier this month the owner notified the Board of unusual deaths of newly kidded goats on the property where a backyard poultry flock was depopulated due to avian influenza in February. The goats and poultry had access to the same space, including a shared water source. One of the goat carcasses was taken to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, where it tested positive for influenza A. The National Veterinary Services Laboratories later confirmed H5N1 HPAI, which is the same virus circulating in the national outbreak that began in 2022. Samples from the adult goats were negative for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza and all appear healthy; no more sick goat kids have been reported since March 11, according to the Board of Animal Health.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been previously diagnosed in other mammalian species such as skunks, dogs and cats, according to the Board of Animal Health. Animals with weakened or immature immune systems, like the goat kids in this case, are at higher risk of contracting disease. There has been limited experimental data on HPAI infection in ruminants, and there are no prior reports of natural HPAI infection in goats. The USDA has tracked more than 200 detections of HPAI in mammals across the country since the start of the 2022 HPAI outbreak.
Courtesy USDA
The Minnesota Department of Health provided recommendations for personal protective equipment and is monitoring the health of those in direct contact with the infected goats. Anyone who develops respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms after exposure to the goats may be voluntarily tested for avian influenza and other respiratory pathogens. The risk to the public is extremely low, and any risk of infection is limited to people in direct contact with infected animals. To date, no people in the United States have become ill following contact with mammals infected with this virus.
Biosecurity is the first line of defense for anyone to protect their animals from disease and includes simple measures like cleaning equipment and housing regularly, separating livestock from wild animals, and calling your veterinarian when animals appear sick. To learn more important steps to protect animals from HPAI and other diseases, visit the Boards biosecurity webpage . For more information on the Boards work to combat the spread of HPAI in Minnesota, please visit their response webpage .
Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.
Bird flu has reached goats for the first time, a development officials call significant in the nationwide outbreak that began two years ago.
Several baby goats in western Minnesota died earlier this month after being infected with the same strain of avian influenza that has killed millions of birds across the country since 2022, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced this week.
While bird flu has found its way to mammals like dogs and skunks before, this is the first time in the United States the virus has been found in a ruminant a group of animals that includes cattle, sheep and goats.
"It highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species," state veterinarian Dr. Brian Hoefs said in a statement. "Thankfully, research to date has shown mammals appear to be dead-end hosts, which means they're unlikely to spread [the virus] further."
A backyard flock of 23 chickens and ducks in Stevens County was depopulated in February after the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was found in the birds. Not long after, the owner reached out to state officials about "unusual deaths of newly kidded goats," which shared the same space and water source as the poultry flock, according to the animal health board.
Five of the 10 goat kids that died, which were all younger than two weeks old, tested positive for bird flu, according to a report filed at the World Organisation for Animal Health.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with the state Board of Animal Health to investigate the transmission.
"The risk to the public is extremely low, and any risk of infection is limited to people in direct contact with infected animals," the board said. "To date, no people in the United States have become ill following contact with mammals infected with this virus."
The larger risk comes from increased animal-to-animal transmission, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
"The evolution of the virus makes it much more likely to infect other species," he said. "It's not surprising that we're going to see other mammals living close to other species get infected."
But as the virus has mutated since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, it has become less of a threat to humans, Osterholm said. "We're watching this closely, things could change tomorrow, but for now there is low risk for human transmission."
There has not been an outbreak at a commercial poultry farm in Minnesota since late December. Statewide, more than 6 million birds, mostly turkeys, have died from the virus or been culled to prevent its spread since early 2022.
Minnesota is the nation's leading turkey producer, and it lies in a major migration pathway. Scientists say migrating waterfowl are the main source of bird flu transmission. The extremely contagious virus can travel on dust particles for miles through the air, and the virus is present in the fecal matter of infected birds.
Those with backyard poultry flocks are urged to follow strict biosecurity guidelines, especially as the spring migration picks up.
"Animals with weakened or immature immune systems, like the goat kids in this case, are at higher risk of contracting disease," the board said. "Biosecurity is the first line of defense for anyone to protect their animals from disease and includes simple measures like cleaning equipment and housing regularly, separating livestock from wild animals, and calling your veterinarian when animals appear sick."
The Minnesota Board of Animal Health (MBAH) today announced that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in a baby goat that lived on a farm where an outbreak had recently been detected in poultry. Todays announcement marks the first US detection in livestock.
Health officials, including the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), are investigating the transmission of the virus on the farm, which is located in Stevens County in west-central Minnesota. All species on the farm have been placed under quarantine. Poultry had already been quarantined following the February outbreak.
"This finding is significant because, while the spring migration is definitely a higher risk transmission period for poultry, it highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species, " said Minnesota state veterinarian Brian Hoefs, DVM. " Thankfully, research to-date has shown mammals appear to be dead-end hosts, which means theyre unlikely to spread HPAI further."
The goats were tested after the farmer noticed unusual deaths in newborn goats, which followed culling of poultry as part of the response to the February outbreak. The goats and the poultry shared the same space, as well as the same water source.
One of the goats was taken to the Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory, where testing revealed influenza A. Follow-up tests at the USDA's National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, identified the virus as H5N1, the same virus that has been circulating in wild birds and poultry in multiple countries, including the United States.
The USDA reported the notification to the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), which had a few more details about the findings. The report said the goats at the farm began to kid only days after the poultry, which included chickens and ducks, were depopulated. Ten goats died, which ranged from 5 to 9 days old. Brain and tissue samples from five goat kids were positive for H5N1, which belonged to clade 2.3.4.4b.
Genomic sequencing revealed that samples from the first goat and poultry from the farm were highly related.
The MBAH noted that HPAI has been detected in other mammal species such as skunks, dogs, and cats. However, animals with weakened or immature immune systems, such as the newborn goats, are at increased risk of contracting the disease.
As part of the response, the Minnesota Department of Health is monitoring people who had contact with the goats and issued recommendations for personal protective equipment use in that setting.
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A goat in Minnesota has tested positive for bird flu, the first case of its kind to ever occur in the United States.
The young goat which tested positive for the illness had been living on a farm with a poultry flock that was also positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, otherwise known as bird flu, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health announced.
The Board said that this is the first detection of this flu in a goat in the United States there has been.
Bird flu is caused by infection with avian influenza viruses, which naturally spreads among wild aquatic birds worldwide, the CDC says.
The poultry flock had been quarantined since they were detected in February, and after the young goat was also found positive, all animals on the farm in Stevens County were quarantined.
The animal health authorities are still investigating how the virus was transmitted to the goat and are working with the US Department of Agriculture on the case.
This finding is significant because, while the spring migration is definitely a higher risk transmission period for poultry, it highlights the possibility of the virus infecting other animals on farms with multiple species, Dr Brian Hoefs, a state veterinarian, said.
Mr Hoefs added that, thankfully, all current research shows that mammals are dead-end hosts meaning he thinks its unlikely that the flu will spread further.
The farm owner told the Board earlier this month that he has an unusually high number of deaths among his newly kidded goats on the same property where his poultry flock was depopulated due to the flu in February.
The owners goats and poultry had access to the same space and had a shared water source.
One of the dead goats carcasses was taken to the University of Minnesota for further testing and found that the goat tested positive for influenza, with the National Veterinary Services Laboratories later confirming it was bird flu.
Samples were taken from adult goats on the farm, but they were all negative and appeared to be healthy. No more sick goats have been reported since.
The Board say that animals with weakened or immature immune systems, such as the young goats, are at higher risk of contracting the disease.
The goat is not the first mammal species to have contracted the disease, as skunks, dogs, and cats have also been previously diagnosed.
A national outbreak of the illness, called H5N1 HPAI, broke out in 2022, and the USDA has tracked more than 200 detections of HPAI in mammals across the United States since the start of the outbreak.
The same strain from the outbreak was also found in the goat by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.
There has been limited experimental data on HPAI infection in ruminants, and there are no prior reports of natural HPAI infection in goats, the Board said.
While no humans in the United States have been known to become ill following contact with mammals infected with the virus, according to the Board, rare sporadic cases of human infections with bird flu viruses have occurred worldwide in the past, the CDC said.
The Board recommends that anyone who has been exposed to the infected goats and develops respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms may be tested for avian influenza and other illnesses.
The Board added that the risk to the public is extremely low, and they are already monitoring the health of those known to have been in direct contact with the infected goats.
It was only earlier this year that it was revealed an Alaskan polar bear also became the first of its species to reportedly die from avian influenza.
It is thought that the animal had been eating the carcasses of dead birds that had contracted the disease. Its body was discovered in October and experts tested the remains, which came back positive for the virus.
