The Indiana State Honest is exhibiting prize dairy cows, amid the specter of chicken flu that has been detected in cattle from 13 states.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
We’re smack-dab in the midst of state honest season, and this 12 months, well being consultants are anxious that chicken flu might unfold. From the Indiana State Honest, here is Facet Results Public Media’s Ben Thorp.
BEN THORP, BYLINE: State festivals are recognized for issues like Ferris wheels, corn canine, sculptures made fully from butter and the largest pig within the state.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAROUSEL MUSIC PLAYING)
THORP: State festivals additionally carry people and animals from farms throughout the state into shut contact, the place it is simpler to unfold illness. That is a selected concern this 12 months. Hen flu infections have been confirmed in dairy cows in 13 states. The virus has even given some dairy staff gentle infections.
(SOUNDBITE OF COW MOOING)
THORP: However not everybody appears to find out about that. Mel Ventimiglia stands in entrance of a number of cows together with his grandkids within the cattle barn on the Indiana State Honest in Indianapolis. He says chicken flu is not even on his radar.
MEL VENTIMIGLIA: I have never heard it – anyone point out it apart from you.
THORP: Yeah.
VENTIMIGLIA: And hopefully I am going to neglect it fairly rapidly.
THORP: (Laughter).
Cattle farmer Randy Mason says he follows primary precautions to maintain his cattle from getting sick whereas on the honest, however he isn’t notably anxious.
RANDY MASON: Lots of that, I – in my view, will get overblown to some extent. They get one or two instances, after which it turns into – like every part the federal government does, it turns into overblown and out of proportion.
THORP: However scientists fear the virus might mutate from being a cow virus to being a human virus. At some state festivals, officers have enacted stricter guidelines this 12 months to maintain the virus from spreading. In Minnesota, which has detected instances of chicken flu inside its dairy cattle, the state requires all cows to have a damaging chicken flu check earlier than they arrive to the state honest. That is not the case in different states, together with Indiana. This is Bret Marsh. He is the Indiana state veterinarian.
BRET MARSH: Since we have not had a analysis, we have not put these extra measures in. States like Minnesota have had the analysis in dairy herds of their state, so that they’ve taken extra measures.
THORP: The issue is, although, scientists extensively agree there may be not sufficient testing happening to completely perceive which states have cows contaminated with chicken flu.
AMESH ADALJA: The belief needs to be this virus is within the state of Indiana. We simply have not discovered it but.
THORP: That is Amesh Adalja, he is a senior scholar for the Johns Hopkins Heart for Well being Safety. He says states like Indiana haven’t any constructive instances as a result of they don’t seem to be searching for them.
ADALJA: That is what they need to be messaging – not our cows are free. That is silly to consider.
THORP: Regardless of these issues, some consultants say that is not a motive to overlook out on the state honest. This is Andrew Bowman.
ANDREW BOWMAN: I am nonetheless going to the honest. Household’s nonetheless going to the honest. Shoot, I had a milkshake after I was there.
THORP: Bowman is a professor of veterinary preventative drugs at The Ohio State College. He says at-risk populations, such because the immunocompromised, ought to think about avoiding the cattle barn this 12 months.
BOWMAN: You already know, train warning and actually form of take into consideration which contacts they should have. And might I benefit from the animal reveals perhaps from just a little additional distance and never get proper in the midst of it?
THORP: The Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention have issued recommendation for state festivals to reduce the dangers of chicken flu spreading. For example, farmers should not dump uncooked milk on the bottom, and cows from completely different herds needs to be saved aside. However, they are saying, the chance to people from the chicken flu virus stays low.
(SOUNDBITE OF CAROUSEL MUSIC PLAYING)
THORP: So wash your palms after visiting the cattle barn, however do not let that cease you from using the Ferris wheel or consuming a deep-fried Oreo – or a butter stick if you happen to’re into that. For NPR Information, I am Ben Thorp in Indianapolis.
SUMMERS: That story is from NPR’s reporting partnership with Facet Results Public Media and KFF Well being Information.
(SOUNDBITE OF THEE SACRED SOULS SONG, “EASIER SAID THAN DONE”)
Copyright © 2024 NPR. All rights reserved. Go to our web site phrases of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for additional info.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This textual content might not be in its last type and could also be up to date or revised sooner or later. Accuracy and availability could fluctuate. The authoritative report of NPR’s programming is the audio report.
