WASHINGTON — Ohio has the most cases nationally of bird flu in commercial poultry reported in the past 30 days, according to tracking by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
That designation has been carried by a number of states in 2024, including Michigan, Colorado, and California.
This week, the Ohio Department of Health reported the state’s first human case in which a farm worker contracted the virus. Meanwhile, more than 10 million chickens have been infected with the illness in the past 30 days. That is more than a third of the nation’s cases reported during that time period.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture has responded to help poultry operations contain the virus and educate farmers about biosecurity and good hygiene practices for all staff working around livestock and poultry, according to Meghan Harshbarger, chief of communications at ODA.
Ohio State University and the ODH have been tracking bird flu. They participated in a recent study that concluded 2 percent of U.S. bovine veterinary practitioners carried antibodies to the bird flu, indicating a recent H5N1 infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.
Blood samples were taken from 150 bovine veterinary practitioners during a national conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners in Columbus in September. None of those who tested positive for the antibodies reported having any respiratory or influenza-like symptoms, including conjunctivitis.
All three practitioners had provided care to multiple animals, including dairy cattle. Two also provided care to nondairy cattle, one to poultry, and one worked at livestock markets. None had worked with dairy cattle with known or suspected H5N1, but one had worked with poultry with known infections.
As a result of that study, the CDC concluded that human infection has likely been underestimated.
First Published February 14, 2025, 7:08 p.m.
