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Mega-Farms Are Driving the Threat of Bird Flu

14 December 2024 at 04:00
In the West, where herds of thousands of cattle are common, researchers are seeing cases rise at poultry and dairy operations. More than 50 workers have contracted the virus.

Avian flu cases are on the upswing at big dairy farms

A handful of dairy farms sprawl across the valley floor, ringed by the spikey, copper-colored San Jacinto mountains. This is the very edge of California’s dairy countryβ€”and so far, the cows here are safe.

But everyone worries that the potentially lethal bird flu is on the way. β€œI hope not,” says Clemente Jimenez, as he fixes a hose at Pastime Lakes, a 1,500-head dairy farm. β€œIt’s a lot of trouble.”

Further north and west, in the San Joaquin Valleyβ€”the heart of the state’s dairy industryβ€”the H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, has rippled through the massive herds that provide most of the country’s milk. Farmworkers have piled carcasses into black and white heaps. This week the state reported 19 new confirmed cases in cows and more than 240,000 in chickens. Another 50,000 cases were confirmed at a chicken breeding facility in Oklahoma.

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