Epidemiologists affiliated with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Health have collected serum specimens from veterinarians and technicians attending the annual conference of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners.  The study will ascertain the prevalence of antibodies against H5N1 in this specific cohort having direct contact with dairy cattle.  The study will also evaluate exposure, use of personal protective equipment, seasonal influenza vaccine or any history of respiratory illness.

A spokesperson for the CDC stated, “Veterinary professionals have a key role in the response to H5 bird flu.  The goal of the this sero-survey is to better understand the extent of prior influenza A (H5) infections among people who work closely with cattle and the current risk of infection associated with occupational exposures in the bovine veterinary practitioner community.” It is noted that there have been 242 diagnosed dairy herds in 14 states over the past seven months with incident cases reported each week.

This program should be extended to poultry health professionals, farm managers and those coming into contact with egg-production pullet and layer flocks in anticipation of a fall reoccurrence of HPAI.