Even as it becomes increasingly clear that the outbreak of bird flu on the nation’s dairy farms began months earlier — and is likely much more widespread — than previously thought, federal officials have stressed that the virus poses little risk to humans.
Yet there is one group of people who are at high risk of infection: the approximately 100,000 men and women who work on these farms. There has been no widespread testing to determine how many people might be infected. None have been vaccinated against bird flu.
This leaves workers and their families vulnerable to a poorly tracked pathogen. And that poses broader risks to public health. If the virus were to make its way to the general population, experts say, dairy workers would likely be a prime route.
“We don’t know if this virus will evolve into a pandemic strain, but we know today that farmworkers are exposed, and we have good reason to believe they are getting sick,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director from the Pandemic organization. Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.
The majority of dairy farm workers are Spanish speaking immigrants, often undocumented, who may not have paid sick leave or are not protected by workplace safety laws. They may not have access to medical providers and their employers may not tolerate absences.
“This sector of workers is not only exposed to the highest risk, because they have this direct and intimate contact with rejects, raw milk, with infected animals, but they are also exposed to the highest level of risk in terms of of the lack of a social safety net,” said United Farm Workers organizer Elizabeth Strater.
Interviews with more than three dozen federal and state officials, public health experts, farmers and worker organizations show how little is known about what’s happening on farms: how many workers may be affected, how the virus evolves and how it spreads among cows. .
So far, the virus, called H5N1, has been detected in cattle herds in nine states. While veterinarians said There are unconfirmed reports of farm workers experiencing flu-like symptoms; only 30 of them were tested on Wednesday.
Barring extraordinary circumstances, state and federal health officials do not have the authority to require access to farms. Instead, the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture are testing milk and ground beef on grocery store shelves for the virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is waiting for infected people to show up at clinics.
“Do you want to learn about a virus when it’s spreading so much among people that they’re showing up in hordes to emergency rooms, or do you want to catch it on farms so you can treat people and slow the spread? ” said Rick Bright, chief executive of Bright Global Health, which focuses on responses to public health emergencies.
A tangled regulatory system complicates the situation, said Dr. Jay Varma, who worked in the CDC’s foodborne illness branch and…
