A dystopian scene is emerging in California as dairy farmers battle a ruthless disease.
Dead cows and calves stacked along roadsides rotting in the heat surrounded by crows, vultures and thick swarms of black flies.
After wiping out tens of millions of birds worldwide, the H5N1 avian flu is tearing through dairy farms in the US.
A total of 124 herds have been affected in California alone, in addition to nearly 200 herds spanning 13 other states including Colorado, Idaho and Michigan.
Some fallen cattle are being intentionally left on the roadside to reduce the chance of the virus spreading on farms.
There are growing concerns that it could have a knock-on effect on milk production and pricing.
Eggs have already been hit by shortages and price gouging after the arrival of bird flu in chickens.
Dead cows are piling up in California as dairy farmers battle H5N1 bird flu, which made landfall in the state in August
Jimmy Andreoli II, spokesman for the Southern California Rendering company Baker Commodities, told the LA Times: ‘There’s definitely been an increased number of fallen animals lately, and some of that has got to be attributed to the long, hot summer we’ve had.
‘And some of it, you know, certainly is attributed to the H5N1 virus,’
One of his drivers picked up 20 to 30 animals at one farm in one day, he added.
Infected carcasses are being brought to a rendering site – a facility that processes animal remains – to be turned into ‘high protein’ animal feed and fertilizer, or liquids used into used in fuels, paints, varnishes, lubricants and other industrial products.
Removing and processing these carcasses eliminates the risk of them passing bird flu onto other animals or humans.
California is the nation’s largest dairy producer, and this state currently holds the record for the most bird flu-infected cattle herds in a single state, in addition to a high number of cases among dairy workers.
Even even cows survive the virus, it takes a toll on their milk production.
Observations suggest that production drops to just 60 percent or 70 percent due to the virus, the LA Times reported.
It’s possible that infected dairy cows could recover full milk production when they enter a new lactation cycle, but that remains to be seen.
The effect this will have on dairy prices remains unclear, but if expert predictions are correct, the dairy industry could become increasingly destabilized as cases and fatalities in cattle soar.
A video shows a California cattle farm that appears to be keeping sick cows with healthy ones, as many are seen ‘laying down, and some flat out’
In a video posted on X, California-based veterinarian Crystal Health shows a cattle pen that appears to contain both sick and healthy cows, with a ‘questionable’ number of them lying down.
‘The sick cows are supposed to be separated from the healthy ones,’ she wrote.
‘Not sure what’s happening here but a lot of the cows were laying down, and some flat out. The rendering truck did come to this facility in the morning, but no dead pile was visible from the road.’
John Korslund, a retired US Department of Agriculture veterinarian epidemiologist, told the LA Times that cattle carcasses probably pose little risk to public health, as the recent high temperatures and putrefaction of the animals neutralize the virus.
But it is possible for humans to contract bird flu from infected carcasses, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
California alone has seen six confirmed human cases of bird flu in dairy workers, and five more are suspected in the Central Valley as more and more cattle succumb to the disease.
In total, 27 human cases have been reported throughout the country this year, many of which followed exposure to infected poultry or cattle.
Before 2024, only one American had been infected with bird flu. The first reported human case in the US occurred in April 2022 in Colorado after a person was exposed to infected poultry.
Heath officials have now begun investigating the first human bird flu cases in Washington state after four poultry workers tested positive for the virus.
This makes Washington the sixth state to record human infections of H5N1 bird flu.
Experts fear that the virus will mutate as it jumps between humans and animals, acquiring mutations that allow it to spread from person to person and ultimately cause an epidemic.
The bird flu outbreak is growing across the US, and is rapidly spreading in dairy cattle herds spanning several states
So far, there has been only one case of bird flu in a patient who had no known contact with animals.
The patient was infected and hospitalized in Missouri, and seven people who came in contact later reported symptoms.
Despite this, officials say this supposed ‘cluster’ provides no evidence that the virus is spreading easily among humans.
But the impact of the virus on the agriculture sector is stark.
Infections on poultry farms have triggered an egg shortage, sending prices soaring as high as $5 per dozen.
They have since fallen, but now appear to be on the rise again, according to Brian Earnest, an animal protein economist with CoBank.
At one point, the shortage sent the price of a dozen regular eggs soaring to almost $5. Prices retreated somewhat, but they’re going up again.
What’s more, ex-government food tester Dr Darin Detwiler told DailyMail.com that people could contract the virus from eating infected eggs.
He said raw eggs pose the biggest risk, so popular breakfast items like soft-boiled eggs, poached eggs, or dishes like eggs Benedict should be avoided all together.
This is because the eggs ‘may not reach a temperature high enough to kill any viruses.’
‘Stick to thoroughly cooked options instead such as hard-boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, and fully cooked omelets,’ he adds.
State and federal officials have said that it’s safe to drink milk from California and other states with confirmed cases of bird flu in cattle herds if it has been pasteurized, as this process kills the virus.
