#18,450
Yesterday the USDA announced 38 new cattle herd infections in California - down from the previous week - but today, they've added 25 more bringing this week's total of 63. California now reports 461 infected herds, which is 68% of the nation's total.
Since most states are not testing bulk milk, or dairy cows, aggressively we don't really know how widespread the virus is in American livestock. It is worth noting that only 90 days ago, California was confident they didn't have the virus.
This lack of testing extends to wildlife as well. The USDA's list of wildlife H5N1 detections (see below) has barely budged in more a month, as only a few states have submitted samples since the summer.
After 194 submissions between May and July of this year, we've seen only 14 submissions (see list below) over the past 16 weeks.
Why the vast majority of the reports have come from northern states isn't clear, although it may come down to differences in climate and terrain (swamps vs. forests vs. deserts), and the fact that some states may be looking harder than others.
Admittedly, mammals - including domestic cats - often die in remote and difficult to access places where their carcasses are quickly scavenged by other animals, meaning most never discovered or tested. And of course, some of these animals are likely to survive the infection, and are never tested.
But we need more surveillance of wildlife, not less. Particularly since spillovers to mammals could potentially lead to a more mammalian adapted virus.
While ignorance may be bliss, it can be expensive too.
