Federal health officials on Thursday called for more testing of employees on farms with bird flu after a new study showed that some dairy workers had signs of infection, even when they didn't report feeling sick.
Farmworkers in close contact with infected animals should be tested and offered treatment even if they show no symptoms, said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The new guidance comes after blood tests for 115 farmworkers in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers — or 7% — had antibodies that indicated previous infection with the virus known as Type A H5N1 influenza.
“The purpose of these actions is to keep workers safe, to limit the transmission of H5 to humans and to reduce the possibility of the virus changing,” Shah told reporters.
The CDC study provides the largest window to date into how the bird virus first detected in March in dairy cows may be spreading to people. It suggests that the virus has infected more humans than the 46 farmworkers identified in the U.S. as of Thursday. Nearly all were in contact with infected dairy cows or infected poultry.
Outside experts said it’s notable that the study prompted the CDC to take new action. Previous recommendations called for testing and treating workers only when they had symptoms.
“This is a significant move towards the assessment that these H5N1 viruses are a greater risk than the CDC estimated before,” said Dr. Gregory Gray, an infectious disease researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Every additional infection in animals or humans gives the virus the chance to change in potentially dangerous ways, said Angela Rasmussen, a virus expert at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada.
“It shows yet again that we are not responding effectively to the H5N1 cattle outbreak in humans or animals and if we continue to let this virus spread and jump from species to species, our luck will eventually run out,” Rasmussen said in an email.
The CDC study included 45 workers in Michigan and 70 in Colorado tested between June and August. Of the eight workers with positive blood tests, four reported no symptoms. All eight cleaned milking parlors and none used respiratory protection such as face masks. Three said they used eye protection.
High levels of the virus have been found in the milk of infected cows, increasing the risk of exposure and infection, researchers said.
Researchers said that efforts to monitor dairy workers for illness have been hindered by several barriers including the reluctance of farm owners and farmworkers to allow testing.
Rasmussen and others have criticized the federal response to the outbreak as too slow and “lackluster.”
“These studies should have been performed months ago and should have been prioritized,” she said.
The virus has been confirmed in at least 446 cattle herds in 15 states. Last week, the Agriculture Department said a pig at an Oregon farm was confirmed to have bird flu, the first time the virus was detected in U.S. swine.
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
This colorized electron microscope image released by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on March 26, 2024, shows avian influenza A H5N1 virus particles (yellow), grown in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells (blue). (CDC/NIAID via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — A combative Rudy Giuliani said a civil case to take his most prized assets was like “a political persecution” before he entered a New York City courthouse Thursday to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment.
Judge Lewis Liman ordered the former New York City mayor to report to court after lawyers for the two former Georgia election workers who were awarded the massive judgment visited Giuliani’s Manhattan apartment last week only to discover it had been cleared out weeks earlier.
The judge had set an Oct. 29 deadline for the longtime ally of once-and-future President Donald Trump to surrender many of his possessions to lawyers for Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss.
The possessions include his $5 million Upper East Side apartment, a 1980 Mercedes once owned by movie star Lauren Bacall, a shirt signed by New York Yankees legend Joe DiMaggio, dozens of luxury watches and other valuables.
When he arrived at Manhattan federal court, Giuliani told reporters that he has not stood in the way of the court's orders.
“Every bit of property that they want is available, if they are entitled to it,” he said. “Now, the law says they’re not entitled to a lot of them. For example, they want my grandfather’s watch, which is 150 years old. That’s a bit of an heirloom. Usually you don’t get those unless you’re involved in a political persecution. In fact, having me here today is like a political persecution.”
During the court proceeding, which lasted over an hour, a lawyer for Freeman and Moss and a lawyer for Giuliani disputed whether Giuliani has done all he can to turn over assets.
Liman ordered Giuliani to hand over the Mercedes by Monday.
Liman originally scheduled a phone conference about the situation, but he changed it to a hearing in Manhattan federal court that Giuliani must attend after learning about the visit to the former mayor's apartment.
Aaron Nathan, an attorney for the election workers, wrote in a letter to Liman that the residence was already “substantially empty” when representatives for his clients visited with a moving company official to assess the transportation and storage needs for the property Giuliani was ordered to surrender.
He said the group was told most of the apartment's contents, including art, sports memorabilia and other valuables, had been moved out about four weeks prior and that some of it had been placed in storage on Long Island.
At the hearing, Nathan complained that efforts to get assets were met by “delay and then evasion.”
Giuliani spoke directly to the judge at one point, saying he'd been “treated rudely” by those trying to take control of his assets.
They have so far argued unsuccessfully that Giuliani should not be forced to turn over his belongings while he appeals the judgment.
Liman also denied a request from Giuliani's legal team to postpone Thursday's court appearance to next week or hold it by phone, as originally planned.
A Giuliani spokesperson, meanwhile, dismissed the legal wrangling as intimidation tactics.
“Opposing counsel, acting either negligently or deliberately in a deceptive manner, are simply attempting to further bully and intimidate Mayor Giuliani until he is rendered penniless and homeless,” Ted Goodman, his spokesperson, said earlier this week.
Giuliani was found liable for defamation for falsely accusing Freeman and Moss of ballot fraud as he pushed Trump's unsubstantiated election fraud allegations during the 2020 campaign.
The women said they faced death threats after Giuliani accused the two of sneaking in ballots in suitcases, counting ballots multiple times and tampering with voting machines.
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Rudy Giuliani, center, arrives to federal court in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
This photo provided by the Financial Times shows Rudy Giuliani in the passenger seat of a Mercedes convertible at the same polling place where Donald Trump cast his ballot on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Palm Beach, Fla. (Alex Rogers/Financial Times via AP)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani arrives at the court to explain to a federal judge why he hasn't surrendered his valuables as part of a $148 million defamation judgment, in New York, Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
