Dairy farmers resist push for workers to wear protective gear against bird flu virus

Farmers resist push for workers to wear protective gear against bird flu virus While the bird flu virus risk to the general public is still very low, the threat is more significant for farm workers in contact with cows. Sarah Owermohle STAT

WASHINGTON — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended this week that dairy and poultry farms with infected animals supply protective gear to workers in a bid to stave off human transmission of the H5N1 virus. The challenge now is making it happen.

The CDC has no legal authority to order those protective measures, and health officials in some of the nine states with reported outbreaks in cattle have had little luck getting farmers to take them up on offers of free personal protective equipment for their workers, even as the virus continues to spread. Six additional infected herds were reported yesterday — in Michigan, Idaho, and Colorado — bringing the total to 42.

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