State officials are investigating after bird flu was detected in cows in a dairy operation in Northwest Ohio.
A news release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture says presumptive results from the cows in Wood County showed a positive result for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). State officials are awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. State officials say the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease and Prevention indicate there is little risk to public health because the pasteurization process involving dairy products. The CDC says people with “close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.” Otherwise, the risk to humans remains low.