Case of bird flu confirmed at Wood County dairy farm [Video]

Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, otherwise known as H5N1 or bird flu, is a disease that originates from wild birds and chickens that is transmissible to other animals, including humans. Transmission can occur from contacting infected animals or surfaces.

The ODA said in a press release the currently infected cows in the unnamed Wood County dairy herd came from a Texas dairy farm on March 8. 

Since then, six states, including now Ohio, have been confirmed to have a case of bird flu.

In Ohio’s case, since the transmission pathway is known, officials can do a better job of isolating sick animals from healthy ones.

“That’s a very important factor because we can show direct linkage back through what we call epidemiologically linked herds,” said Dr. Dennis Summers, state veterinarian for the ODA. “We can show the movements back and those animals, when they go back into their herd, there may be …