U.S. CDC allocates $10M to help protect livestock workers against bird flu

CDC investing $10M into bird flu response among farmworkers The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is investing a collective $10 million into the federal bird flu response among livestock workers, with the agency maintaining the risk to genera… jchoi The Hill

The bulk of this investment — $4 million — will go to the nonprofit National Center For Farmworker Health. The group will provide training and information about the H5N1 virus to community-based organizations in affected states and help to increase access to testing, which has lagged in the months since the first human cases were detected this year.

Another $5 million will be invested in seasonal influenza vaccines for livestock workers during this year’s respiratory viral season. The agency is aiming to prevent potential co-infections of both the influenza virus and bird flu, and also to “reduce the risk of new versions of the influenza A virus emerging,” according to Shah.

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