Lazarus Long Profile picture
Jun 14, 2024 21 tweets 10 min read Read on X
It will be a miracle if H5N1 does not go full explosive pandemic.

I actually spent a chunk of time trying to figure out how to get OSHA involved.

🧵 on what THEY know, and TRANSMISSION.

tinalexander.github.io/notes/2024/06
So, the USDA wants you to not be worried. They EXPECTED numbers to go up.

But they forgot to tell their boss, @SecVilsack, who says it will be isolated and burn out, because they have biosecurity plans available, and understand how it's transmitted.

agriculture.com/usda-aims-to-i…


We do see it as kind of a naive population where we see those numbers go up that’s expected. That’s not necessarily alarming in the sense of we understand how this disease spreads.  However, to get really further ahead in this space. Again, it goes back to the biosecurity we’re really wanting all industries all to really up their biosecurity, have those enhanced biosecurity plans. We do have through our funding mechanisms, again, options for unaffected, as well as affected herds to both be able to increase biosecurity plans on site to one, keep disease out of their herds. And two, to keep d...
“We are trying to essentially corner the virus” within infected herds so it eventually dissipates, he said during a teleconference.
The USDA’s strategy against bird flu in dairy cattle is to identify infected herds and wait for the virus to die out within the herds, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Monday. “I’m confident we have a good understanding of the virus and how it is being transferred,” he added.
He said that on June 4th, and when there were 80 herds, 9 states.

Now, there are 97 herds, 12 states.

Their preventive measures have been in place since May 1.

THEIR PREVENTIVE MEASURES ARE NOT WORKING.

Why? We have to know HOW it is transmitted.

A reporter asks the task force - obviously, you think contaminated clothes are the source.

Here's a good synopsis of the Michigan report they mention. That synopsis mentions that it would be good to implement the Secure Supply Biosecurity Plan.
. michiganfarmnews.com/usda-releases-…

I saw in the Michigan report, it talked about shared workers being that only transmission link between dairy and poultry. I mean, have you looked into the possibility that infected workers were the vector? Or is there a reason that you think contaminated clothing is more likely? Thanks.
Image
USDA APHIS replies that they know that shared clothing is a risk factor.

Got that - just a risk factor. We'll come back to that because I went digging.

@USDA_APHIS then goes on to state that they DEPEND ON PUBLIC HEALTH TO TELL THEM IF PEOPLE ARE INFECTED. I saw in the Michigan report, it talked about shared workers being that only transmission link between dairy and poultry. I mean, have you looked into the possibility that infected workers were the vector? Or is there a reason that you think contaminated clothing is more likely? Thanks.  Kammy Johnson, APHIS [00:20:22]  That’s a great question. And thank you for bringing that up.  When we look at those genetic sequences, we do see that there are relationships and between those viruses, and we are relying on our public health colleagues to tell us and have some indicator on whether or not pe...
45 people have been tested. Total.
Across 12 states and 97 farms.

So, the USDA is telling us not to worry because they are depending on public health to test people to let us know if it is spreading in people.

Who are not being tested.

cdc.gov/bird-flu/h5-mo…
Image
Not coincidentally, did you know that 10% of poultry workers test positive for H5N1?

Per @NIOSH, in DHHS (NIOSH) Publication Number 2008–128



"Protecting Poultry Workers from Avian
Influenza (Bird Flu)"

In which they recommend respirators or PAPR. cdc.gov/niosh/docs/200…

Image
Image
Which brings us back to the vaunted @USDA_APHIS Secure Supply "No respirators required" plan from 2017 👇.


Image
Did you notice that @USDA_APHIS actually did NOT ANSWER if infected workers were the reason for the spread? Image
They just focused on the clothes.

But speaking of clothes - is it because your pants leg sneaks up into your nose?
No. It's because virus contaminated aerosols (dust, respiratory, fecal, milk - all possibilities) land on your clothes.

As you move, or wind hits them, they resuspend into the air., and they get inhaled.

This is why Secure Supply has Tyvek coveralls.

NIOSH also has Tyvek Image
coveralls. But NIOSH ALSO HAS RESPIRATORS, AND has a full on donning and doffing procedure. It is deliberately designed to lower the risk of inhaling those aerosols as you take off the overalls, gloves, boot coverings.

Remove clothes, coverings with respie and goggles on. Image
Then remove goggles and respirator. Wash hands. Image
Shower. Image
And that is just for clothes.

Respirators are also so workers don't inhale the aerosols straight from the dust, cow breath, dried fecal particles, milk aerosols.
When we turn to the vaunted Secure Supply BIOSECURITY website for dairy producers, not a respirator in site.

More examples....



PDF for

The ONLY time respirator is mentioned is in reference to spraying disinfectants. Once. securemilksupply.org/milk-producers…
securemilksupply.org/Assets/SMS_Enh…

Image
Image
So, I am really at a loss as to get someone to change that Secure Supply website done in 2017 in light of the airborne aerosols of H5N1.

@CorsIAQ, I couldn't help notice that UC Davis was one of the contributors.

Any chance you can gt that dept to reach out?

Cheers either way!
Image
Image
@CorsIAQ Almost forgot - an assumption that @USDA_APHIS is making.

That public health will be able to have some indicator if people have been infected.

There is no such guarantee. There will be asymptomatics. Presymptomatics. Symptoms like SARS2.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.11…


Image
Image
Image
I was wrong. I said 97.

104 herds infected.

From 36 on May 1st which is when all of their current mitigations were all in place.

At what point, @Alexander_Tin @HelenBranswell, for the USDA and CDC, do they say the current strategy is not working?

Is this considered success @SecVilsack ?

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Lazarus Long

Lazarus Long Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @LazarusLong13

Apr 28
I have a new thing to say to why I mask.

Ronald Reagan, Michael J Fox, Robin Williams, Lou Gehrig, Bruce Willis.

Alzheimer's, Parkinsons, Lew Body Dementia, ALS, CJD

All of them are dying or are dead from - the common cold.

You see,
One of the main viruses that results in the cold is a virus called OC43.

And it turns out that it's neuroinvasive - and is strongly associated with all of those diseases.

Even though it's just a cold in the beginning. So, those are 5 really bad diseases that I am protecting
myself from.

Kind of like HIV is often just like a cold or a mild case of flu in the beginning.

So, yeah, I mask so I don't catch a cold.

Or Covid - which is also neuroinvasive, and let me tell you all about the horrible things it does to your body much quicker....

(They
Read 7 tweets
Apr 26
Safer showering and swimming with great breathability!

Others have used a snorkel w/ N95s - but those then collapse around the snorkel, and breathability is more restricted. This new approach is w/ an internal BRACE!

I took a shower with this, and it worked perfectly. Build 🧵 Image
This is a great technique, but I was looking for something with more breathability.

Image
This is the internal brace, and how the magic happens.

My subconscious must have picked this up from surgical mask braces that go under surgical masks.

So, here's the build. Image
Image
Read 27 tweets
Apr 24
Got bored. Let's just check out Google Scholar and E Coli. Oh my. Oh my, that's not good.

Yes, yet another episode of "that's airborne, TOO?!!!!!"

THREAD
Pigs:
"Airborne E. coli were isolated from indoor air,....and downwind air samples (10, 50, 100, 200 and 400 m away) for five swine houses" (1)

Cows:
"E. coli was isolated in both inside and outside air, even in samples taken 150 m from the farm." (2)

READY FOR THE FUN ONES?
Restaurants:
"E coli was identified as the most prevalent illness-causing bacteria in Zone A-derived aerosols (721 CFU)"
(3)

Hospital:
"The results also showed that airborne bacterial pathogens were present in all the sampled hospital wards." (4)

Ready for another fun one?
Read 6 tweets
Apr 21
Pope Francis passed - R.I.P.

He died from not masking.

Not masking led him to getting polymicrobial respiratory infection (multiple pathogens) on 2/6/2025, leading to bronchitis, to bilateral pneumonia, a respiratory event
- leading to stroke and cardiac arrest.
Timeline here:
cbsnews.com/news/pope-fran…

History of respiratory challenges.
cbsnews.com/news/pope-fran…

And here showing every year lately having "respiratory infections."
usatoday.com/story/life/hea…
Why didn't he mask? The peer pressure must have been enormous. Even those who know better often don't mask out of fear of social castigation.

And that's why mask mandates work so well. They allow people to mask if they want to.

And those who don't want to? Won't. But...
Read 4 tweets
Apr 20
Save this QR Code to your phone or save this tweet. Save it for the next time you get harassed by an antimasker.

This links to the article from March 27th, 2025, with Trump saying it was so nice of a reporter to be wearing a mask.

There's a video of him on this page.

/1 QR Code to https://web.archive.org/web/20250327191931/https://www.mediaite.com/news/trump-singles-out-reporter-for-wearing-mask-in-oval-office-you-feel-more-comfortable-right/
President Donald Trump stopped answering San Francisco Chronicle Washington correspondent Shira Stein, @shiramstein, to comment on her wearing a COVID mask in the Oval Office, remarking, “You’re wearing a mask! So nice of you!” SHIRA STEIN: Mr. President, you said you want to return education control to the states, how would you handle it if a state like California were to put in place education policies that you don’t agree with?  PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: You know, I haven’t seen a mask in so long! You’re wearing a mask! So nice of you!  I haven’ seen anybody wearing a mask in a long time. It’s good. You feel more comfortable, right?  SHIRA STEIN: Yes.  PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Good. That’s good. So go ahead.  SHIRA STEIN: You said you want to return education control to the states. How would you handle it if a sta...
Our faces, our health.

And we choose to mask.

Ms. Stein was later singled out by Marjorie Taylor Greene in her for wearing a mask.

Very insulting, at first. But, after Ms. Stein pointed out she was immuncompromised (also having had a stroke, higher risk), she
Read 9 tweets
Apr 18
Trump is trying to distract from the economy. He just pumped out the Lab Leak from the official whitehouse.gov website.

Simultaneously making masking advocacy both more difficult and easier.

The Shrodinger Presidency. If only he had.... /+

whitehouse.gov/lab-leak-true-…
Of course I don't wish him dead in a box. That is against Twitter's TOS.

But, anyway, what do I mean? On the one hand, pointing out that Covid is probably a bioweapon means that you can point out the silliness of not protecting yourself against it.

On the other hand, this: Image
Which, of course, is silly as workers in BSL2-4 labs wear N95s and better to protect against bioweapons.

Heh. I can tell an antimasker wrote that because they screwed up the logic on it.

Mask mandates do NOT equate masks.
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(