THU AM News: Head of UW vet lab says bird flu situation could get much worse; WisBusiness: the Show with Jon Horne, Idea Fund of La Crosse

June 27, 2024

— The head of UW-Madison’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory says the ongoing bird flu outbreak “could get much worse” if the virus mutates further.

Speaking during a recent livestream hosted by the Wisconsin Alumni Association, Keith Poulsen discussed the latest developments related to the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that’s now hit more than 100 U.S. dairy herds and infected at least three people.

“The longer that we have virus going in between herds, the higher that chance of continued spillover … We’ve seen that in people, it could get much worse if there’s significant viral changes,” he said.

Since this form of bird flu was first detected in cattle in Texas and Kansas in March, it’s been found in 12 different states, according to State Veterinarian Darlene Konkle. While Wisconsin isn’t among them, it has been found in three neighboring states: Michigan, Iowa and Minnesota. Wisconsin last detected the HPAI H5N1 virus in poultry at the start of the year.

Konkle noted the virus is milder in cows than in poultry. Though cattle tend to lose milk production, eat less and come down with fevers, they usually survive, she said during the livestream. Of the three human cases identified so far, two were in Michigan and one was in Texas.

“That’s obviously a concern that the virus has shown it can infect people, but again we’re not seeing that to a high degree and we’re not seeing it transmit person-to-person, at least yet,” she said.

Wisconsin recently issued an order requiring testing of lactating cattle before they’re moved to fairs or exhibitions where they could mingle with those from other herds, in hopes of stopping possible spread of the virus. Konkle said state officials’ “overall goal is to keep it from circulating widely, and not give it a chance to mutate.”

Poulsen pointed to “gaps” in the outbreak response, arguing industry and government need to come up with solutions together rather than “dictating down policies or programs that may or may not be relevant” for the dairy and cattle industry.

“Or industry digging their heels in and not participating at all, that’s a problem,” he said, adding “we need clear regulations” for ending quarantines enacted in response to bird flu detections.

“We know that we’re going to find positive cows. And industry needs to know what that means,” he said. “That’s really hard to do … we can’t have a cookie cutter, one-size-fits-all [response.]”

Meanwhile, Center for Dairy Research Director and Prof. John Lucey said infected cows display “high viral load” in their milk, and the milk they do produce becomes thicker and yellow. And when the enzyme used to make cheese was added to infected milk, it wouldn’t clot like normal.

“This milk is very messed up,” he said.

He said any milk from infected cows should be discarded, but the animals may be shedding the virus for more than a week before showing major symptoms. Still, he said the typical pasteurization process can destroy even “the most heat stable” pathogens.

“That’s why there’s a high degree of confidence and a high degree of food safety assurance in pasteurized milk,” he said.

Poulsen also noted all cows participating in the upcoming World Dairy Expo in Madison in early October will need to be tested for the flu, to reduce the chances of transmitting the virus from the cows’ home states.

“I’m hoping by then we’ll have the blood serology test that looks for antibodies to be available … that will be really helpful, because a cow that responds to the serology test and has been exposed but is no longer shedding, is actually exactly the cow you want to be at a show,” he said.

Watch the video.

Top headlines from the Health Care Report…

— UW-Madison scientists have created a new imaging method for evaluating potential disease progression for patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

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— In the latest episode of “WisBusiness: the Show,” Idea Fund of La Crosse Managing Director Jon Horne discusses the recently launched Wisconsin Innovation Fund and his own investment journey.

Horne speaks to the “transformative” potential of the companies the Idea Fund invests in, both locally and the state overall.

“That means not just returns, but it means jobs with good benefits, people can buy a home, start a family, support the tax base, support the schools,” he said. “So to me, it’s really how you drive growth in a community.”

The Idea Fund of La Crosse is one of five venture capital firms chosen for the new $100 million WIF, drawing on $50 million in public dollars from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. and matched by private funding. The show’s host, Wisconsin Technology Council Tom Still, notes “there was a lot of stiff competition” to be selected as a recipient fund.

Horne says “we’re very grateful” to be involved with the state-backed effort, noting the goals of the Wisconsin Innovation Fund align well with those of the Idea Fund of La Crosse.

“Whether you’re a venture fund manager or a startup, you want to be very careful with your investor and make sure you understand, we’re all going at the same objectives here, and we’re aligned on what success looks like,” he said. “And with the Wisconsin Fund, we very much were.”

He notes the $5 million from the WIF helped the Idea Fund cap off its second fund for $31.5 million, adding it provided “just a little more scale and resources.”

Watch the show and see more episodes.

Listen to another recent podcast with Horne.

— Milwaukee is getting $2.1 million in federal funding to support more affordable housing for local residents.

Federal officials yesterday announced $85 million in grant funding from the Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing, or PRO Housing, program. Milwaukee’s portion of those funds is meant to help families earning less than $15 per hour by funding local developers building more affordable housing, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city aims to offer “affordable, environmentally sustainable housing options” that are less expensive than traditional single-family homes, the release shows. It also notes top housing barriers identified in the funding applications include underutilized vacant land and property, high costs for land and development, a lack of available units, aging housing stock and more.

More than 95,000 households in Milwaukee are designated as “housing cost burdened,” according to a profile on the city’s award. It highlights disparities in homeownership, noting 55.2% of white households in Milwaukee are owner occupants, compared to 26.8% of Black households and 38.9% of Latino households.

Forty percent of residential parcels in Milwaukee restrict development to one unit of housing, the profile shows, limiting the construction of duplexes and other multi-unit structures. Meanwhile, 95% of the city’s existing single-family homes were built before 1968.

Thanks to the new funding, the city plans to explore the feasibility of more multi-unit housing such as duplexes, leverage city-owned public lots and expand developer capacity, HUD says.

See the release.

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