avian flu outbreak

Another central issue is the difficulty of surveillance of knowing whether a bird is infected with a deadly influenza virus but isn't showing symptoms because they've been vaccinated. An outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza that started in 2021 has become the largest bird flu outbreak in history, both in the U.S. and worldwide. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. And since its arrival in North America, the avian influenza virus has continued to change. "Rarely, we see crossover from birds into humans, with the current circulating . No human illnesses have been associated with this virus in North America. Most cases of human infection have been in Southeast Asia, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As H5N1 infects more species, it also increases its geographical range and produces more viral variants that could have new biological properties. The new H5N1 strain has already killed over 58 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds, Reuters reported. Many people are concerned about the 2022-2023 outbreak of avian influenza, or bird flu, that is affecting domestic poultry, waterfowl, raptors, and some shorebirds in the U.S. and Canada. HPAI is a transboundary disease, which means it is highly contagious and spreads rapidly across national borders. To detect AI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees routine testing of flocks done by farmers and carries out federal inspection programs to ensure that eggs and birds are safe and free of virus. Better known as bird . Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. The data show the progression of highly pathogenic H5N1 as it spread from Eurasia to the U.S. where it was first documented in late 2021. As of early April, the outbreak had caused the culling of some 23 million birds from Maine to Wyoming. In the U.S. the virus has led to the destruction of millions of commercially raised chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, and has killed thousands of wild birds. CDCand USDA have developed guidance for specific audiences, including the, A handout containing information and guidance for people exposed to birds with bird flu is available at, More information about how to protect yourself against bird flu is. The viruses are from clade 2.3.4.4b,** which is the most common H5N1 bird flu virus worldwide at this time. Recently it has begun infecting an exploding diversity of bird and mammalian species around the globe. Though experts have said the virus rarely infects humans, HPAI has been detected in mammals such as skunks, raccoons, harbor seals, red foxes and bears, according to the USDA. Email address is optional. IE 11 is not supported. "Generally, when the weather gets hot, influenza goes away for the most part," Hagerman says. Egg prices have risen this year, as aggressive measures against avian influenza disrupted the U.S. industry. The viruss prevalence in the wild presents new challenges for its containment. "Generally speaking, these complexes are over a million birds, easily," Hagerman says. Thank you. The COVID con is over, monkeypox is a non-event, so lets resurrect bird flu as the new threat to mankind and a chance for Big Pharma to create a new raft of bloated billionaires.You must think Jo Public is even dumber than the brains behind these pathetic endless scare stories. In January, Insider's George Glover explained the egg crisis facing Americans as prices surged by almost 60% in 2022 due to the influenza outbreak . At least 50.54 million birds have died this year from the Avian flu, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.. Why it matters: This represents the highest amount of deaths of chickens, turkeys and other birds since 50.5 million died from an outbreak in 2015, according to Reuters. Rescued chickens gather last year in an aviary at Farm Sanctuarys Southern California Sanctuary in Acton, Calif. The culprit is highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. And if infections go unnoticed, they could spread to other farms before farmers can put control measures in place. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Ask the Expert: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses. Higher prices for eggs and poultry meat in the U.S. are one result. Many migratory bird species travel thousands of miles between continents, posing a continuing risk of AI virus transmission. Monitoring and prevention of avian influenza has improved since the last major outbreak in 2015, Lorenzoni said, when roughly 50 million birds were killed over six months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. People should avoid unprotected contact birds that look sick or have died, though the outbreak poses a low risk to the general public, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "A lot of countries don't use vaccines for this virus in their poultry," Webby says. Johanna A Harvey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Michael C. Runge, Diann J. Prosser. That earlier outbreak also started in the winter but while that ordeal was over by the following June, the current outbreak lasted through the summer and has surged anew. "This time we didn't see that virus circulation going down to zero in our wild bird population" over the summer, Hagerman says. The U.S. is enduring an unprecedented poultry health disaster, with a highly . An outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in chicken and turkey flocks has spread across 24 U.S. states since it was first detected in Indiana on Feb. 8, 2022. Avian flu viruses have evolved to infect cells of the intestine, while human flu viruses have evolved to infect cells of the respiratory tract. More than 60% of U.S. broiler . Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. But scientists didn't know until the recent outbreak how infected condors would fare. "This is a novel virus for North American birds, so no one knows if their immune systems will adapt, or how long that will take, or what that will look like. Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses. But the disease was eradicated in North America that same year, largely because it did not seriously impact wild birds, which made containment through culling poultry relatively easy. The first U.S. case of a person infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus was reported in April in Colorado. That doesnt seem like much of a genetic obstacle. When H5N1 is diagnosed on a farm or in a backyard flock, state and federal officials will quarantine the site and cull and dispose of all the birds in the infected flock. Have any problems using the site? In January, Insider's George Glover explained the egg crisis facing Americans as prices surged by almost 60% in 2022 due to the influenza outbreak. At this time, the Department of Agriculture has not approved the use of vaccination in the U.S. for protecting birds from avian influenza. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses can severely affect domestic animal, wildlife, and sometimes human health.. Outbreaks of Eurasian lineage highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses have been impacting domestic poultry and wild bird populations in Europe and Asia since August 2020. Sign up for notifications from Insider! CDC does not currently recommend any travel restrictions related to bird flu to countries affected by bird flu in poultry or people. By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider The U.S. is enduring an unprecedented poultry health disaster, with a highly contagious bird flu virus triggering the deaths of some 52.7 million animals. The third and most worrisome reason that this virus is getting so much press is that H5N1 now seems to be transmitting well between individuals of at least one mammalian species. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The disease can and does affect humans, but it's rare. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, drove the cost of turkey meat to record highs. as well as other partner offers and accept our. Reports are seasonal, with a peak in February and a low point in September. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. It was H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza. ", "These are actually discussions that are going on now," Webby says, describing ideas such as what kind of post-vaccination surveillance would be needed to "make sure your trading partners are happy that the virus is not circulating silently.". Six main hemagglutinin (HA) subtypes of bird flu viruses have infected people to cause acute respiratory illness (H3, H5, H6, H7, H9, and H10 viruses). .chakra .wef-facbof{display:inline;}@media screen and (min-width:56.5rem){.chakra .wef-facbof{display:block;}}You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. USDA has publicly posted the genetic sequences of several of recently detected H5N1 bird flu viruses found in U.S. wild birds and poultry. However, outbreaks in domestic commercial and backyard poultry flocks, in addition to infections in wild birds and some mammals, might place some groups of people, who may have job-related or recreational exposures to birds, at higher risk of infection. There were only three cases of human infection in 2023, two in Cambodia, and one in China. Left: You can review and change the way we collect information below. Instead, the virus sort of simmered through the summer months, she adds, "and then we get into the cooler, wetter months of the fall and we see a resurgence. Bird flu is transmitted mainly by wild birds, like these snow geese. Previous outbreaks of avian influenza -- whether low pathogenic virus that is endemic in the U.S. or highly pathogenic H5N8 in 2015 -- typically occurred in the fall, which meant farmers could . More than 40 million egg-laying hens have been culled in the U.S. alone, causing the price of eggs nationwide to skyrocket, Lorenzoni said. Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. Which cells influenza infects is partially dictated by the specific receptor that it binds. This happens when multiple strains of the virus circulating in the bird population exchange genes to create a new strain of the virus, much as new strains of COVID-19 like omicron and delta have emerged during the ongoing pandemic. The Powers Farm white turkey flock is seen under shelter as part of an effort to prevent exposure to avian influenza on Nov. 14, 2022 in Townsend, Del. . Learn what to do if you have contact with infected birds and become sick. "However, ducks can be infected without any signs of illness. How do we track it in wild birds? One reason for this is that using vaccines would potentially affect international trade and poultry exports. In 2015, an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 in the U.S. led to the culling of 50 million poultry birds. Rescued chickens gather in an aviary at Farm Sanctuary's Southern California Sanctuary on Oct. 5 in Acton, Calif. A wave of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu has entered Southern California, driven by wild bird migration. They have to remove dead birds, disinfect their facility and bring new birds in thats a several-month process to do that, said Kevin Snekvik, the executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at Washington State University. Infected poultry or eggs do not enter the food supply chain. Visit CDCs avian influenza (bird flu) information for health professional and laboratorians webpage for the latest guidance. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This graphic shows how bird flu viruses can spread between infected birds and people. If you like to eat chicken, you're in luck. "This high pathogenic virus is wiping out everything in numbers that we've never seen before," Mullinax said. This is because bird influenza viruses must mutate in several ways to infect mammals efficiently. H5N1 is a specific type of influenza virus, predominantly harbored by birds, that was first detected on a goose farm in China in 1996. With avian influenza viruses, it is not possible to make effective human vaccines in advance, because we dont know exactly what the genetics of the virus will be if it starts to spread well in humans. Scientists are monitoring avian flu and other pathogens in animals more closely than. Human infections with bird flu viruses have most often occurred after close or lengthy unprotected contact (i.e., not wearing gloves or respiratory protection or eye protection) with infected birds or places that sick birds or their saliva, mucous and feces have touched. "Wild birds are the perfect mechanism to spread a virus because they, of course, fly everywhere," he adds. Most viruses are of low pathogenicity, meaning that they causes no signs or only minor clinical signs of infection in poultry. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Many factors would have to be weighed before adopting vaccination as a strategy for controlling HPAI. However, sometimes a flu virus can acquire mutations that allow it to infect cells in a different part of the body. Once that happens, entire flocks typically need to be culled. "The bird populations haven't seen viruses like this before," Webby says, "so in terms of their immune response, they're all immunologically nave to this" influenza virus. Financial support for ScienceDaily comes from advertisements and referral programs, where indicated. But the calculations might change if the virus is determined to be endemic in wild birds or in a geographic area. Bird flu has led to the death and slaughter of 316 million poultry worldwide . This particular A (H7N9) virus had not previously been seen in either animals or people until it was found in March 2013 in China. "Generally you need two doses of a vaccine and then a length of time to achieve full effectiveness.". No known human-to-human spread has occurred with the A(H5N1) virus that is currently circulating in birds in the United States and globally. The first case of H5N1 infection in a human in the US was reported in April 2022. University of Maryland. **Clades are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. They concluded that there is an urgent need for unprecedented coordination at a national and regional-scale to manage the spread of a disease reaching across jurisdictions and disciplines. Some strains, like the version of H5N1 that is currently spreading, are frequently. Bill Powers checks on his flock of white turkeys, which have been kept under shelter all year to prevent exposure to avian influenza. More reports poured in over the following weeks and months, raising alarms as the virus spread to more states. The process is much like dealing with a human pandemic. What are the triggers for different actions, and how do we measure if we're succeeding? "Why this bird flu is different: Scientists say new avian influenza requires urgent coordinated response." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Better known as the bird flu, avian influenza is a group of flu viruses that is well adapted to birds. The team found that the deadly impact on wild birds and a shift from seasonal to year-round infections signal dangerous changes in avian influenza in the U.S. CHICAGO Avian flu has wiped out 50.54 million birds in the United States this year, making it the countrys deadliest outbreak in history, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed on Thursday. Many migrating birds are not sickened by bird flu, which means its not well understood just how widespread it is in the wild, Lorenzoni added. Months earlier, the bird flu outbreak drove the cost of turkey meat to record highs. Experts found the H5N1 Eurasian strain, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus type. Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website. The virus that worries them is H5N1, a form of avian influenza, or bird flu. Rescued chickens gather in an aviary at Farm Sanctuary's Southern California Sanctuary on Oct. 5 in Acton, Calif. A wave of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu has entered Southern California, driven by wild bird migration. Avoid contact with wild or domestic birds that appear ill or have died and call to report sick or dead birds. These decisions have to be made on multiple scales.". It is true that the farmed minks were confined in close quarters, like chickens on a poultry farm, so that may have contributed. Clearly, the virus needs careful monitoring and surveillance to check that it has not mutated or recombined, but the limited numbers of cases of human disease have not increased markedly, and this one case in itself does not signal the global situation has suddenly changed," he said. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. Birds often die after becoming infected. The dynamics of the spread of avian influenza viruses are very complex. After the migrating gull came ashore, the highly pathogenic avian influenza, also known as the H5N1 virus, exploded across North America. WASHINGTON The Biden administration, keeping a watchful eye on an outbreak of avian influenza that has led to the deaths of tens of millions of chickens and is driving up the . Currently, the risk to humans remains low; however, sporadic human infections with bird flu viruses have occurred. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners. Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. And while the risk of the virus spilling over into humans remains low, scientists say communities will feel the consequences of such a serious and lengthy outbreak for months to come. This article was first published in The Conversation. Avian influenza vaccines can reduce clinical signs, sickness and death rates in domestic poultry, but they would not prevent birds from becoming infected with the virus. The best way to stop the spread of the disease is if we eliminate all the birds that are in close contact with the contaminated birds.. Content on this website is for information only. For more details, review our .chakra .wef-12jlgmc{-webkit-transition:all 0.15s ease-out;transition:all 0.15s ease-out;cursor:pointer;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;outline:none;color:inherit;font-weight:700;}.chakra .wef-12jlgmc:hover,.chakra .wef-12jlgmc[data-hover]{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;}.chakra .wef-12jlgmc:focus,.chakra .wef-12jlgmc[data-focus]{box-shadow:0 0 0 3px rgba(168,203,251,0.5);}privacy policy. Avian influenza A (H5N1) was first detected in the Region of the Americas in birds in December 2014. CDC twenty four seven. Comparing the current U.S. virus to the one in Europe, Webby says, "From the outside looking in, they look very similar. > Subscribe Free to Email Digest, New research suggests that lonely individuals process the world differently than their peers, regardless of their social network size, potentially contributing to their feelings of. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. And right now, a specific version of the virus known as clade 2.3.4.4b is ruling the roost. Brain Circuits for Locomotion Came Before Scientists Slow Aging by Engineering Longevity in Cells, Brain Circuits for Locomotion Evolved Long Before Appendages and Skeletons, Jellyfish-Like Robots Could One Day Clean Up the World's Oceans, Whales Stop by Gold Coast Bay for Day Spa Fix With Full Body Scrubs, Coastal Species Persist on High Seas on Floating Plastic Debris, X-Ray Analysis Sheds New Light on Prehistoric Predator's Last Meal, Fossils Reveal the Long-Term Relationship Between Feathered Dinosaurs and Feather-Feeding Beetles, Bird Flu Associated With Hundreds of Seal Deaths in New England in 2022, Avian Influenza: How It's Spreading and What to Know About This Outbreak, Vietnam Farmers' Poultry Sales During Outbreaks May Increase Virus Transmission, First Evidence of Fatal Infection of White-Tailed Sea Eagles With Avian Influenza, CCPA/CPRA: Do Not Sell or Share My Information. Northern pintail ducks are among the types of birds that H5N1 bird flu virus infections have been identified in the United States in 2022. What is the World Economic Forum doing about fighting pandemics? Though human infection is currently rare, efficient transmission between farmed minks in Spain raises concerns about potential human transmission. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. ". Total case counts for all human infections with H5N1 viruses reported since 1997 are. This means that the virus is well adapted to them, and these birds do not typically get sick when they are infected with it. APHIS is working closely with State partners on surveillance . During past H5N1 bird flu virus outbreaks that have occurred . Previous outbreaks of avian influenza -- whether low pathogenic virus that is endemic in the U.S. or highly pathogenic H5N8 in 2015 -- typically occurred in the fall, which meant farmers could prepare for seasonal outbreaks, cull flocks to halt the spread of disease, and have nearly a full year to recover losses. Learn more about past human infections with bird flu viruses. ", Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zoos across North America are moving birds indoors to protect them from avian flu, Bird flu outbreak drives Nebraska to cull 1.8 million more chickens, Bald eagles around the U.S. are contracting the bird flu. There are ongoing outbreaks of HPAI in wild birds in Asia, Europe and Africa. The good news about H5N1 for humans is that it currently doesnt spread well between people. Experts say poultry farms should be credited with limiting the virus as much as they have, hailing the success of surveillance and biosecurity programs. The virus has hit many turkey farms but because those operations tend to be smaller and the cases have been spread out over time and space, producers have mostly been able to absorb the losses, building up stocks of frozen turkey ahead of the end-of-year holidays. The researchers believe that bird flu will probably become endemic a phenomenon where a disease is constantly present within an area or community in the US which could affect food security and the economy.
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avian flu outbreak 2023