"It's difficult to estimate how many birds are truly affected across wild populations, but we're seeing dramatic disease impacts in raptors, sea birds, and colonial nesting birds. Because H5N1 doesnt spread well between people, and because direct infection of humans by infected birds is still relatively rare, H5N1 has not yet erupted into a human epidemic or pandemic. World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use. 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. That was the case in the 2014-2015 outbreak which came when Hagerman worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, or APHIS. "For whatever reason, turkeys and layer birds tend to be more susceptible" to the virus, says Amy Hagerman, an assistant professor at Oklahoma State University who specializes in agricultural economics. Materials provided by University of Maryland. His lab is largely operating seven days a week. H5N1 Bird Flu: Current Situation Summary | Avian Influenza (Flu) - CDC The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the avian influenza A virus has been detected in mammals such as skunks, bears, a raccoon and a red fox. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Now that the virus is here, it shows no sign of going away. "I'm hopeful that this is not the new normal for us," Richard Webby, director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center for Studies on the the Ecology of Influenza in Animals, tells NPR. There were only three cases of human infection in 2023, two in Cambodia, and one in China. The researchers hope their work will bring key players to the table to consider the next steps. Bird flu is driving up the price of more than just eggs and poultry The UK has experienced its largest outbreak of avian flu. Wild birds like ducks transmit the virus, known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, through their feces, feathers or direct contact with poultry. Do we test the water or the soil? The latest outbreak of avian flu may have also shifted to a year-round disease from a more seasonal disease in previous outbreaks. The first U.S. case of a person infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus was reported in April in Colorado. And we now have the highest amount of poultry loss to avian influenza, so this is a worst-case scenario.". Mario Tama/Getty Images H5N1 is a specific type of influenza virus, predominantly harbored by birds, that was first detected on a goose farm in China in 1996. A man weighs and checks his flock of white turkeys at his family's farm last year in Townsend, Del. These cases do not change the human risk assessment to the general public, which CDC considers to be low. Europe and Britain are also suffering their worst avian-flu crises, and some British supermarketsrationed customers eggpurchases after the outbreak disrupted supplies. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. People with job-related or recreational exposures to birds or infected mammals should take. CDC twenty four seven. A virus is single-minded: It has to replicate, to reproduce, He said. Higher prices for eggs and poultry meat in the U.S. are one result. *Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. 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. And if infections go unnoticed, they could spread to other farms before farmers can put control measures in place. Stay up to date with what you want to know. 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. The spread is much more complex than what we normally predict, Kuchipudi said. Still, the scale of the spread is putting strain on animal health laboratories. Comparing the current U.S. virus to the one in Europe, Webby says, "From the outside looking in, they look very similar. More than 40 million egg-laying hens have been culled in the U.S. alone, making it the worst outbreak on record. There are two groups of AI viruses that cause disease in chickens: highly pathogenic AI and low pathogenic AI. Scientists are monitoring avian flu and other pathogens in animals more closely than. Avoid contact with wild or domestic birds that appear ill or have died and call to report sick or dead birds. 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. Scientists who monitor wild bird flocks have also detected a reassortant virus that contains genes from both the Eurasian H5 and low pathogenic North American 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. 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. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) has led to over 23 million bird deaths in 24 states. Viruses are notoriously quick to mutate. IE 11 is not supported. 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 . Right now, the best way people can protect themselves from H5N1 is to avoid contact with infected birds. USDA APHIS | Avian Influenza Record avian flu outbreak is threatening North America's - Science Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. More information about bird flu in humans is available at Bird Flu Virus Infections in Humans. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)a disease infecting birds and poultrystruck egg-laying hens throughout 2022. In addition, we have better diagnostic tests for much more rapid and improved detection of avian influenza compared to 20 to 30 years ago, using molecular diagnostics such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests the same method labs use to detect COVID-19 infections. You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. Avian influenza (AI) is caused by an influenza type A virus which can infect poultry (such as chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl) and wild birds (especially waterfowl). 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. 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A University of Maryland (UMD)-led team of researchers tracked the arrival and progression of the deadly bird flu (H5N1) in North America to determine how this outbreak is different from previous ones. 2022-2023 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Avian flu outbreak in the Gambia threatens birds on East Atlantic Vet Expert Explains Why the Current Avian Flu Outbreak Has People .chakra .wef-10kdnp0{margin-top:16px;margin-bottom:16px;line-height:1.388;}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. Here's what you need to know about the 2022 outbreak in the U.S.: The losses stretch across the U.S., and they're deepest in the country's middle: More than 1 million birds have been killed in each of 11 states that stretch from Utah to the Midwest and on to Delaware, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is true that the farmed minks were confined in close quarters, like chickens on a poultry farm, so that may have contributed. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock Efforts to halt the spread of this strain of virus have been complicated by its. He can be reached at Evan.Bush@nbcuni.com. It has ravaged farm flocks and chicken yards in 46 states since February, when the first cases were reported in commercial flocks. Avian Influenza Outbreak 2022-2023: Should You Take Down Your Bird Deletions from the Genome, End for Indus Megacities: Prolonged Droughts. Current avian flu strain deadlier than in past and could become endemic It's possible that wild bird populations will build up an immunity to the virus but Webby warns that it will take months to understand whether that is happening at a meaningful level. Globally since 2003, countries have reported rare, sporadic human infections with H5N1 bird flu viruses to the World Health Organization (WHO). Read the original article. Bird flu is transmitted mainly by wild birds, like these snow geese. This can happen when virus is in the air (in droplets or possibly dust) and a person breathes it in, or possibly when a person touches something that has virus on it and then touches their mouth, eyes or nose. Original written by Kimbra Cutlip. This webpage will be updated at 2 PM EST each Wednesday to reflect any new data posted in the previous week. The dynamics of the spread of avian influenza viruses are very complex. 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. Low pathogenic disease is less contagious and easier to contain than the highly pathogenic variety. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. Left: By contrast, humans experience influenza as a respiratory infection and spread it by breathing and coughing. Avian influenza Type A viruses (bird flu viruses) do not normally infect people, but rare cases of human infection have occurred with some bird flu viruses. This particular A (H7N9) virus had not previously been seen in either animals or people until it was found in March 2013 in China. The World Health Organization is closely monitoring and analyzing the spread of H5N1 in mammals. 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. All Rights Reserved. The research team recommends a management approach based on a method called Structured Decision-Making, which follows a specific process of identifying and bringing together relevant individuals with an interest, expertise or stake in an issue, distinguishing the unknown from the known factors and establishing measurable goals and actions with quantifiable results. 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. At this time, the Department of Agriculture has not approved the use of vaccination in the U.S. for protecting birds from avian influenza. A highly pathogenic avian influenza virus "can cause disease that affects multiple internal organs with mortality up to 90% to 100%in chickens, often within 48 hours," the CDC notes. Between December 2022 and February 2023, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected in wild aquatic birds (pelicans and penguins) and sea mammals (sea lions) in the Antofagasta Region where the case resides. 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. Experts say the virus, known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, has been difficult to contain because it appears to be more prevalent in wild birds now than during previous outbreaks a development that also makes future infections more likely. The same strain had caused a wave of bird flu outbreaks across Europe and Asia. This article was first published in The Conversation. Seasonal flu vaccination will not prevent infection with bird flu viruses, but can reduce the risk of getting sick with human and bird flu viruses at the same time. The spread of bird flu viruses from one infected person to a close contact has occurred rarely in other countries in the past, and when it has happened, it has been limited and not sustained,and didnotspread beyond close contacts. The virus that worries them is H5N1, a form of avian influenza, or bird flu. Some strains, like the version of H5N1 that is currently spreading, are frequently.