Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily, its staff, its contributors, or its partners. . You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. But H5N1 poses new challenges. The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. The H5N1 avian influenza virus is causing the largest bird flu outbreak in history, infecting millions of birds and a growing range of mammal species. Most reported bird flu infections in people have happened after unprotected contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces. The Biden administration is considering vaccinating farmed poultry flocks, but the logistics could be quite complicated. This graphic shows how bird flu viruses can spread between infected birds and people. It was H5N1, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza. Bill Powers checks on his flock of white turkeys, which have been kept under shelter all year to prevent exposure to avian influenza. The UK has experienced its largest outbreak of avian flu. The data also reveals a shift from a seasonal to a year-round disease. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. ScienceDaily. The first U.S. case of a person infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus was reported in April in Colorado. One scientist said the variant is "wiping out everything in numbers we've never seen before. The outbreak is "wiping out everything in numbers we've never seen before," Jennifer Mullinax, an assistant professor of environmental science and technology at the University of Maryland, told Sky News. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. The US is no stranger to the impact of the disease, with the H5N8 strain having led to the culling of 50 million birds in 2015. 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. Signals that could raise the public health risk might include multiple reports of H5N1 virus infections in people from exposure to birds, or identification of spread from one infected person to a close contact. The virus transmits very, very rapidly within the flock, so even if birds dont appear sick, they will eventually die very soon, Lorenzoni said. Egg prices have risen this year, as aggressive measures against avian influenza disrupted the U.S. industry. Globally since 2003, countries have reported rare, sporadic human infections with H5N1 bird flu viruses to the World Health Organization (WHO). CDC twenty four seven. Virus can be fatal. IE 11 is not supported. Farmers struggled to keep the disease and wild birds out of their barns after increasing security and cleaning measures following the 2015 outbreak. Currently, the risk to humans remains low; however, sporadic human infections with bird flu viruses have occurred. The virus has been detected in a broad array of wild birds and in diverse mammals, including badgers, black bears, bobcats, coyotes, ferrets, fisher cats, foxes, leopards, opossums, pigs, skunks and sea lions. Credit: US CDC. March 6, 2023. Comparing information about these newer viruses to previously circulating H5N1 bird flu viruses helps inform the human health risk assessment. Deletions from the Genome, End for Indus Megacities: Prolonged Droughts. "Generally, when the weather gets hot, influenza goes away for the most part," Hagerman says. More information about bird flu in humans is available at Bird Flu Virus Infections in Humans. The sun can, for instance, naturally disinfect surfaces while gloomier days help viral particles survive on surfaces contaminated by infected bird poop, Lorenzoni said. "This outbreak in the wild bird population is a lot more extensive than we saw in 2014 and 2015," says David Stallknecht, an avian influenza researcher with the University of Georgia. This webpage will be updated at 2 PM EST each Wednesday to reflect any new data posted in the previous week. In January, the dangerous H5N1 flu virus was found in an American wigeon duck in South Carolina the first U.S. case since 2016, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses. It has ravaged farm flocks and chicken yards in 46 states since February, when the first cases were reported in commercial flocks. The viruses are from clade 2.3.4.4b,** which is the most common H5N1 bird flu virus worldwide at this time. Illness in humans from all bird flu virus infections has ranged in severity from no symptoms or mild illness to severe disease that resulted in death. Where remote jobs are growing fastest - 4 charts show the locations and sectors, Understanding the impact of COVID-19 supply disruptions on exporters in global value chains, Laura Lebastard, Marco Matani and Roberta Serafini, How the pandemic accelerated digital transformation in advanced economies, Florence Jaumotte, Myrto Oikonomou, Carlo Pizzinelli and Marina M. Tavares, The pandemic made us nicer and the change might be lasting, Charted: The happiest countries in the world, is affecting economies, industries and global issues, with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale. This is a concern because studies have shown that only one or two mutations in the viral genome are enough to switch receptor binding from a2,3-linked sialic acid to the human a2,6-linked sialic acid. **Clades are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. But humans also live in high densities in many cities around the world, providing the virus similar tinder should a human-compatible variant arise. "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. "It takes fewer egg-laying operations being affected by HPAI to drive up the price of eggs and egg products," she adds, especially since the majority of U.S. production goes to the domestic market. By the end of December, more than 43 million egg-laying hens were lost to the disease itself or to depopulation since the . The first case of H5N1 infection in a human in the US was reported in April 2022. There have been relatively few human infections detected fewer than 900 documented globally over several decades but about half of those infected individuals have died. Well, whod have thought it? Once viruses are in cells, they may be able to produce copies of themselves, at which point an infection has been achieved. Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. Thats when production of eggs is hammered.. The more than 50,000 mink at the facility were killed and their carcasses destroyed. CDC does not currently recommend any travel restrictions related to bird flu to countries affected by bird flu in poultry or people. The unprecedented spread of disease and 2022's high inflation rates raising farmers' costs caused the jump and it doesn't look like it will change soon. The CDC states that like any poultry or eggs, heating food to an internal temperature of 165F kills any bacteria and viruses present, including HPAI viruses. Sea lions in Peru are also succumbing to H5N1 virus in massive numbers. By University of Colorado Boulder Since December 2021, 11 human cases of H5N1 have been reported globally. "This high pathogenic virus is wiping out everything in numbers that we've never seen before," Mullinax said. Recently it has begun infecting an exploding diversity of bird and mammalian species around the globe. Farms there are likely to be more vulnerable. Nothing like this has happened in the past and the question is what has changed?. 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. Although declaring a disease endemic is a complicated process, the authors of the study suggest that the U.S. will likely follow patterns seen in Europe where highly pathogenic avian influenza is already being treated as an endemic disease rather than something that can be eradicated. "If you have a bird that has a very short feeding window before it's ready for harvest, that can be a lot more challenging because you also need to allow the withdrawal period after the vaccine before the bird is harvested," she adds. "So, yes, we certainly saw an increase in turkey prices in this holiday season," Hagerman says, "but not as much as we might have anticipated given the extent of this outbreak.". Visit CDCs avian influenza (bird flu) information for health professional and laboratorians webpage for the latest guidance. "Unlike H5N8, this disease is heavily impacting wild birds," Johanna Harvey, a postdoctoral researcher and the lead author of the study published in Conservation Biology at the University of Maryland, said. Stay up to date with what you want to know. . With the recent detections of the Eurasian H5 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild birds and domestic poultry in the United States, bird owners should review their biosecurity practices and stay vigilant to protect poultry and pet birds from this disease. Speaking about this death to AP, James Wood, the head of the department of veterinary medicine at Cambridge University, said there is no reason to be unduly concerned about human infection with bird flu. Rescued chickens gather last year in an aviary at Farm Sanctuarys Southern California Sanctuary in Acton, Calif. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests. 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Klebher Vasquez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images, NOW WATCH: Why raccoons are so hard to get rid of, according to the World Health Organization, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Insider's George Glover explained the egg crisis facing Americans as prices surged by almost 60% in 2022 due to the influenza outbreak. In late 2022, mammal-to-mammal spread occurred in Spain in farmed minks. It is not intended to provide medical or other professional advice. A key part of the challenge, Webby says, is that like the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the avian flu virus has spun off several variants of concern. Saving Lives, Protecting People, Current U.S. Bird Flu Situation in Humans. The paper was published April 19, 2023, in the journal Conservation Biology. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The worst outbreak of avian influenza on record is threatening to stretch into a second year, as the U.S. races to contain a virus that has already caused some food prices to soar amid a shortage . April 14, 2023. Nathan Howard/Getty Images said Jennifer Mullinax, assistant professor in the UMD Department of Environmental Science & Technology and a co-author of the study. There were only three cases of human infection in 2023, two in Cambodia, and one in China. Authorities immediately placed workers on the farm under quarantine restrictions. "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. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. But its impact on humans is complicated. The culprit is highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. Image:REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar. Now that the virus is here, it shows no sign of going away. Bird influenza viruses, such as H5N1, use a version called a2,3-linked sialic acid, while human flu viruses use a2,6-linked sialic acid the predominant variant in the human upper respiratory tract. The virus does not pose a special risk in the nation's food supply, given proper handling. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-consumers-need-to-know-about-the-avian-flu-outbreak, As avian flu spreads, North American zoos take precautions to protect birds, Americans may soon pay more for milk, cheese as rising heat stresses livestock, For Midwest farmers, floodwaters threaten millions in crop and livestock losses, outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, depression, coughing and sneezing and sudden death, the risk to public health from this outbreak is low, last H5N1 outbreak in the U.S. in 2014 and 2015, travel thousands of miles between continents, eradicate HPAI quickly after it is detected. 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. Experts found the H5N1 Eurasian strain, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus type. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)a disease infecting birds and poultrystruck egg-laying hens throughout 2022. It is true that the farmed minks were confined in close quarters, like chickens on a poultry farm, so that may have contributed. A wave of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu has entered Southern California, driven by wild bird migration. Entire flocks, which can top a million birds at egg-laying chicken farms, are also culled to control the spread of the disease after a bird tests positive. Over the last few years, a new variant of H5N1 has spread widely through wild and domestic bird populations around the world. What are the triggers for different actions, and how do we measure if we're succeeding? 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. Scientists continue to monitor the ongoing global avian influenza outbreak also referred to as bird flu that has killed millions of birds and has now crossed over to some species of mammals. H5N1 is currently the most problematic strain of bird flu, with impacts that extend beyond poultry. Many migratory bird species travel thousands of miles between continents, posing a continuing risk of AI virus transmission. As H5N1 infects more species, it also increases its geographical range and produces more viral variants that could have new biological properties. Efforts to prevent infections in commercial and backyard flocks are ongoing, but slowing the outbreak has been challenging because the virus seems to have gained a foothold in species of wild birds, said Biao He, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. University of Maryland. > 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. In agricultural poultry flocks, if a few birds test positive for H5N1, the whole flock is killed regardless of symptoms or infection status. Get the latest science news in your RSS reader with ScienceDaily's hourly updated newsfeeds, covering hundreds of topics: Keep up to date with the latest news from ScienceDaily via social networks: Tell us what you think of ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Right now, the best way people can protect themselves from H5N1 is to avoid contact with infected birds. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. 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. Last week, the US government started testing four new bird-flu vaccines to try and protect the poultry from this mass outbreak, Reuters reported. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. The dynamics of the spread of avian influenza viruses are very complex. More than 40 million egg-laying hens have been culled in the U.S. alone, making it the worst outbreak on record. In 2015, an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N8 in the U.S. led to the culling of 50 million poultry birds. But when domesticated poultry, such as chickens and turkeys, come in direct or indirect contact with feces of infected wild birds, they become infected and start to show symptoms, such as depression, coughing and sneezing and sudden death. Learn what to do if you have contact with infected birds and become sick. 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. Vaccination also could delay outbreak detection, since it can potentially hide non-apparent infections in infected birds. The process is much like dealing with a human pandemic. The disease can and does affect humans, but it's rare. So far, current H5N1 bird flu viruses lack changes seen in the past that have been associated with viruses spreading easily among poultry, infecting people more easily, and causing severe illness in people. And right now, a specific version of the virus known as clade 2.3.4.4b is ruling the roost. But this new virus appears sustained throughout the year, with summertime disease detections in wild birds and poultry outbreaks occurring in both the spring and fall. This webpage summarizes the current avian influenza (bird flu) situation in humans in the United States. If provided, your email will not be published or shared. 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. A highly pathogenic avian influenza has been spreading in the U.S., making headlines as the price of eggs soared at the start of the year and fears of the next zoonotic pandemic creep into popular media. *Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. That includes millions of chickens and turkeys in barns and backyards that had been raised to provide eggs or meat. The H5N1 strain is causing a variety of new problems and has killed more than 58 million birds. And we now have the highest amount of poultry loss to avian influenza, so this is a worst-case scenario.". Liu Guanguan/China News Service via Getty Images The team's conclusions are based on an analysis of five different data sources that provide information on the incidence of highly pathogenic avian influenza in wild birds and poultry focusing on the USA and Canada as well as a global database from 2014 through early 2023. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, sometimes a flu virus can acquire mutations that allow it to infect cells in a different part of the body. We are also mammals. It hasnt been confirmed definitively whether the sea lions are spreading the virus to each other or are contracting it from birds or H5N1-infected water. In 2015, about 30% of the cases were traced directly to wild bird origins, compared to 85% this year, the USDA told Reuters. During past H5N1 bird flu virus outbreaks that have occurred . A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda. Hagerman warns that in a time of inflationary pressure and supply-chain snags, it can be hard to directly link a price hike to the virus. Learn more about Friends of the NewsHour. "Generally you need two doses of a vaccine and then a length of time to achieve full effectiveness.". Speedy Robo-Gripper Reflexively Organizes What Made Us Human? The U.S. outbreak, which began in February, infected flocks of poultry and non-poultry birds across 46 states, USDA data show. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. ", "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.". Additional Information Return to top Experts are concerned that a new global disease outbreak, possibly worse than Covid-19, might begin any day. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page. 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. Total case counts for all human infections with H5N1 viruses reported since 1997 are. Suresh Kuchipudi, the interim director of the Animal Diagnostic Laboratory at Pennsylvania State University, said three animal testing laboratories in Pennsylvania are processing several thousand samples each week. "Unlike H5N8, this disease is heavily impacting wild birds," said Johanna Harvey, a postdoctoral researcher at UMD and lead author of the study. 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. A certain viral variant that arose in 2020, called H5N1 2.3.4.4b, is driving this outbreak. Content on this website is for information only. There are only a small handful of examples of human-to-human spread. This is happening as we speak, and this is why Im afraid influenza is going to be with us for a long while.. 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. But the new, more contagious strain is particularly affecting wild birds, Sky News reported. "Wild birds are the perfect mechanism to spread a virus because they, of course, fly everywhere," he adds. 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. Federal agencies, state agencies, the agriculture sector and wildlife management, we are all going to have to deal with this together, because we can't afford not to.". Because the current strain (H5N1) causes heavy losses to poultry, it is referred to as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. Birds often die after becoming infected. 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. 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). However, CDC is watching this situation closely and taking routine preparedness and prevention measures in case this virus changes to pose a greater human health risk.
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