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. This graphic shows how bird flu viruses can spread between infected birds and people. 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. The culprit is highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI. Most reported bird flu infections in people have happened after unprotected contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces. "Generally you need two doses of a vaccine and then a length of time to achieve full effectiveness.". This particular A (H7N9) virus had not previously been seen in either animals or people until it was found in March 2013 in China. Sign up for notifications from Insider! More information about bird flu in humans is available at Bird Flu Virus Infections in Humans. The avian flu is hammering U.S. poultry farmers, leaving experts to ask "Bright sunshine and heat kills the virus in the environment," Hagerman says, describing how summer weather helped end the earlier outbreak. 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. "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. 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. The primary natural hosts and reservoir of AI viruses are wild waterfowl, such as ducks and geese. No human illnesses have been associated with this virus in North America. "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. An outbreak in Israel where 40,000 common cranes were gathered killed 8,000 of them in a matter of weeks. Avian flu viruses have evolved to infect cells of the intestine, while human flu viruses have evolved to infect cells of the respiratory tract. These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. An avian influenza outbreak has been detected in the West African nations of Senegal and The Gambia. 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. We call this process the four Ds of outbreak control: diagnosis, depopulation, disposal and decontamination. 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. Then the site is decontaminated. And right now, a specific version of the virus known as clade 2.3.4.4b is ruling the roost. As it is now, this is the largest animal emergency that the USDA has faced in this country, said GinoLorenzoni, an assistant professor of poultry science and avian health at Pennsylvania State University. "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. Denise Chow is a reporter for NBC News Science focused on general science and climate change. University of Maryland. 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. The bird flu outbreak is spilling over into mammals - USA Today To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. And if infections go unnoticed, they could spread to other farms before farmers can put control measures in place. 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. "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. The presence of the virus in the commercial food chain raises a number of possible trade headaches but so would using a vaccine to fight it. 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. Avian flu outbreak in U.S. worst on record, over 50 million birds dead 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. 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. Bird Flu Sample from Chilean Man Showed Some Signs of Adaptation to 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. Avian influenza viruses change slowly over time, but the right mutation could make them more transmissible in people and other species, says Ian Barr, deputy director of the World Health . Do we test the water or the soil? The virus can take commercial poultry farms out of commission for extended periods. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, drove the cost of turkey meat to record highs. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. **Clades are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. 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. Since early 2022, more than 49 million birds in 46 states have either died as a result of bird flu virus infection or have been culled (killed) due to . 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. 2022-2023 Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in - USDA ", 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. 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. But its impact on humans is complicated. University of Maryland. *Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) are described in the Classification of bird flu viruses section. CDC twenty four seven. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. 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. "Wild birds are the perfect mechanism to spread a virus because they, of course, fly everywhere," he adds. Copyright 1998 - 2023 SciTechDaily. 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. 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. But the calculations might change if the virus is determined to be endemic in wild birds or in a geographic area. 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. 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. What you need to know about the avian influenza outbreak 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. The turkeys have been kept under shelter to prevent exposure to avian influenza. Many migratory bird species travel thousands of miles between continents, posing a continuing risk of AI virus transmission. Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News. More than 77 million poultry, most raised in crowded. The World Health Organization is closely monitoring and analyzing the spread of H5N1 in mammals. 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. Government officials are studying infections atturkey farms, in particular, in hopes of developing new recommendations for preventing infections. Avian influenza A (H5N1) was first detected in the Region of the Americas in birds in December 2014. 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. Low pathogenic disease is less contagious and easier to contain than the highly pathogenic variety. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Bird flu is driving up the price of more than just eggs and poultry By contrast, humans experience influenza as a respiratory infection and spread it by breathing and coughing. As a result of recurrent outbreaks, U.S. egg inventories were 29 percent lower in the final week of December 2022 than at the beginning of the year. That doesnt seem like much of a genetic obstacle. Experts say poultry farms should be credited with limiting the virus as much as they have, hailing the success of surveillance and biosecurity programs. Learn more about past human infections with bird flu viruses. The bird flu surge has also . 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.
