Category: Avian Influenza
What You Need to Know About H5N1 Bird Flu and Everyday Precautions
NY Academy of Sciences The highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus, commonly known as bird flu, is making headlines and leaving its mark on grocery shelves. Just last week, I visited two supermarkets, both completely sold out of eggs. Over at a corner bodega in NYC, a dozen eggs were going for a jaw-dropping […]
Feb 26, 2025
Bird Flu’s Spread Among Dairy Cows Appears to Be Picking Up Its Pace
Discover The first case of bird flu in cattle was reported on March 25, 2024. In less than a year, the virus has hit 973 herds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) first issued an order to test cows that farmers intended to move between […]
Feb 26, 2025
Indiana: Bird flu claims over 100 sandhill cranes in LaPorte County, 1500 statewide
WSBT Bird flu has struck Fish Lake, as hundreds of birds, including a significant number of sandhill cranes, have dropped dead. Now the community is working to dispose of the carcasses. According to the DNR, nearly 1500 sandhill cranes have died in Indiana so far in Green County, Union County, Jasper County, La Porte County, […]
Feb 26, 2025
Killing 166 million birds hasn’t helped poultry farmers stop H5N1. Is there a better way?
Los Angeles Times When the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus made its first appearance at a U.S. poultry farm in February 2022, roughly 29,000 turkeys at an Indiana facility were sacrificed in an attempt to avert a larger outbreak. It didn’t work. Three years later, highly pathogenic avian influenza has spread to all 50 states. The number of commercial […]
Feb 26, 2025
Wyoming confirms state’s 1st human case of bird flu, bringing total to 70 across 13 states
Yahoo News Bird flu is spreading across the United States, causing egg shortages and soaring prices at supermarkets and restaurants — however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that the current public health risk is low. On Friday, the Wyoming Department of Health confirmed the state’s first human case of H5N1 bird flu. That case is the […]
Feb 19, 2025
Seroprevalence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5) Virus Infections Among Bovine Veterinary Practitioners — United States, September 2024
CDC Summary What is already known about this topic? Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) virus infections have been detected in humans exposed to infected dairy cattle. What is added by this report? Public health officials conducted a serosurvey among 150 bovine veterinary practitioners. Three practitioners had evidence of recent infection with HPAI A(H5) virus, […]
Feb 19, 2025
The wind may be partly to blame for bird flu spread between farms, a new study suggests
CNN In February 2024, government veterinarians in the Czech Republic investigating a bird flu outbreak found themselves in the middle of a puzzling case. The highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was devastating a flock of chickens on a highly secure farm, home of a breeding program that produced hybrid birds with specially colored feathers and eggs. […]
Feb 19, 2025
Canada reports outbreak of H5N5 bird flu on backyard farm
Retuers Canada has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N5 avian influenza on a non-commercial backyard layer poultry farm in the eastern part of the country, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Tuesday. The spread of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has ravaged flocks around the world, disrupting supply and fuelling higher […]
Feb 19, 2025
The Latest on Bird Flu in Humans, Chickens, and More
Scientific American Human Cases Within the past 10 days, three different states in the U.S. have reported new known and likely bird flu infections in humans: The first two are a confirmed case in a dairy worker in Nevada and a probable one in a farm worker in Ohio who had handled dead poultry. The third […]
Feb 19, 2025
USDA accidentally fired officials working on bird flu and is now trying to rehire them
NBC The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that, over the weekend, it accidentally fired “several” agency employees who are working on the federal government’s response to the H5N1 avian flu outbreak. “Although several positions supporting [bird flu efforts] were notified of their terminations over the weekend, we are working to swiftly rectify the situation and […]
Feb 18, 2025