The spread of bird flu viruses from one infected person to a close contact is very rare, and when it has happened, it has not led to continued spread among people. More information about this case is, The detections of H5 viruses in wild birds, poultry, some mammals, and in one person in the United States do not change the risk to the general publics health, which CDC considers to be low. But lab tests soon revealed something scarier: a deadly avian influenza virus named H5N1. Learn what to do if you have contact with infected birds and become sick. "Right now, it's like a kid in a candy store racing around," infecting bird populations, he says. "That gave us a really powerful . His lab is largely operating seven days a week. 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. The World Health Organization is closely monitoring and analyzing the spread of H5N1 in mammals. 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. Keep up with the latest scitech news via email or social media. 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. 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. Read the original article. Thank you. The most important mutational changes affect the tissue tropism of the virus its ability to infect a specific part of the body. Avian Influenza. CDC has been comparing the properties of current H5N1 bird flu viruses to past H5N1 bird flu viruses and has found that current H5N1 bird flu viruses detected in the U.S. during late 2021 and 2022 are different from earlier H5N1 bird flu viruses. 1996 - 2023 NewsHour Productions LLC. Avian influenza can spread quickly and appears to be almost 100% fatal for some species. If provided, your email will not be published or shared. Infected poultry or eggs do not enter the food supply chain. 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. Details: The bird flu can kill birds once they're infected, according to Reuters. The good news about H5N1 for humans is that it currently doesnt spread well between people. Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Mario Tama/Getty Images Farmers can take steps to make their flock more biosecure, such as preventing birds and their feed from being exposed to wild birds. A sample of avian influenza isolated from a Chilean man who fell ill last month contains two genetic mutations that are signs of adaptation to mammals, officials from the Centers . How bad is the outbreak? The second reason for increased attention is that H5N1 is now infecting more bird and mammalian species than ever before. One reason for this is that using vaccines would potentially affect international trade and poultry exports. .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. HPAI viruses cause high mortality in poultry, and occasionally in some wild birds. Avian influenza (AI) is a contagious virus that affects all birds. Both human and bird influenza viruses use receptors called sialic acids that are common on the surfaces of cells. 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. "Unlike H5N8, this disease is heavily impacting wild birds," said Johanna Harvey, a postdoctoral researcher at UMD and lead author of the study. All Rights Reserved. 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. ", 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. The USDAs Defend the Flock Program includes, for instance, information on biosecurity measures and how to spot signs of illness. And if the outbreak lingers into spring, infections could become even more difficult to prevent as a new wave of bird migrations begin. March 6, 2023. 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. 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. A certain viral variant that arose in 2020, called H5N1 2.3.4.4b, is driving this outbreak. Losses of poultry flocks sent prices foreggsand turkey meat to record highs, worsening economic pain for consumers facing red-hot inflation and making Thursdays Thanksgiving celebrations more expensive in the United States. More reports poured in over the following weeks and months, raising alarms as the virus spread to more states. The U.S. is enduring an unprecedented poultry health disaster, with a highly . 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. 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. "However, ducks can be infected without any signs of illness. CDC twenty four seven. To receive email updates about this page, enter your email address: We take your privacy seriously. Ask the Expert: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Viruses. 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. If allowed to spread unfettered, the pathogen could evolve in such a way that makes it more devastating or harder to control. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to search. The sun can, for instance, naturally disinfect surfaces while gloomier days help viral particles survive on surfaces contaminated by infected bird poop, Lorenzoni said. However, sometimes a flu virus can acquire mutations that allow it to infect cells in a different part of the body. APHIS is working closely with State partners on surveillance . But H5N1 poses new challenges. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. Though most cases were detected in Oregon, positive . Yuko Sato, an associate professor of veterinary medicine who works with poultry producers, explains why so many birds are getting sick and whether the outbreak threatens human health. No human illnesses have been associated with this virus in North America. Over the centuries, some of these avian influenza viruses have been passed from birds to humans and other mammalian species, although this is a relatively rare event. April 24, 2023. Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses. 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.. Avian influenza A (H7N9) is a subtype of influenza viruses that have been detected in birds in the past. CDC does not currently recommend any travel restrictions related to bird flu to countries affected by bird flu in poultry or people. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Introduction of the Eurasian lineage HPAI to North . 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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 . There were only three cases of human infection in 2023, two in Cambodia, and one in China. This is because bird influenza viruses must mutate in several ways to infect mammals efficiently. Sporadic human cases of H5N1 reported with H5N1 viruses circulating in birds since 2021 have occurred following exposure to infected poultry. CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Right now, the H5N1 bird flu situation remains primarily an animal health issue. Bird flu is transmitted mainly by wild birds, like these snow geese. Please check your inbox to confirm. 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. 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 . Most cases of human infection have been in Southeast Asia, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 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. Sporadic human cases of H5N1 reported with H5N1 viruses circulating in birds since 2021 have occurred following exposure to infected poultry. newsletter for analysis you wont find anywhereelse. Farmers struggled to keep the disease and wild birds out of their barns after increasing security and cleaning measures following the 2015 outbreak. Speedy Robo-Gripper Reflexively Organizes What Made Us Human? Here, eggs sit on a supermarket shelf in San Mateo County, Calif. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website. 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. All Rights Reserved. "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. April 14, 2023. 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. ScienceDaily. The viruses are from clade 2.3.4.4b,** which is the most common H5N1 bird flu virus worldwide at this time. Authorities immediately placed workers on the farm under quarantine restrictions. Recently it has begun infecting an exploding diversity of bird and mammalian species around the globe. One scientist said the variant is "wiping out everything in numbers we've never seen before. But scientists didn't know until the recent outbreak how infected condors would fare. 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. The virus transmits very, very rapidly within the flock, so even if birds dont appear sick, they will eventually die very soon, Lorenzoni said. An avian influenza outbreak has been detected in the West African nations of Senegal and The Gambia. If you like to eat chicken, you're in luck. The researchers hope their work will bring key players to the table to consider the next steps. 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. By October 2022, the disease had resulted in 31 reported wild bird mass mortalities, accounting for an estimated 33,504 wild bird detections in the U.S. and Canada. Materials provided by University of Maryland. 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. 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. Yuko Sato is an associate professor of veterinary medicine at Iowa State University. H5N1 is currently the most problematic strain of bird flu, with impacts that extend beyond poultry. "We've been dealing with low pathogenic avian influenza for decades in the poultry industry, but this is different." 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. 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. Outbreaks have become more common due to the high density and frequent movement of flocks from intensive poultry production. Avoid contact with wild or domestic birds that appear ill or have died and call to report sick or dead birds. "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. Better known as bird . "A lot of countries don't use vaccines for this virus in their poultry," Webby says. These cases do not change the human risk assessment to the general public, which CDC considers to be low. Many virologists are concerned that this virus could spill over to humans and cause a new . Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, 3 things the world is doing to prepare for the next pandemic, The world needs a COP-like process for pandemic preparedness. In addition, more than 58 million domestic poultry were infected or had to be culled to limit the spread of infection in the U.S. and 7 million in Canada. At this time, the Department of Agriculture has not approved the use of vaccination in the U.S. for protecting birds from avian influenza. 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. Johanna A Harvey, Jennifer M. Mullinax, Michael C. Runge, Diann J. Prosser. But nearly 11 months after the first known wild case in the current outbreak, the deadly influenza virus is still here. 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. The virus that worries them is H5N1, a form of avian influenza, or bird flu. By the end of December, more than 43 million egg-laying hens were lost to the disease itself or to depopulation since the . 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. Receptors are the molecules on the surface of host cells that a virus exploits to enter those cells. The new H5N1 strain has already killed over 58 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds, Reuters reported. Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. Vaccination also could delay outbreak detection, since it can potentially hide non-apparent infections in infected birds. Photograph: Geoffrey Swaine/Rex/Shutterstock Efforts to halt the spread of this strain of virus have been complicated by its. Now that the virus is here, it shows no sign of going away. Some strains, like the version of H5N1 that is currently spreading, are frequently. "This paper illustrates how unprecedented it is, and describes what we think is coming. Top editors give you the stories you want delivered right to your inbox each weekday. 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 of eggs. 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. 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. 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. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk to public health from this outbreak is low. 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. 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. It is true that the farmed minks were confined in close quarters, like chickens on a poultry farm, so that may have contributed.