About 10 days ago, after a second case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was announced, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reworked its markup on the issue, rather than its message.
Avian influenza has been severe since it first hit commercial poultry flocks in the continental United States in early 2022, affecting 85.8 million birds in 48 states.
The USDA claims to have the most robust avian influenza surveillance program in the world. Influenza also killed 9,253 wild birds in 50 jurisdictions.
Recently, the CDC used a color cartoon to state that “infected poultry can spread avian influenza to people. Human infection with avian influenza viruses is rare, but possible.”
The CDC’s Actions to Protect People include the following suggestions:
+ Avoid direct contact with wild birds and observe them from a distance.
+ Do not touch any dead birds and do not report sick or dead birds.
HSN1 Take protective measures when around other animals that may be infected with avian influenza.
+ Food is safe to eat as long as it is handled and prepared properly.
+ CDC does not impose travel restrictions due to avian influenza crisis
+ Seasonal influenza vaccines reduce the risk of illness from avian influenza.
+ The two bird flu patients, months apart, were a poultry farm worker in Colorado and a dairy farm employee in Texas. Both have recovered.
+ Local health authorities are advised to be on the lookout for further cases.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a U.S. commercial herd on February 8, 2022.
Since then, APHIS has worked to identify and respond to detections and reduce the impact of the virus on U.S. poultry production and trade.
Detections are higher in the fall and spring as wild birds continue to spread the virus as they migrate to their seasonal habitats. APHIS continues to work closely with the United States.
To give you an idea of the overall size of the U.S. poultry flock, there are over 368.2 million layer hens in the United States. More than 9.5 billion broiler chickens and more than 208 million turkeys were processed in the United States in 2022, according to USDA data.
At the meeting, the CDC directed state officials to ensure their avian influenza preparedness plans are up to date.
Here are some facts about the latest human cases of avian influenza in the United States:
- texas people the test was positive for Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) virus (“H5N1 avian influenza”). This is his second case of H5N1 avian influenza in the United States. The first was a poultry worker in Colorado in 2022.
- This person in Texas was working with dairy cows that were probably infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.
- This is the first time the virus has been found in cattle, and the first time that avian influenza has spread from cattle to humans. Since it was first identified in Texas, infected dairy herds have been found in eight states.
- The CDC sequenced the genome of an influenza virus from a patient in Texas and compared it to other sequenced H5N1 viruses. The virus obtained from this person was nearly identical to the virus found in cows and birds in Texas. There are no changes associated with resistance to antiviral drugs, and the virus is closely related to his two existing viruses. vaccine candidate virus.
- There is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission of this virus.
- This is a new and rapidly evolving situation that CDC is monitoring closely. The CDC believes the overall risk to the general public from this virus remains low.
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