Here are three updates on the outbreak:
1. In January, genetic sequencing identified a new bird flu strain, H5N9, on a California duck farm. Nearly 12,000 ducks were culled. The discovery raises concern for a larger outbreak because of the reassortment process, or when different strains infect the same host and they exchange genetic material.
The United States’ bird flu outbreak began in March after the H5N1 strain was detected in dairy cows. Of the 67 confirmed human cases, one Louisiana resident — who was older than 65 and had underlying medical conditions that elevated the risk of flu complications — died from H5N1.
After H5N9 was found on the California duck farm, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed “the first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b, genotype D1.1 in dairy cattle” in Nevada. All previous detections in dairy cattle have been genotype B3.13, the USDA said. Genotype D1.1 has been the predominant genotype in North American migration patterns and has been found in wild birds, mammals and spillovers into domestic poultry.
“CDC influenza surveillance systems show no indicators of unusual influenza activity in people, including avian influenza A(H5),” according to the agency’s webpage on the outbreak.
2. Since President Donald Trump took office, federal agencies have not held a news briefing on the avian flu outbreak, according to The New York Times.
The administration’s pause on federal health communications has interrupted several bird flu studies earmarked for the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported Feb. 3. Those include research on whether veterinarians who treat cattle have contracted avian influenza and another on whether human cases might have infected their pet cats.
Healthcare organizations have decried the national halt on health agency communications, stating that it weakens the nation’s ability to respond to the outbreak. Already, poor coordination among authorities for human public health, animal public health and wildlife has hampered the nation’s response.
3. The virus has struck poultry farms in eight states, according to CIDRAP.
The virus has been detected in two California commercial duck farms, which have about 157,000 birds; a layer facility and three turkey farms in Ohio, with 1.4 million birds; a Delaware broiler farm with 146,000 birds; and a Pennsylvania facility with nearly 48,000 birds. A layer farm in Indiana and turkey farms in Missouri and North Carolina have been similarly hit.
Two other states have enacted alerts: Massachusetts warned residents about bird flu deaths in the state’s cities — suggesting the virus is widespread — and West Virginia suspended all poultry exhibitions.