The ongoing outbreak of bird flu in the US is now the longest and deadliest on record. More than 57 million birds have been killed or weeded out by the virus for a year, and the deadly disorder has helped drive up egg prices and fuel egg smuggling.
Since highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) was first detected in US birds in January 2022, the average price of a box of a dozen eggs has increased from about $1.79 in December 2021 to $4.25 in December 2022 increased, a 137 percent increase, accordingly US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Although inflation and supply chain issues partially explain the increase, eggs reported the largest percentage increase of any specific food item the consumer price index.
And the high prices are tempting some on the US-Mexico border to smuggle in illegal boxes, which is illegal. A spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection told NPR this week that people in El Paso, Texas, are buying eggs in Juárez, Mexico because they “significantly cheaper. “Meanwhile, as egg interceptions soar, a customs officer in San Diego tweeted a reminder that the failure to declare such farm items at a port of entry with penalties up to $10,000.
foul effects
Still, America’s pain in the grocery store aisles probably pales in comparison to some of the devastation wreaked on poultry farms. HPAI A(H5N1) has been detected in wild birds in all 50 states, and 47 have reported outbreaks on poultry farms. Until now, 731 outbreaks in 371 counties. Late last month, two outbreaks in Weakley County, Tennessee, affected 62,600 chickens.
With the outbreak at the one-year mark, it is the longest outbreak of bird flu in the US. And with 57 million dead birds in 47 states, it’s also the deadliest, beating the previous 2015 record of 50.5 million birds in 21 states.
Although the virus is highly contagious and often fatal to birds, the risk to humans is low. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that avian influenza type A viruses (also known as avian influenza viruses) generally do not infect humans, although they can occasionally do so when humans have close or prolonged unprotected contact with infected birds. Once inside a human, it’s even rarer for the virus to jump from person to person.
In the current outbreak, the CDC has tracked, but only found, more than 5,000 people who have had contact with infected birds a single case of bird flu in a human. The reported case in Colorado came from a person who worked directly with infected birds and was involved in a culling. The person had mild symptoms and recovered.
fear of flu
While the current data is comforting, virologists and epidemiologists still worry about the potential for influenza viruses like avian flu to mutate and recombine into a human-infecting virus with pandemic potential. A report published in the journal Eurosurveillance on January 19 highlighted the concern. Researchers in Spain documented an outbreak of bird flu among farmed mink on the northwest coast in October last year. The mink were probably infected via wild seabirds, which were experiencing a simultaneous wave of H5N1 virus infection at the time. As October progressed, more and more mink became ill, indicating mink-to-mink transmission, resulting in the entire colony of nearly 52,000 animals being killed by the end of October.
In particular, the H5N1 virus that infected the mink had an unusual mutation that may have allowed it to spread on and among the mink. Transmission of an avian virus alone from mammal to mammal is notable, but this is of particular concern in mink, which can act as virus mixers. As the authors of the Spanish report note:
Experimental and field evidence has shown that mink are susceptible and tolerant to both avian and human influenza A viruses, leading to the theory that this species could serve as a potential mixing vessel for transmission between avians, mammals and humans.
Therefore, the authors say there is a need to “strengthen the culture of biosafety and biosecurity in this farming system and encourage the implementation of ad hoc surveillance programs for influenza A viruses and other zoonotic agents at a global level.”
None of the mink farm workers became infected with the H5N1 virus, the authors report. However, they note that the use of face masks has been mandatory for all mink farmers in Spain due to concerns about the spread of SARS-CoV-2. And when a disease was first discovered on the farm, workers there took precautions in case it was SARS-CoV-2, including using disposable coveralls, face shields, changing face masks twice a day and washing hands frequently on April 4 October.
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