Bird Flu

USDA orders nationwide testing of milk supply for bird flu to halt virus

The US government on Friday ordered testing of the nation's milk supply for bird flu to better monitor the spread of the virus in dairy cows. Raw or unpasteurised milk from dairy farms and processors nationwide must be tested on request starting December 16, the Agriculture Department said. Testing will begin in six states California, Colorado, Michigan, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Officials said the move is aimed at containing and ultimately eliminating the virus", known as Type A H5N1, which was detected for the first time in March in US dairy cows. Since then, more than 700 herds have been confirmed to be infected in 15 states. This will give farms and farmworkers better confidence in the safety of their animals and ability to protect themselves, and it will put us on a path to quickly controlling and stopping the virus' spread nationwide, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. The risk to people from bird flu remains low, health officials said. ...

US spots first H5N1 bird flu case in a pig, raising concern for humans

The infection was confirmed in a pig kept on a backyard farm in Crook County, Oregon, the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday

Odisha govt culls over 11,700 chicken, health dept issues alert on bird flu

The Odisha government has culled over 11,700 chickens in Puri district's Pipili, following the detection of the H5N1 strain of avian influenza, an official said on Monday. After mass deaths of chickens at a local poultry farm in Pipili, culling began on Saturday and was completed on Monday evening. Additional culling in homes and nearby villages will take place on Tuesday, the official added. Jagannath Nanda, additional director of disease control, said 13 rapid response teams are handling the culling, with some poultry farm owners conducting culling independently. No other unusual chicken deaths have been reported elsewhere in the state, he added. In response to the outbreak, the state health department has heightened surveillance and issued an alert. Bijay Mohapatra, director of health services, emphasised that while bird flu is not new to Odisha, the department is working with stakeholders to manage the situation. He assured that sufficient medicines are available and urged poul

Culling, surveillance but no vaccine strategy to fight 'bird flu'

Experts said as India falls on the one of main pathways that migratory birds take to move between continents, its water bodies are always prone to the spread of influenza from birds

Exposure to pigeons can lead to chronic lung diseases: Delhi hospital study

Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram hospital has established a link between prolonged exposure to pigeons and severe lung diseases

World Bank, animal husbandry dept conduct avian influenza crisis drill

The Ministry of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairying and the World Bank conducted a two-day simulation exercise this week in Madhya Pradesh to enhance the preparedness for potential avian influenza or Bird Flu, amid outbreak of such cases in parts of the country and globally. The exercise on June 19-20 in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, brought together 40 participants from various sectors to practice outbreak detection, rapid response strategies and inter-agency coordination for containing the spread of avian flu. "Such initiatives are vital in building resilient health systems as the world contends with an increasing number of zoonotic diseases," the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) said in a statement. The drill comes as India sees avian flu outbreaks in Kerala and a rise in global spillover cases to non-poultry species like cattle. Inaugurated by DAHD's Animal Husbandry Commissioner Abhijit Mitra, the programme involved interactive scenarios mimicking real outbrea

Two dozen companies working to find bird flu vaccine for cows: US agri secy

Bird flu has infected 90 dairy herds across 12 states since late March, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Three dairy farm workers also have been infected with the virus

India logs second ever human case of bird flu in Bengal: How to stay safe

A bird flu case of infection in a human being was detected in a four year old in West Bengal. The patient, admitted to a local hospital since February, has been treated and discharged

Mexico death linked to bird flu strain never before seen in humans: WHO

The current risk posed by the H5N2 virus to the general public is low, according to the WHO, which said no further cases were reported after an investigation

Centre, states gear up to tackle infectious zoonotic disease outbreaks

Centre announces detailed advisory on bird flu, Kerala government intensifies Nipah prevention efforts

Centre issues advisory after 4 states report outbreaks of bird flu

The affected states are Andhra Pradesh (Nellore district), Maharashtra (Nagpur district), Jharkhand (Ranchi district) and Kerala (Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts)

US govt nears deal to fund late-stage trial of Moderna's bird flu vaccine

It is expected to total several tens of millions of dollars, and could be accompanied by a commitment to procure doses if the phase-three trials are successful, according to the report

US, European nations taking steps to vaccinate workers exposed to bird flu

US officials last week said they were moving bulk vaccine from CSL Seqirus that closely matches the current virus into finished shots that could provide 4.8 million doses of vaccine

All ground beef samples test negative for H5N1 bird flu virus: USDA

The US Food and Drug Administration said preliminary results of tests on additional dairy products show pasteurization inactivates the bird flu virus

Southern Karnataka on high alert over bird flu reported in Kerala

As an outbreak of avian flu has been reported in some districts of neighbouring Kerala, the border areas of Karnataka, including Mangaluru, have been put on high alert, officials of the Karnataka Animal Husbandry department here said. At present, the situation in Kerala is being monitored before any action can be taken, they said. "Our Kerala counterparts have assured us that the avian flu has been contained within Alappuzha district. However, loading, booking and carrying poultry and poultry products on trains and at railway stations are still under consideration (surveillance), the officials said. Not only railways but also road transport ferrying chicken loads from Kerala to Mangaluru are under surveillance. Mangaluru, being one of the largest consumers of chicken from Kerala, has halted chicken procurement from Kerala-based suppliers. Sudhakar Shetty, a market functionary, stated, "The animal husbandry department of Kerala has advised containment of avian flu within a few ...

US logs second human case of bird flu over contact with sick cow. 10 points

Avian influenza or bird flu usually occurs among wild aquatic birds worldwide and can infect domestic poultry. Cases of human infection caused by exposure to infected animals are rare and sporadic

Bird flu takes toll on US industry, 1.35 mn chickens being killed in Ohio

More than 1.3 million chickens are being slaughtered on an Ohio egg farm as the bird flu continues to take a toll on the industry. The US Department of Agriculture said all 1.35 million chickens on the farm in Ohio's Union County will be slaughtered to help limit the spread of the highly contagious virus after a case was confirmed in the flock this week. The outbreak that began in early 2022 has been much less severe this year as fewer cases of the virus are being found among the wild birds that spread it. But there have still been 8.1 million birds killed this year to help control the spread of the disease and 5.8 million of those have come just this month as several large egg farms have been struck. That includes 1.2 million birds at one Iowa egg farm and another 940,000 chickens at one Minnesota egg farm that had to be killed. Egg farms tend to be much larger than turkey or chicken farms, sometimes with millions of birds. That's a big part of why Iowa the nation's largest egg .

Bird flu reappears in US commercial poultry flocks in Utah, South Dakota

Highly pathogenic bird flu has made its first appearances in U.S. commercial poultry flocks this season, affecting one turkey farm in South Dakota and one in Utah. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that avian influenza, which is deadly to commercial poultry, was confirmed in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County, South Dakota, on Oct. 4 and at a farm with 1,41,800 birds in Utah's Sanpete County last Friday. The outbreaks are the first reported among commercial flocks in the U.S. since the disease struck two turkey farms in the Dakotas in April. Infected flocks are normally destroyed to prevent the flu's spread, and then the farms are decontaminated. Before last week, the only reports of bird flu in recent months in the U.S. in recent months were sporadic appearances in backyard flocks or among wild birds such as ducks, geese and eagles. While wild birds often show no symptoms of avian influenza, infections in them are a concern to the poultry industry because migrati

New mutation in bird flu virus shows potential for humans outbreak: Report

Scientists have identified new mutations in avian influenza virus H5N1, which recently infected a man in Chile, and may pose risk of spread in humans

Chile detects 1st human case of avian influenza A (H5N1) bird flu

The latest outbreak of H5N1 virus has killed a record number of birds and also spread to otters, sea lions, foxes, dolphins and seals, among others