Tag: Avian Influenza

As H5N1 Bird Flu Spreads To More States, Many Are Wondering What Will Happen If People Start Getting Infected…

ETH – February 23, 2022

(OPINION) I have been watching the H5N1 bird flu for a very long time. Many of my readers don’t even know this, but many years ago I actually had an entire website that was dedicated to tracking the latest news regarding bird flu.

Fortunately, H5N1 hasn’t been a significant threat for ages, but now it is back. It is spreading very rapidly in birds in North America right now, and some experts are concerned that it could mutate into a version that could begin spreading easily in humans. If that happens, it would make the COVID pandemic look like a bad joke in comparison, because the death rate for H5N1 in humans is extremely high.

Over the past several days, we have received some really troubling news about the spread of bird flu inside the United States. For example, bird flu has now been detected in a “non-commercial backyard flock” in Suffolk County, New York. The following comes from the official USDA website…

The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed the presence of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a non-commercial backyard flock (non-poultry) in Suffolk County, New York.

Samples from the flock were tested at the Cornell University Animal Health Diagnostic Center, part of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and confirmed at the APHIS National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa.

APHIS is working closely with state animal health officials in New York on a joint incident response. State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the properties will be depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease. Birds from the flock will not enter the food system.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

DEVELOPING: A bird flu outbreak is now spreading across Europe and Asia

ETH – November 15, 2021

Several outbreaks of severe bird flu in Europe and Asia have been reported in recent days to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), in a sign the virus is spreading quickly again.

According to Reuters, The spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has put the poultry industry on alert after previous outbreaks led to the culling of tens of millions of birds. Outbreaks also often lead to trade restrictions.

According to the Daily Sabah, It is also attracting the attention of epidemiologists as the virus can be transmitted to humans. China has reported 21 human infections with the H5N6 subtype of avian influenza so far this year, more than in the whole of 2020.

South Korea reported an outbreak at a farm of around 770,000 poultry in Chungcheongbuk-do, the OIE said on Monday, citing a report from the South Korean authorities.

All animals were slaughtered. Also in Asia, Japan reported its first outbreak of the 2021 winter season, at a poultry farm in the northeast of the country, the OIE said, confirming a statement last week by Japan’s agriculture ministry. The serotype in this outbreak was H5N8. In Europe, Norway reported an H5N1 bird flu outbreak in the Rogaland region in a flock of 7,000 birds, the OIE said.

https://endtimeheadlines.org

France orders lockdown… for domestic fowl over bird-flu threat

RT – November 5, 2021

The French Agriculture Ministry has ordered the country’s poultry farmers to keep their fowl indoors to prevent the potential spread of a highly contagious bird-flu strain via migratory birds.

The ministry published the order in the French official journal on Thursday, citing the “rising infection rate in migratory corridors” as a sufficient reason to consider the potential infection risk “high” across the country.

The measure is aimed at protecting farms, as no cases in humans have been reported so far. The ministry announced the move after a highly contagious H5 strain of bird flu was discovered at a farm in the neighboring Netherlands. The discovery prompted a cull of 36,000 birds as part of the Dutch authorities’ precautionary measures. The Netherlands then also introduced a “lockdown” for poultry on its territory

The UK declared a nationwide Avian Influenza Prevention Zone on Wednesday, demanding farmers toughen their infection prevention measures, but stopping short of ordering them to keep fowl indoors. The move followed the discovery of several bird-flu cases in wild birds in the UK.

“Since the beginning of August, 130 bird-flu cases or clusters have been detected in wild animals or on farms in Europe,” the French ministry said on Thursday, adding that the list included at least three cases among domestic birds in northeastern France. The three bird flu outbreaks detected in France were related to the H5N8 strain.

The avian flu strain, H5N1, is notorious for its high mortality rate of around 60% in humans, and is contracted via contact with the excretions of infected birds. The World Health Organization still considers the risk of its human-to-human transmission to be “low.”

https://www.newsmax.com

Infectious And Fatal Bird Flu Outbreak In South Carolina – More Than 32,000 Turkeys Killed

Strange Sounds – April 14, 2020

As humans around the world scramble to fight a pandemic caused by a new virus, a separate infection has emerged that could wreak havoc on another population of creatures.

The US Department of Agriculture this week confirmed the presence of an infectious and fatal strain of avian influenza (H7N3) in a commercial turkey flock in Chesterfield County, South Carolina.

“State officials quarantined the affected premises, and birds on the property were depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease,” the department said in a statement, indicating the birds were killed en masse.

Meanwhile, more than 32,000 turkeys have been euthanized after the discovery of the deadly virus.

The detection of the virus was the first of its kind in several years, and any US farmer who remembers the last outbreak of bird flu knows the implications could be massive if the problem is left unattended.

More than 50 million chickens and turkeys across 15 states were killed between December 2014 and June 2015 in an attempt to stop the spread of the virus.

It was a devastating period for the poultry industry, as some 30 countries banned US chicken and turkey products to avoid accidental transmission.

While bird flu is generally not a threat to humans, it’s a nightmare for farmers as it can strike seemingly at random, sometimes from the sky.

It’s often transmitted by falcons or migratory birds who defecate mid-flight over farms.

It can also be tracked onto farms and into barns on the tires of trucks or the boots of farm workers — and once one bird gets sick, the entire flock is at risk.

https://strangesounds.org

Double Whammy In India: Bird flu Comes Knocking In Times Of Lockdown

Strange Sounds – March 25, 2020

Two localities in Patna have been tested positive for bird flu.

Thousands birds have been culled in Kerala. A patient has also been confirmed positive for swine flu in Bihar. Several died from Monkey fever. What’s more for India?

While 1.3 billion people went under “total lockdown” for 21 days to combat the spread of the contagion in India, several states are reporting avian influenza in parallel.

Samples in Bihar and Kerala have tested positive for H5N1 virus. A patient has also been confirmed positive for swine flu in Bihar.

In Bihar, samples of dead crows were sent to the National Institute of High-Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD) at Bhopal, where the results confirmed the worst fears.

In Kerala, the state government has decided to destroy the disease at the source and mass culling have already started since a week to contain a possible outbreak.

Avian influenza A (H5N1) is contagious among birds and can be fatal. There have been instances of human beings getting infected with the virus:

“In most of the cases, people having direct or close contact with H5N1-infected poultry or H5N1-contaminated surfaces contracted the disease.

“The H5N1 strain of bird flu is regarded as highly pathogenic and can also cause disease and death in humans.

https://strangesounds.org