May 6, 2025

Bird flu continues to hang over US dairy, poultry sectors as efforts ongoing to control disease

 

 

Experts warn about the possibility of a new pandemic in 2025 as the H5N1 bird flu virus spreads across all 50 states, impacting US dairy farms and leading to human infections.

 

While bird flu has been around for decades, the discovery in 2024 that the deadly pathogen spread from a wild bird to a cow came as a surprise to virus watchers, according to news officials. In just over a year, the virus has ravaged US dairy herds, poultry flocks and other mammals — humans.

 

The Global Virus Network (GVN) has issued warning to world governments to address the threat of the H5N1 outbreak by improving surveillance, implementing biosecurity measures, and preparing for potential human-to-human transmission.

 

In the Keystone State, the Pennsylvania Game Commission had been trapping and releasing birds through the winter and into spring to monitor the health of the avian population. In Pennsylvania, a number of dead geese were found in Gettysburg in January, which subsequently tested positive for avian flu. Also in January about 200 snow geese died in the Allentown / Lehigh Valley area.

 

In February, H5N1 was detected in more than 20,000 ducks on a Cumberland County farm and roughly 80,000 poultry in Lancaster County, according to the USDA.

 

The virus has hit more than a dozen commercial poultry flocks and backyard flocks in the state this year, resulting in the loss of over 2.3 million birds, officials said.

 

"Understanding the current landscape of H5N1 infections is critical for effective prevention and response," said Sten H. Vermund, MD, PhD, chief medical officer of the GVN. "The virus' ability to infect both animals and humans, combined with recent genetic changes, underscores the importance of proactive surveillance and rapid response measures."

 

According to GVN, the new virus outbreak has affected nearly 1000 dairy cow herds, resulted in more than 70 human cases and one confirmed death in the US and has caused the loss or culling of more than 168 million poultry since 2022.

 

Pennsylvania has not yet reported an avian flu case among its dairy cattle, as state agriculture officials in February reported that the dairy industry had achieved a flu-free designation from the US Department of Agriculture, meaning that the Keystone State's milk supply has been tested extensively enough to show the virus, H5N1, is not circulating among dairy cattle.

 

"In the US, sporadic human infections with no known contact with infected animals highlight the possibility of viral adaptation for efficient human-to-human transmission," GVN scientists said in a report.  "Concurrently, the virus continues to circulate in wild birds, backyard flocks, and hunted migratory species, further amplifying the risk to humans and domestic animals."

 

In a CBS news interview with veterinarian Dr. Kay Russo, she warned that time to stop the bird flu is 'running out'. She said while it's not clear how the virus was spreading from cow to cow, 'milking equipment is a prime suspect' and workers in milking parlors have also fallen sick with flu-like symptoms.

- USA Today Network