A new strain of avian influenza has been detected in the US, raising concerns about the bird flu crisis entering a new phase of increased risk to humans and farmers.
The Department of Agriculture last week confirmed 81 detections of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds across 24 states between December 29 and January 17. This intensifying outbreak is spread through wild birds that can infect domestic poultry without showing symptoms, potentially exposing more gaps in government disease surveillance.
Officials in Pennsylvania and New York have culled thousands of commercial poultry flocks after detecting cases of flu. Experts warn that the changing migratory patterns may worsen the issue in northern states where water sources aren’t freezing, allowing wild birds to stay longer.
Meanwhile, a new strain of avian flu called H5N9 has been identified on a duck farm in California, which had an outbreak of the more common H5N1 flu last fall. This type of mutation could result in a virus that is more easily transmitted between people if it were to reassort with seasonal human flu.
The Trump administration’s pause on most external federal health agency communications has been met with outrage from medical and science circles, who are concerned about the lack of transparency on steps taken to address the spread. The pause includes a scheduled publication of two studies on bird flu in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The US is experiencing a surge in reported avian flu outbreaks, with 113 flocks affected in the past 30 days, resulting in over 19 million birds infected. The administration has yet to outline concrete steps to address the issue.
As experts warn that if the virus were to spread more widely, the US might be underprepared for its consequences, the public remains uncertain about how prepared they are for a potential pandemic.
Source: https://www.axios.com/2025/02/03/bird-flu-crisis-new-phase