The U.S. government announced new measures yesterday to slow the spread of the H5N1 influenza virus among cattle, following the revelation that milk sold commercially in 10 states contained fragments of the virus. An order issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) restricts the movement of dairy cattle between states and mandates the reporting of infected cows.

A senior official from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today that its nationwide survey of retail milk has found remnants of H5N1 avian flu viruses in one in five samples, with the highest concentrations in regions where outbreaks in dairy cattle have been reported.

Donald Prater, DVM, acting director of the FDA Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN), shared the new findings with state health officials who took part in a scientific symposium on H5N1 hosted by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). The results come in the wake of earlier findings this week from more limited FDA sampling, along with similar findings from a smaller set of samples tested by a lab that's part of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) Network.

The response has echoes of the early days of 2020, when the coronavirus began its deadly march around the world. Today, some officials and experts express frustration that more livestock herds aren’t being tested for avian flu, and that when tests and epidemiological studies are conducted, results aren’t shared fast enough or with enough detail. They fear that the delays could allow the pathogen to move unchecked — and potentially acquire the genetic machinery needed to spread swiftly among people. One dairy worker in Texas has already fallen ill amid the outbreak, the second U.S. case ever of this type of bird flu.

“So far there is only one confirmed human case. Rick Bright, an expert on the H5N1 virus who served on President Joe Biden's coronavirus advisory board, said, 'there's a fine line between one person and 10 people with H5N1. By the time we've detected 10, it's probably too late'.”

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A day after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that H5N1 avian flu fragments have been found in retail milk samples, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that lactating dairy cows must be tested before interstate transport.

The movement of dairy cows, some of which aren't showing disease symptoms, from already affected states such as Texas has been a source of H5N1 spread to dairy herds in states such as Idaho and Michigan. Also, the identification of virus fragments in finished milk suggests that the virus may be more widespread in dairy cows than currently known.

“Thijs Kuiken, an avian influenza researcher at Erasmus Medical Center, says the “very sparse” information released by the U.S. government has international implications, too. State and federal animal health authorities have “abundant information … that has] not been made public, but would be informative for health professionals and scientists” in the United States and abroad, he says, “to be able to better assess the outbreak and take measures, both for animal health and for human health.” He notes that even the new sequences released by USDA do not include locations of the samples or the date they were taken. The release appears to include data from only 39 cows.”

“The agency said it has been trying to see if it could grow virus from milk found to contain evidence of H5N1, which is the gold standard test to see if there is viable virus in a product. The lengthy statement the agency released does not explicitly say FDA laboratories were unable to find live virus in the milk samples, but it does state that its belief that commercial, pasteurized milk is safe to consume has not been altered by these findings.”

The genetic data point to a single spillover event that probably occurred in late 2023, Michael Worobey, an evolutionary virologist at the University of Arizona, told STAT on Tuesday.

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) viruses circulate in wild birds and can infect domestic poultry. H5NX 2.3.4.4b is a clade of HPAI responsible for major avian epidemics seen in Europe in the 2016–2017 and 2020–2021 seasons, with the 2021–2022 season being the largest so far in terms of geographic spread and number of detections in non-avian animals [1]. While in recent months poultry infections have declined, HPAI H5NX continues to circulate in wild birds, and HPAI H5N1 genotypes have infected several mammal species in Europe, the Americas, and Asia [2]. Indeed, HPAI H5N1 detected in red foxes in The Netherlands have been found to carry a PB2-E627K mutation that increases viral replication in mammalian cells [3]. Furthermore, HPAI H5N1 was identified to have a neurotropism in these foxes, causing infection in the brain.

South Africa’s poultry industry is under siege as it grapples with two distinct bird flu strains – H5N1 and H7N6.

While the situation in poultry has eased over the summer, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus continued to affect seabirds in Europe, mostly along coastlines. As the autumn migratory season starts, the protection of poultry and other farmed animals from wild birds should be prioritised. Biosecurity should be enhanced in fur animal farms.

Executive summary

Following the autumn bird migration, avian influenza virus outbreaks are expected to occur and spread geographically across the EU/EEA. The transmission of avian influenza viruses to wild, domesticated and farmed mammals will be likely to continue. Whenever avian influenza viruses are present in wild birds and mammals, the possibility of transmission to humans cannot be excluded, particularly for those who are directly exposed while not wearing protective equipment.

During the winter months when seasonal influenza viruses are circulating in the population, testing and sub-typing approaches for avian influenza virus need to be proportionate to the epidemiological situation and the capacities of reference laboratories. Therefore, a risk-based targeted approach is proposed in areas with ongoing avian influenza outbreaks in poultry and detections in wild birds and other animals, focussing on outbreaks and severe respiratory or unexplained neurological disease.

Great article, definitely recommend. Excerpt:

A staggering number of variables influence the risks: bird behavior, the nature of the pathogens, the insects and other vectors that help spread them, and humans’ own habits and effects on the landscape. And as the world warms there’s a new variable to consider, says Martin Beer, a veterinarian at the Friedrich Loeffler Institute (FLI) who is Günther’s Ph.D. supervisor. “Bird migration, breeding, and everything is connected to climate change.”

As birds migrate to feed or breed, rising temperatures and changing moisture patterns are likely to affect where they go, how long they stay, and what pathogens they meet. The VEO group is on particularly high alert for birds that travel through Europe to the Arctic, which is warming faster than any other part of Earth and serves as a mixing pot for many species.

This is awful. 😭💔

Thousands of penguins could be wiped out across Antarctica as the continent braces for the arrival of bird flu, experts fear.

In an exclusive interview with the Telegraph, the head of polar regions for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office warned that the infection, which has killed millions of birds across the globe over the past year, will have deadly consequences once it reaches the region.

“It could be absolutely devastating,” said Dr Jane Rumble, OBE. “We’re saying when, not if.”

Abstract

Wholly Eurasian highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b virus was isolated from 2 free-ranging black bears with meningoencephalitis in Quebec, Canada. We found that isolates from both animals had the D701N mutation in the polymerase basic 2 gene, previously known to promote adaptation of H5N1 viruses to mammal hosts

Three birds found dead in the Galapagos Islands have tested positive for avian influenza (H5N1), according to preliminary results released by the Galapagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) on Tuesday 19 September.

Some 1,800 day-old chicks have been vaccinated against bird flu as a first step in a two-year trial to test the effectiveness of two vaccines but experts say the process could be speeded up.

Over seven million chickens, ducks and turkeys have been killed in the last two years as a result of the spread of the highly contagious bird flu virus, which experts fear has become endemic.

The strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, known as H5N1 has proved to be alarmingly adept at jumping continents and species. First discovered in 1996 in geese bred on a farm in southern China, the virus has rampaged through populations of captive, commercial birds in recent years, prompting governments to order the slaughter of tens of millions of turkeys, chickens and other poultry to limit the opportunity for contagion. One result: higher food prices. Carried by infected wild birds, particularly geese, swans and gulls, the virus has also been gaining a foothold in many types of mammals. That includes a small number of humans, where it has proven to be lethal. Now seemingly able to spread from mammal to mammal — as seen with mink on a Spanish farm and Peruvian sea lions — the ever-evolving virus has public-health officials on alert for any indications of the most feared outcome: human-to-human transmission that could trigger a pandemic.