Bird Flu Surges Across The U.S. As Scientists Warn of Gaps in Monitoring and Farm Safety

This article was originally published by Patrick Lewis at Natural News. 

• • H5N1 bird flu is spreading aggressively among U.S. poultry, with 66 outbreaks in the past month, killing over 3.5 million turkeys, chickens, and ducks. Migratory birds are spreading the virus, raising fears of further outbreaks beyond central states.

• • Last year saw 70 human H5N1 infections and one death; experts warn more cases are inevitable. The virus persists in the air, milking equipment, and wastewater, putting farm workers at high risk of exposure.

• • Federal monitoring programs have weakened due to staffing cuts, funding shortages, and government shutdowns. Scientists report delayed viral sequencing data and lost coordination between researchers and agencies.

• • Testing of farm workers remains sporadic, despite evidence of asymptomatic infections. Surveys suggest 20 percent of farm workers had symptoms during outbreaks but were never tested.

• • Experts warn that scaling back surveillance is dangerously complacent, risking an undetected outbreak.

As birds migrate south for the winter, they are carrying with them an unwelcome passenger: the H5N1 virus, better known as bird flu. In the past month, 66 poultry flocks across the United States have been hit, leading to the deaths of more than 3.5 million turkeys, chickens and ducks – a sharp increase from the summer months.

According to BrightU.AI‘s Enoch, the H5N1 virus spreads easily when infected wild birds come into contact with commercial or backyard flocks. Experts warn that if the situation is not taken seriously, the fallout could extend far beyond rising egg prices. Last year, the U.S. reported nearly 70 human cases of H5N1 infection, including one death.

“Absolutely, we’re going to see human infections, just like we did a year ago,” said Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University. “Nothing has changed substantially to suggest otherwise.”

Although no new human cases have been confirmed since early this year, researchers say the nation’s ability to track the virus in both animals and people has weakened. Federal surveillance programs and communication networks have been scaled back, leaving scientists in the dark.

“We’re not in a great position for monitoring things,” said Wendy Puryear, a virologist at Tufts University. “I’ve been deep in the weeds since it arrived here in the U.S., and I’m finding myself in a very uncomfortable place.”

Puryear explained that in the past, influenza researchers regularly coordinated with federal health agencies to monitor H5N1 and discuss research priorities. But much of that collaboration has been dismantled or hampered by staffing cuts and early retirements initiated during the Trump administration. “Much of that infrastructure has been either completely closed down or significantly hampered,” she said, adding that some colleagues have been forced to abandon their studies entirely due to a lack of funding.

Dr. Keith Poulsen, who directs the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said data from federally run labs that sequence viral samples have slowed to a trickle, partly because staff shortages at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and pre-approval requirements have created communication barriers. The recent government shutdown has made matters worse, halting meetings among the veterinary labs that form the country’s testing network.

Farm-level risks and gaps in testing raise concerns about human exposure

While the Department of Health and Human Services said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s influenza team remains fully operational, uncertainty persists around testing and farm-level monitoring. A USDA program created under the Biden administration to detect bird flu in dairy milk is still active, but scientists question how much testing is actually being done.

Lakdawala’s research team found that the virus can persist in the air, on milking equipment and even in waste streams used to clean farm facilities—making it extremely difficult to contain. Cows, she explained, are “expelling it in their milk at such high levels,” even when they appear healthy.

So far, there is no evidence that the circulating H5N1 strain has mutated in a way that would make it easily transmissible between humans. But conditions on infected farms pose clear risks to workers who may inhale aerosolized viral particles.

In Minnesota, where roughly two dozen farm outbreaks have been recorded since mid-September, health officials are monitoring about 35 people who were exposed. “What concerns me is continuing to have the resources to respond to it. We’re holding it together right now,” said Karen Martin, an epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Testing of farm workers—who face the highest risk of infection—remains sporadic. While most human cases have been mild, often showing up as eye infections or cold-like symptoms, researchers at the CDC have called for more comprehensive testing to detect asymptomatic cases. One small study last year found signs of past bird flu infection in 7 percent of dairy workers in Michigan and Colorado.

Surveys conducted this fall found that about 20 percent of farm workers in three states reported symptoms while animals on their farms were sick, yet most were never tested. Dr. Nirav Shah, who previously led the federal bird flu response, warned that scaling back surveillance could backfire. “They are banking on the fact that there might not be anything, but that is a dangerous game to play when it comes to something like pandemic influenza,” he said.

Watch this Fox News report on how egg prices, driven upward by bird flu, have impacted American meals.

This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com.