The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the United States is now the longest and deadliest on record. Over 57 million birds have died or been culled by the virus over the past year, and this deadly disruption has sent egg prices skyrocketing and egg smuggling soaring.
Since highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5N1) was first detected in U.S. birds in January 2022, the price of a carton of a dozen eggs has dropped from an average of about $1.79 in December 2021. It will jump to $4.25 in December 2022. That’s a 137% increase, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Inflation and supply chain issues account for some of the rise, but eggs showed the biggest increase among specific foods, according to the Consumer Price Index.
And with prices skyrocketing, some people are trying to smuggle illegal cartons across the U.S.-Mexico border, which is prohibited. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told NPR this week that people in El Paso, Texas, are buying eggs in Juarez, Mexico. In it, I tweeted a reminder of the possible consequences of not declaring such produce at the port of entry. Fines up to $10,000.
foul effect
Still, U.S. pain at the grocery store’s dairy aisle may pale in comparison to some of the ravages reaped at poultry farms. HPAI A(H5N1) has been detected in wild birds in all 50 states, with outbreaks reported on poultry farms in 47 states. So far, there have been 731 outbreaks in 371 counties. Late last month, he had two outbreaks in Weekly County, Tennessee, affecting 62,600 chickens.
One year into the outbreak, it is the longest bird flu outbreak on record in the United States. It also killed 57 million birds in 47 states, surpassing the previous record of 50.5 million in 21 states set in 2015, the highest number of bird deaths.
The virus is highly contagious and often fatal to birds, but poses a low risk to humans. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that avian influenza A viruses, also known as avian influenza viruses, do not generally infect humans, but can be transmitted by humans through close or prolonged unprotected contact with infected birds. Once in humans, it is even rarer for viruses to jump from person to person.
In the current outbreak, CDC has tracked more than 5,000 people who have been in contact with infected birds, but has found only one case of bird flu in humans. A reported case in Colorado was from a person who directly handled infected birds and was involved in their disposal. He recovered with mild injuries.
fear of flu
Although the current data are reassuring, virologists and epidemiologists still fear that influenza viruses such as bird flu could mutate and recombine into a potentially pandemic virus that infects humans. A report published in the journal Eurosurveillance on 19 January highlighted this concern. Spanish researchers documented an outbreak of bird flu among farmed mink on the northwest coast last October. The mink was most likely infected via wild seabirds, and there was a simultaneous wave of H5N1 virus infections at the time. During October, more and more minks became ill, suggesting mink-to-mink transmission, and since late October, the entire colony of approximately 52,000 animals has been culled.
In particular, the H5N1 virus that infects mink has a rare mutation that may have allowed its spread to mink. Although avian viruses alone are notable for mammal-to-mammal transmission, mink in particular may act as a virus blender. The authors of the Spanish report said:
Experimental and field evidence has demonstrated that mink is susceptible to and tolerant of both avian and human influenza A viruses, and that this species is an interspecific species among birds, mammals, and humans. It has been theorized that it may act as a potential mixing vessel for infection.
As such, the authors say there is a need to “strengthen a culture of biosafety and biosecurity in this agricultural system and facilitate the implementation of ad-hoc surveillance programs for influenza A virus and other zoonotic pathogens at the global level.” I’m here.
None of the mink farm workers were infected with the H5N1 virus, the authors report. However, they note that the use of face masks has been made mandatory for all mink farm workers in Spain following concerns over the spread of SARS-CoV-2. When detected, workers there took precautions in case they had SARS-CoV-2, including disposable overalls, face shields, twice-daily face mask changes, and frequent hand washing. rice field. October 4.
