March 2025
March 29
IDPH - H5N1 Toolkit
Mirror - Bird flu red flags explained after Government confirmed new UK case - The Government confirmed this week that a single case of bird flu had been identified on a Yorkshire farm
The Logical Indian - India Reports Eight H5N1 Bird Flu Outbreaks in Andhra Pradesh, Over 600,000 Poultry Affected - India reports eight bird flu outbreaks in Andhra Pradesh, prompting massive poultry culling and heightened surveillance.
The Hill - Trump’s response to bird flu could be the defining test of his second term - It’s been five years since the start of a zoonotic COVID-19 pandemic that killed millions of people. Now, the United Nations is urging member governments to take coordinated action to address the “unprecedented” spread of highly pathogenic bird flu— a threat to health, food security, biodiversity and more. The world has reached an inflection point, another chance to do what is needed to prevent a health crisis.
March 28
AAHA - H5N1: A feline case study and expert insights on managing cases in your practice
WATT Poultry - Avian influenza detected in Indiana pullet flock - The state’s animal health board says 23,700 pullets were involved.
Sierra Daily News - New Airboats Boost CDFWs Fight Against Avian Diseases
NDSU - Good biosecurity reduces risk of avian influenza in poultry and dairy
IDPH - H5N1 Information for Animal Control Agencies - In Illinois, there have been detections of avian influenza H5N1 in poultry, wild birds, an opossum, and zoologic animals. In other states, avian influenza H5N1 has been found in these species as well as in dairy cattle, domestic cats, and other wild mammals. Illinois animal control agencies need to be aware of the risk of avian influenza H5N1 in the animals they work with and take steps to mitigate this risk to their clients and staff during this time of heightened viral transmission.
My Twin Tiers - NYS DEC urges caution, not panic, as Bird Flu continues to spread across the state
March 25
NBC News - How much eggs cost every year since 1980 — in one chart - Egg prices are once again top of mind for many Americans — and it's easy to see why. Even after a recent drop in wholesale costs, retail egg prices remain near historic highs, averaging about $6 per dozen — roughly double what people paid a year ago. It's the most Americans have paid for eggs in decades, according to a CNBC analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
While egg prices were relatively stable from the 1980s through the early 2010s, the past decade has seen three major spikes, all triggered by outbreaks of avian influenza that have been more deadly than in the past.
The virus, which spreads rapidly through commercial flocks, has forced producers to cull tens of millions of egg-laying hens, creating sudden supply shocks that drive up prices. But the current surge stands out — not just for its severity, but its staying power. In New York, the price of a dozen large eggs fell from a peak of $8.53 in late February to $3.93 as of March 21, according to the USDA. The New York wholesale price is a common industry benchmark.
March 24
News 4 KTIV - Bird flu in SD: Millions of birds dead, worry shifts to humans -As bird flu ravages poultry farms across the country – including in South Dakota – fears are growing that the highly contagious avian influenza virus could mutate and begin to spread widely among the world’s human population. The virus already has caused devastating effects in the state, which has seen the second-highest number of outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks in the nation. The 114 commercial outbreaks in South Dakota, along with another 26 backyard flock infections, have led to the death or intentional killing of more than 6 million turkeys, chickens and other birds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Many of the outbreaks in the state, the latest coming in January, have been at turkey farms operated by Hutterite colonies in the eastern half of the state, including at the Oaklane Hutterite Colony near Bridgewater.
“We’re afraid this virus could cause a human pandemic because humans have very little immunity against this particular avian flu virus,” Scott Hensley, a leading bird flu researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a Januaryvideo presentation. “The problem is that flu viruses acquire mutations all the time. And we know that the virus is only one or two mutations away from being able to cause severe disease in humans.”
The current risk to humans, especially those outside the agriculture industry, remains “very low,” according to the CDC. So far, the bird flu virus has not been found to bind well to human cells or take hold in the human respiratory system. But the virus has already shown a ready ability to mutate, not unlike how the Influenza A and B and COVID-19 viruses show slight mutations each year. Bird flu can be spread through direct contact, by breathing airborne particles or through shared water sources.
The spread of infection from wild migrating birds to captive poultry flocks, and the subsequent mutations from birds to bovines and now cats is a cause for alarm, said Todd Tetrow, the director of veterinary services at Dakota Provisions, a large turkey processing company in Huron.
“It can jump species, so anytime there’s virus out there, and other species can be exposed, it can sure jump,” Tetrow told News Watch. “Anytime it jumps into a new species, there’s more concern and thoughts that this thing is getting to where it’s scary for humans.”
March 23
MSNBC - Bird flu has become ‘financially and psychologically devastating’ to farmers - Since 2022, more than 150 million birds have been affected by avian influenza, ravaging flocks and impacting the availability of eggs. NBC News national reporter Suzy Khimm joins Alex Witt to report on the latest developments around the outbreak, including fresh worries brought on by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
March 21
Bloomberg - US Sounds Out Italy Egg Producers Amid Shortages in Easter Runup
Bloomberg - What Happened When the Trump Administration Ordered a CDC Blackout - Documents obtained by FOIA Files reveal the chaotic turn of events at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the Trump administration ordered the agency to stop communicating with the public. On Jan. 21, a day after President Donald Trump took office, his administration directed HHS and its subordinate agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to immediately “pause” all external communications. The pause was supposed to be lifted on Feb. 1, according to memos and emails. The CDC was also prohibited from publicly sharing any information about their work responding to the bird flu. Just a few weeks earlier, the Louisiana Department of Health reported the first US death from the virus.
The bird flu’s response team was told that if there are “documents or communications that may affect critical health, safety, environmental, financial or national security functions of the department, there is a mechanism by which it can be reviewed.” But, agency officials noted in another email, “the bar for exceptions is very high, as they must be sent up to HHS for approval.”
NBC9 News Colorado - 11 Colorado cats sickened with bird flu: The Colorado Department of Agriculture said domestic cats appear to be highly susceptible to the illness - State officials issued a warning to pet owners after the most recent strain of bird flu was found in nearly a dozen Colorado cats. The Colorado Department of Agriculture said in a Facebook post that the state has detected Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in 11 domestic cats, including both indoor-only and indoor-outdoor cats. Only one cat survived.
March 20
The Verge - We’ve entered a forever war with bird flu - The threat of an H5N1 pandemic is here to stay.
The Atlantic -The Bird-Flu Tipping Point - If and when it happens, we might not know until it’s too late.
The Guardian - US agriculture department announces $100m in funding for bird flu vaccine research
March 19
Fox News -New outbreak of deadly bird flu strain confirmed for first time in 8 years
March 18
New York Times - [Kennedy’s Alarming Prescription for Bird Flu on Poultry Farms]
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/18/health/kennedy-bird-flu.html
The health secretary has suggested allowing the virus to spread, so as to identify birds that may be immune. Such an experiment would be disastrous, scientists say. - Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation’s top health official, has an unorthodox idea for tackling the bird flu bedeviling U.S. poultry farms. Let the virus rip. Instead of culling birds when the infection is discovered, farmers “should consider maybe the possibility of letting it run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds, that are immune to it,” Mr. Kennedy said recently on Fox News. He has repeated the idea in other interviews on the channel. Mr. Kennedy does not have jurisdiction over farms. But Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, also has voiced support for the notion. “There are some farmers that are out there that are willing to really try this on a pilot as we build the safe perimeter around them to see if there is a way forward with immunity,” Ms. Rollins told Fox News last month.
The Hill - [H5N1 bird flu spread ‘unprecedented,’ UN agency warns]
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5200682-h5n1-bird-flu-spread-unprecedented-un-agency-warns/
A United Nations food agency warned that the continued spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus is an unprecedented food security risk that requires a coordinated global response. In a briefing held on March 17, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations cited the loss of hundreds of millions of poultry around the world and the increasing spillover into mammals as key concerns stemming from the spread of the H5N1 bird flu. The agency noted a major shift in bird flu’s geographic spread in the past four years, with at least 300 newly affected wild bird species since 2021. Calling the spread unprecedented, FAO Deputy Director-General Godfrey Magwenzi said the disease was “leading to serious impacts on food security and food supply in countries, including loss of valuable nutrition, rural jobs and income, shocks to local economies, and of course increasing costs to consumers.” FAO Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol called for a coordinated global response, saying, “A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. By working together, we can reduce the impact of avian influenza and protect both animal and human health – locally and globally.”
AP - What to know about the bird flu outbreak in wild birds and what it means for backyard bird feeders- What has been the toll on wild birds? More than 170 species of North American wild birds – including ducks, geese, gulls, owls, eagles and others – have been infected with bird flu. Take precautions around sick or dead wild birds, experts recommend. But you can keep your bird feeder up. Despite the spread in birds and other wild animals, scientists say the threat to the general population is currently low.
University of Delaware - Bird flu battle stations: UD on the frontline of avian influenza - For Georgie Cartanza, the flying V formations migrating overhead are cause for concern. As the University of Delaware Cooperative Extension poultry extension agent, Cartanza knows the odds are high that the wild birds are carrying avian influenza, which, if spread, is a direct threat to millions of broiler chickens raised on the peninsula — a $5 billion industry. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), or bird flu, is an extremely contagious airborne respiratory virus that spreads quickly among birds through nasal and eye secretions and manure droppings. It’s fatal to commercial poultry. “One wild bird dropping contains enough virus to infect 1 million birds,” Cartanza warned growers in a fact sheet. “We cannot control where wild birds defecate, but we can take steps to prevent this virus from entering the houses.”
Bloomberg - First US Outbreak of H7N9 Bird Flu Since 2017 Spurs Health Worry - H7N9, which is separate from the H5N1 strain that has been sweeping through flocks across the US, was detected in a commercial broiler breeder chicken flock in Mississippi, the World Organization of Animal Health said in a Monday alert. The outbreak, confirmed on a Noxubee County farm last week, affected 47,654 birds. The subtype, first found over a decade ago in China, “is of concern because most patients have become severely ill,” though it “does not appear to transmit easily” between people, according to the World Health Organization. Most human infections have occurred after exposure to live poultry or contaminated environments. More than 600 people in China have died of H7N9 since 2013, out of a total 1,568 confirmed infections.
Researchers in Thailand in 2013 indicated that the mortality rate in H7N9 was lower than for the H5N1 strain. But the virus appeared to spread faster, potentially making it more severe were it to mutate. The case in Mississippi was likely caused by wild birds and is a “fully North American” virus, unrelated to the H5N1 strain, the US Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
Newsday -What to know about the bird flu outbreak in wild birds and what it means for backyard bird feeders
March 17
Reuters -US reports first outbreak of deadly H7N9 bird flu since 2017
CNN - As bird flu continues to spread, Trump administration sidelines key pandemic preparedness office
Politico - UN agency warns of ‘unprecedented’ bird flu threat as H5N1 virus jumps to mammals Food and Agriculture Organization warns of “serious impacts” on food production, rural jobs, local economies and prices to consumers.
US News - Bird Flu Virus May Survive Aging Process in Raw Milk Cheese
USA Today - Deadly bird flu strain outbreak reported in US: How easily does it spread?
The Hill - Mississippi reports first outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu strain in US since 2017
Fox 8 News - More cat food recalled due to ‘bird flu’ risk -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is alerting pet owners that more cat food is being recalled because it could be contaminated with bird flu, also known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1. The most recent recall applies to certain lots Savage Cat Food‘s large and small chicken boxes which were sold at retailers in California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington. According to the alert, in February, the company became aware of one cat in Colorado who contracted H5N1, got sick, and recovered. The product in question was removed from the market while testing took place. Then, on March 13, Savage Pet was made aware of an additional case in New York where a kitten contracted avian flu.
March 16
News 12 - Bird flu and cats: New Jersey vets warn of potential virus spread
Fox 29 - Bird flu detected in Philadelphia live poultry market: USDA
March 15
NY Post - Brooklyn kitten ID’d as second NYC avian flu victim after contracting virus from another cat
AMNY - Bird flu: Two NYC cats die in cases linked to raw cat food product
LA Times - Bird flu mutation associated with increased disease severity found in two cats
March 14
Scientific American - How to Protect Pets and Backyard Chickens from Bird Flu
Patch - Bird Flu Suspected In Birds' Deaths Near Mill Pond: Report
WHYY - New Jersey remains vigilant about bird flu amid growing number of cases
Pest Control Technology - Understanding Rodents and Bird Flu - The recent USDA report about four black rats testing positive for bird flu in Riverside County, Calif., has raised questions in the pest control industry.
March 13
CBS 8 - First cases of California residents with bird flu traced to Central Valley
WBAL TV - 7th bird flu case reported in Maryland; here's what officials recommend to keep flocks safe
SCIENCE.ORG -Deadly avian flu strain is spreading rapidly in Antarctica
Bloomberg - EU Egg Prices Soar to Highest in Over a Decade as Bird Flu Hits
TAPinto -Westfield Regional Health Department Warns of Bird Flu in Cats
March 12
Bloomberg - Health Secretary RFK Jr. Calls for Intensive Testing of Bird Flu Drugs on Poultry
Patch - Westchester Park To Reopen Wednesday After Bird Flu Decontamination
Independent - Trump’s team wants vaccines to stop bird flu. RFK Jr. says it could turn ‘flocks into mutation factories’
Forbes - Egg Prices: 10% Jump Last Month Amid Bird Flu Outbreak—Here’s What To Know
Bloomberg - Egg Prices Set to Ease as Shoppers Give Up After 60% Surge - Prices rose 10% in February but have declined in recent weeks, Consumer demand weakens after eggs soared to a record.
LA Times - Bird flu-infected San Bernardino County dairy cows may have concerning new mutation
March 11
Fox News - Interview with HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy
New Scientist - H5N1 flu is now killing birds on the continent of Antarctica
March 10
Bloomberg - Brazil to Nearly Double Egg Exports as US Reels From Shortages
University of Minnesota - Many US parents feel uninformed about avian flu risks, survey finds
CBS News - In bird flu fight, Agriculture Department almost doubling the $1.1 billion already spent
Guardian -What is bird flu, and should you be worried about it?
Drug Topics - Experts Warn Public to Prepare for Potential Bird Flu Pandemic
Detroit News - Two domestic cats infected with H5N1 virus in Michigan
March 9
NBC News - Your questions about bird flu, answered
Farm Bureau Georgia GFB News Magazine - Avian Flu Found In Georgia Commercial Flocks - Two commercial poultry farms in Elbert County located about 210 yards apart tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in January. One farm had broiler breeders that produce fertilized eggs incubated at a hatchery to supply broilers and the other grew broilers, chickens raised for meat, the Georgia Department of Agriculture reported. The Georgia Poultry Laboratory Network (GPLN) confirmed Jan. 16 that the first farm had HPAI after the producer noticed his flock showing clinical signs of avian flu on Jan. 15. On Jan. 17, the GPLN found samples collected from the second poultry farm in routine pre-movement testing were positive for HPAI. No other cases were found in commercial flocks, and by March 4, Georgia regained its HPAI-free status from the World Organization for Animal Health. This designation allows Georgia poultry products to resume being exported. On Feb. 10, the GDA lifted the suspension it placed in January on poultry activities in Georgia involving live birds including sales at auctions, flea & livestock markets, swaps and exhibitions.
March 8
Bloomberg - Justice Department Opens Antitrust Probe Into Egg Price Spike
March 7
WGRZ - More bird flu testing pushed as egg prices keep climbing
Harvard Medical School -Are We on the Cusp of a Major Bird Flu Outbreak?
My Central Jersey - Four more NJ cats test positive for bird flu. Here's what we know
March 6
nbc4i - Governor Mike DeWine to address bird flu concerns in Ohio
wunc.org - A poultry disease expert at NC State explains bird flu
Cepi - The world should prepare now for a potential H5N1 flu pandemic, experts warn
CBS News - RFK Jr. warns vaccinating poultry for bird flu could backfire
Sci Tech Daily -Revolutionary Bird Flu Sensor Detects H5N1 in Minutes
ABC 7 NY - Dozens of birds infected by bird flu at NYC poultry market
March 5
Scientific American - The Latest on Egg Prices and a Bird Flu Vaccine in Jeopardy
Fox 8 - Geese found dead at Wade Lagoon, believed to have bird flu: ODNR
NY Post - Hundreds of birds in NYC infected by bird flu after poultry markets allowed to reopen
March 4
my central jersey - First NJ deadly bird flu case in feral cat found in Hunterdon County - The first feline case of the bird flu in New Jersey has been confirmed in a feral cat in Hunterdon County, according to the New Jersey Department of Health.
The case was confirmed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory, and follows previous reports of confirmed feline cases in other states. The state has not disclosed the municipality where the cat was found.
The cat developed severe disease, including neurologic signs, and was humanely euthanized, according to the state Health Department.
Other cats on the same property were also reported ill, and one indoor-outdoor cat was subsequently confirmed positive for the disease.
NYTimes.com - Wild Coast Raw Food for Cats Is Recalled Over Bird Flu Risk
TheGuardian.com - $5 a dozen: major egg companies may be using avian flu to hike US prices, new report finds
independent.co.uk -Cat food recalled due to possible bird flu contamination
www.stlpr.org - WashU engineers make microwave-size bird flu detector amid outbreak
wgntv.com -Bald eagle with suspected bird flu dies in Northwest Indiana
March 3
