Bird flu is making headlines as Thanksgiving approaches, with more than 100,000 turkeys being killed in Utah recently after the presence of avian influenza was confirmed there.

The disease is highly pathogenic, and culling flocks is common to prevent the spread of infection.

An update issued on November 22 by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food explained that three turkey farms in Piute County with 107,800 turkeys and a backyard flock with 253 turkeys were confirmed positive, and the strains involved are now being genetically sequenced.

The agency said: “Though the overall risk to public health remains low, HPAI is a serious disease, requiring rapid response, including depopulation of affected flocks as it is highly contagious and fatal to poultry.”

They also advised poultry owners to monitor their flocks for signs of illness and take immediate action if they spot them, while those who work in close contact with any infected birds should take the recommended precautions, which include wearing personal protective equipment.

It’s the second outbreak there in two months; more than 1.85 million birds were affected in Cache County last month. There are currently five Utah poultry farms in quarantine.

In the nation overall, there have been 47 flocks with confirmed infections during the last 30 days, affecting a total of more than 5.21 million birds. Other states where the virus has been reported include Illinois, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, Minnesota and South Dakota.

Avian flu has also been reported in humans, with 55 confirmed cases in U.S. citizens. This is according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who note that the biggest number of infections was recorded in California at 29. Meanwhile, Washington and Colorado have seen 11 and 10 cases respectively, while Michigan has two cases and Texas, Missouri and Oregon each have one.

However, poultry accounted for just 21 of these cases, while 32 of them were attributed to cattle. All of those affected were farm workers, most of whom experienced mild symptoms. In California, one case was confirmed in a child, marking the first report of avian flu in a minor; none of the child’s family members tested positive for it.

According to U.S. Geological Survey officials, avian flu can spread in domestic poultry via clothing, equipment and feed that has been contaminated, in addition to spreading through direct contact with wild birds.

Could bird flu spread to humans and spark a new pandemic?

Virologist Richard Webby, who has studied avian flu viruses since 1997, said there are some concerns the virus could mutate into a human one and then be spread among people.

“Flu viruses make a lot of mutations when they replicate. Every time there’s an infected host, there’s a chance that key mutations will emerge. And … if that happens in the right place where an infected animal was in contact with humans, a human gets infected … that potentially could be the start of something like a pandemic,” he told WHYY.

He also pointed out that H5N1 isn’t the only virus circulating right now in chickens and other types of animals and that “we can’t forget that there are these other threats that … are also causing human infections … and also pose probably just as much, if not more of a pandemic risk, than the H5 does.”

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

KSL.com