Avian Influenza Lands in More U.S. States

According to various reporting as of March 14, 2022, there are now 14 states that have reported highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) cases in birds/poultry during 2022.

Over the past week, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas, and Illinois announced their findings.

The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) works closely with state animal health officials on joint incident responses.

State officials quarantine the affected premises, and birds are depopulated to prevent the spread of the disease and do not enter the food system.

According to the U.S. CDC, the recent HPAI detections do not present an immediate public health concern. No human cases of these avian influenza viruses have been detected in the United States. 

The U.S. government does have a 'bird flu' vaccine in inventory and could distribute it if there was an outbreak that spread quickly from person to person.

The U.S. FDA has authorized Seqirus' AUDENZ (Influenza A(H5N1) monovalent vaccine.

However, the FDA says annual flu shots do not protect people from avian influenza infections.

Avian influenza is caused by an influenza type A virus that can infect chickens, turkeys, pheasants, quail, domestic ducks, geese, and guinea fowl and is carried by free-flying waterfowl ducks, geese, and shorebirds.

To learn more, visit www.usda.gov or the USDA search box that filters data by County, State, Date, Flock Type, etc. 

Previous avian influenza news is posted at PrecisionVaccinations.com/avian.

Note: This news post integrated content from various sources and edited for clarity, then published for mobile readers.