Ann Avian influenza An outbreak at a commercial egg facility in Colorado prompted Gov. Jared Polis to declare a disaster emergency on Tuesday, allowing the facility to receive state aid. ABC affiliate Denver 7Officials say 1.78 million chickens will also have to be culled after samples submitted by producers to Colorado State University tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
“why are you [bird flu] “The reason why we have so many influenza cases in Northern Colorado is because of the concentration of livestock in the region, we’re seeing infections in poultry and then cattle,” Dr. Christy Pavilonia, who heads the institute, said in an interview with the outlet. “It’s really devastating because we’re seeing high mortality rates, whether it’s commercial poultry or home-raised chickens. In birds, they’re so sick that they don’t have a chance of surviving the flu, so they usually have to be euthanized.”
Colorado state veterinarians have asked local poultry farmers to submit health reports for their chickens and issued quarantine orders to restrict bird shipments to parts of Weld County where the facilities are located. More than 6 million birds have been reported affected by HPAI since the outbreak began in early 2022, and Pavilonia said cattle in the state have also been affected. The virus has long been unknown to have jumped from birds to mammals. Worried Scientist They warn that these mutations could lead to a COVID-like pandemic.
Avian influenza has affected 145 dairy farms in 12 states, with Colorado leading the nation in the number of reported HPAI outbreaks on dairy farms. United States Department of AgricultureHumans have also been infected with the virus, with a fourth case now reported. Reported last weekIt’s also in Colorado.
Keith Paulson, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, He told Salon earlier this week“We really need to pay attention to this virus. We cannot allow it to remain endemic on our dairy farms.” But it is clear that poultry farms remain vulnerable to HPAI as long as this crisis continues.
