Concern in Southern California: Avian flu is spreading fast
Many fear that the continued spread of the virus will exacerbate the crisis in the supply chain and food prices, with masses of wild fowl and turkeys dying – and others infected making their way south as the migration season begins
Bird flu is hitting Southern California hard, worrying farmers and bird lovers and potentially wreaking further havoc on the supply chain and food prices.
(Photo: Shutterstock)
Already, scores of domestic fowl and turkeys have been euthanized, while thousands of wild birds have died as well, from waterfowl to raptors and eagles. Wildlife experts say they are seeing a wave of dying birds moving south as far as Irvine as fall migration begins, potentially continuing the spread of the virus.
The authorities describe the surge in the scope of the flu as an “unprecedented trade”, as well as the manner of its spread and lethality. In North America alone, an estimated 50 million birds have died as a result of the virus.
In late August, a park in New Jersey had to close its trails to hikers because there were so many dead eagles on the ground. Elsewhere, other animals also become infected and die, such as in Maine – where the death of a seal has been linked to the virus. In Florida, officials believe a dolphin contracted and succumbed to the flu, and across the country the virus has also been detected in skunks and foxes.
The chances of humans becoming infected are very small, but the fact that there has recently been a wider spread among other mammals worries some experts, given that humans are mammals.
But for now, domestic and wild birds are the focus of attention.
“Unfortunately, we’re really just at the beginning” of this avian flu outbreak, said Maurice Pitsky, an associate professor at UC Davis in the Department of Poultry Health and Food Safety Epidemiology at the School of Veterinary Medicine. He noted that millions of birds are just beginning their migration period south from summer feeding grounds in the Arctic, where they have mixed with species from around the world.
(Photo: Shutterstock)
“Some disease models show we’re going to get hit this fall,” he said, adding that it could further disrupt the food supply chain problem, which is already being hit by high corn and soybean prices — the food needed to keep millions of chickens on poultry farms.
“There are a lot of viruses around. And in the Central Valley we have 600,000 waterfowl. In a few months, that number will reach 6 million,” he said.
Bird flu is a well-known virus, but in early 2021 it appeared widely in Europe and wild and domestic birds died en masse. That fall, it appeared in North America and thousands died. Soon, it spread along the east coast of the US, then continued west across the continent.
At the end of last August, the flu appeared in California. First at poultry farms in Ferenzo, where all the birds were euthanized, and then in turkey flocks in Tuolumne and Sacramento counties. Since then, the virus has exploded across much of the country — and has been detected in domestic birds in seven counties and wild birds in 19 counties.
? Did the article interest you?