LINCOLN, Neb. (KMTV) — On Thursday evening, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture announced that the eighth case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), better known as bird flu, has been confirmed in Nebraska.
But this time, the case of the virus does not affect a large commercial operation, meaning fewer birds will be destroyed as a result. The eighth case of HPAI is a small backyard flock of mixed-species birds in Washington County. Yesterday, a case was discovered in a commercial flock of 2.1 million hens in Knox County.
The announcement came as the CDC had an announcement of its own — the first confirmed human case of avian influenza A H5. The individual is located in neighboring Colorado and experienced direct exposure to poultry, as they were an individual responsible in the bird depopulating process. The person has recovered from the H5 virus but is still in isolation as a precaution, though human virus infections of bird flu is still rare.
The CDC stresses that the risk to the general public remains low, but is highly transmissible between birds, regardless of their species. It is naturally occurring in wild birds but can be extremely damaging or deadly to domestic flocks. However, humans can accidentally spread HPAI, such as on shoes, tools or equipment, and the USDA says sharing objects that can be accessed by wild birds or between farms should be prevented to avoid further spread of the bird flu.
In addition to the Washington County flock and the human H5 case in Colorado, a flock of 120 birds in Republic County, Kansas was discovered. The 6.2-mile surveillance zone surrounding the contaminated backyard flock in Kansas extends into Nebraska's own Nuckolls County. Those in or near the control zone should be on high alert for the signs and symptoms of HPAI and notify the NDA as soon as possible if they see dead birds or birds with avian flu symptoms.
The virus is highly transmissible between birds, regardless of their species. It is naturally occurring
in wild birds but can be extremely damaging or deadly to domestic flocks, though the risk of human cases of bird flu is low. However, humans can accidentally spread HPAI, such as on shoes, tools or equipment, and the USDA says sharing objects that can be accessed by wild birds or between farms should be prevented to avoid further spread of the bird flu.
The USDA's bird flu tracker reports that247 cases have been confirmed in the country, leading to a total of 35.5 million birds that been affected by HPAI in 2022. 160 of the cases have been in commercial flocks, while 87 have been discovered in backyard flocks, but the month of April has seen a significant rise in cases in both flock types.
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