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#birdmigrations

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#BackyardPoultry face #BirdFlu risk when migrating #mallards stop to rest

February 24, 2025

Summary:
Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard poultry flocks, according to a new study.

"Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard poultry flocks, according to a Cornell University study.

"The finding, published in Scientific Reports, takes an important step in explaining the transmission dynamics of bird flu, a strain also known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (#HPAI), and could one day inform people with backyard poultry of the best times to take extra precautions to isolate their birds from wild ones.

"The researchers used a computer model to predict infection risk to backyard poultry, resident mallards and overwintering mute swans in Croatia, which serves as a stopover area for both migratory mallards and the swans.

"While #mallards tolerate avian influenza well, it is fatal to #MuteSwans; the dead birds can serve to alert people to the presence of bird flu that is otherwise hard to detect in the wild.

"Though Croatia served as a study system in this paper, the results are relevant to other places, including the #UnitedStates.

"'The virus has jumped independently at different times from wild birds to dairy cows,' said Sebastian Llanos-Soto, a doctoral student in the lab of senior author Renata Ivanek, professor of epidemiology.

"'There is an urgent need to improve our ability to predict the introduction of avian influenza at the wildlife-domestic animal interface and our study contributes to this goal,' Llanos-Soto said.

"In the study, the computer model was informed with migratory data, with migratory mute swans arriving in Croatia between September and November to winter and returning to breeding grounds between February and April.

"Mallards arrive between October and November for a stopover of seven to 28 days before continuing on their migration through the Mediterranean-Black Sea flyway.

"The model simulated the transmission of HPAI in an area considered to be of high risk for introduction into #poultry farms via #waterfowl.

"The model was validated with real-world bird and farm data from the study area.

"The study was funded by the College of Veterinary Medicine; the Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture."

sciencedaily.com/releases/2025
#BirdMigrations #DuckMigrations #HPAINews #HPAI #AvianFlu #AvianInfluenza #USDA #CornellUniversity #Europe #Croatia

ScienceDailyBackyard poultry face bird flu risk when migrating mallards stop to restKnowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard poultry flocks, according to a new study.

New #BirdFlu variant found in #DairyCattle. Can #H5N1 be transmitted to humans? [Apparently, the answer is, "YES!"]

According to the the US Department of Agriculture, this is the first ever detection of this bird flu virus variant in dairy cattle.

by Jonathan Limehouse, February 6, 2025, updated February 7, 2025

"The variant of bird flu that killed a Louisiana resident has now been found in dairy cows. Until now, the human cases of bird flu traced to cattle have been mild, mostly #EyeInfections.

"But the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed that a strain previously found only in #WildBirds has turned up in dairy herds in #Nevada ‒ raising concerns that future human infections could be more serious.

"Bird flu has triggered a nationwide egg shortage and price hikes in recent months, as infected chickens had to be put to death. It has also coursed through dairy farms in 16 states since last March, according to the USDA, reducing milk production. More than 60 #farmworkers on both dairy and poultry farms have been infected since then, all of whom recovered.

"But one Louisiana resident died last month after contracting bird flu from a backyard flock. That person, who was older and chronically ill, but not otherwise identified, was infected with the D.1.1 variant now seen in the Nevada cows. A Canadian teenager hospitalized with bird flu in November was also infected with D.1.1.

"#D11 is common among the #starlings that migrate through #Nevada in the winter and might have carried the virus into the state, the Nevada Department of Agriculture said in a social media post.

"The USDA said it is working with the state department of agriculture to investigate the Nevada outbreak and limit its spread.

"Until last week, all bird flu in dairy herds had been identified as the B3.13 variant, which was believed to have come from wild birds in late 2023 or early 2024."

usatoday.com/story/news/health
#HPAINews #HPAIVariant #B313 #BirdFlu #BirdMigrations #StarlingMigrations #Cattle #HPAI #AvianInfluenza #BirdFlu #USHealth #CDCCensorship

USA TODAY · New bird flu variant found in dairy cattle. Can H5N1 be transmitted to humans?By Jonathan Limehouse