New Plan to Tackle Bird Flu

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins outlined a new strategy to combat the spread of bird flu in an op-ed published in the Wall Street Journal. Rollins said the USDA will invest US$1 billion in the new plan, which will be paid for, at least in part, by Department of Government Efficiency cuts, CNN reported.

The plan includes funding for bird flu vaccines for animals and spending $500 million to help enhance biosecurity measure to keep the virus off farms. New biosecurity measures could include restricting access to farms, increasing sanitation, and improving hygiene. The USDA also will expand a pilot program started under the Biden administration which sends USDA inspectors to assess biosecurity measures on farms.

The World Organization for Animal Health said vaccination may now be a necessary measure to control the spread of bird flu, which has moved from being a seasonal problem to becoming a year-round threat for many species of mammals, including dairy cattle.

Since early 2024, bird flu has infected almost 70 people, including one death in Louisiana last month. This month, two people also have been hospitalized with bird flu in Ohio and Wyoming. Additionally this month, the Central Nevada Health District confirmed a patient was found to have a strain of bird flu called D1.1, as CMM previously reported. The D1.1 strain has a mutation that could make the virus spread more easily in mammals and marks the second strain that has circulated from birds to dairy cows

The three-year bird flu outbreak in U.S. poultry has killed 166 million chickens since 2022, according to USDA data. The virus has also infected nearly 1,000 dairy herds.