Last week, U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), and Don Davis (D-N.C.), along with their colleagues from the House Agriculture Committee, urged U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to establish a Strategic Initiative within the USDA to combat the spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, commonly known as “bird flu.”
The proposed HPAI Strategic Initiative would be based within the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
“With over 100 million birds affected by HPAI across 48 states since the outbreak began in 2022, nearly 25 percent of these cases have occurred in Iowa, devastating producers, destroying flocks, and impacting entire communities. The financial impact is expected to exceed the $3.3 billion in damages from the previous outbreak in 2014-2015,” said Feenstra. “I’m urging Secretary Vilsack to create an HPAI Strategic Initiative within APHIS to explore enhanced biosecurity measures, potential vaccination efforts, and more efficient methods to destroy infected birds. This proactive approach will save taxpayer dollars and help mitigate, prevent, and respond to future HPAI outbreaks.”
The lawmakers emphasized the need for a new, dynamic approach to tackle this deadly and costly disease, urging the establishment of the HPAI Strategic Initiative within APHIS. They highlighted the importance of engaging with Congress, land-grant universities, dairy and poultry producers, state and federal agencies, and other experts to develop additional goals.
Key research objectives outlined include:
- Advanced biosecurity measures and wild bird deterrents: Developing innovative biosecurity methods to prevent future HPAI outbreaks, including measures to deter wild birds.
- Vaccination: Prioritizing research on vaccine traceability, efficacy, and the development of a cost-effective, mass-use vaccine, ensuring it doesn’t disrupt international trade or harm relationships with trading partners.
- Efficient depopulation methods and bird disposal processes: Identifying more efficient, cost-effective, and humane ways to depopulate infected flocks, aiding producers in responding to future outbreaks.
Federal response to outbreaks
Since 2022, 14 human cases of H5 avian influenza have been reported in the United States. Ten of these cases were linked to exposure to poultry, with reports spanning from April 28, 2022, to July 25, 2024. The remaining four cases were associated with exposure to dairy cows, all occurring between April 1, 2024, and July 3, 2024. These cases have been reported across three states. Notably, nine of the 14 human cases in the U.S. have been confirmed as the H5N1 strain.
On the animal health front, the USDA reports that 191 dairy cow herds across 13 states have confirmed cases of avian influenza A(H5N1), with the number of infected herds continuing to rise. Additionally, the virus has affected 35 commercial flocks and 21 backyard flocks, totaling nearly 18.7 million birds.
A USDA spokesperson reached out to AGDAILY with more information on the agency’s efforts to address outbreaks:
“Since learning of this issue in early 2024, USDA has forged many strategic partnerships across our own agencies, with other federal and state partners, and with researchers all over the country. These collaborative efforts have allowed us to protect farmworkers and farmers, the health and welfare of livestock animals, and reaffirmed the safety of the food supply.
Vaccines for poultry are an important part of our efforts, and we are pursuing their development while keeping in mind that a vaccination strategy would be challenging to implement domestically and would have significant trade ramifications that would affect poultry farmers, and still may not be guaranteed to eliminate the virus. Research into bovine vaccines is promising but is early in the development process. Even as bovine vaccine development continues, we are continuing to emphasize available strategies — including strong biosecurity safeguards — as we leave no stone unturned in the fight against H5N1.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are also reportedly conducting seroprevalence studies among dairy farm workers in Michigan and Colorado to assess potential human exposure. They are also working on antigenic characterization of the virus to inform vaccine development.
»Related: Expert delves into the complexities of HPAI and milk consumption
