Commonground
Senior Moderator
February 26, 2025
Experts said the threat from avian flu is unlikely to dissipate in the near future
Excerpts:
Leaders from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Perelman School of Medicine were in the state Capitol on Wednesday to inform lawmakers about the spread of H5N1 in North America and examine ways that the agricultural community and government entities can work together to better control the spread of avian influenza.
Avian flu threat is ‘unlikely to dissipate’ this year
Dr. Andrew Hoffman, the dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, told state lawmakers that the threat of avian influenza is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
“HPAI has not been stamped out in the United States,” Hoffman told House lawmakers on Wednesday. “Many new confirmed cases in commercial poultry recently in the commonwealth have underscored the urgency of combating this outbreak. Further, the virus appears to have adapted or sustained endemic infection in wildlife populations, making it unlikely to dissipate as a threat in this calendar year or anytime in the foreseeable future.” Hoffman said it would take a collaborative effort from experts in medicine and all levels of government to protect both animals and the public from highly pathogenic avian influenza.
-snip-
Combating the spread of avian influenza
Hoffman said control of H5N1 depends on three key actions: tracking new cases of H5N1 in both animals and humans – along with their origins; monitoring changes to its ability to adapt and spread; and observing virus modifications that may make it more resistant to antiviral medications and vaccines.
“We can’t let up on surveillance,” Hoffman said, adding that Penn is continuing to conduct diagnostic testing and surveillance of domestic and wild birds, and performing risk assessments on the disease’s potential to spread in humans. He added that the university is also doing public outreach and education about food safety and biosecurity measures that can limit the spread.
-snip-
Risk of human infection is ‘actually very low’
... “The humans, the ones that are working closely with infected animals, those are the ones that are high-risk,” he said, noting that H5N1 viruses currently bind well to avian cells, but don’t bind as well to human cells. “But we know that that can change literally overnight, and I think we have to continue to invest in these H5 vaccines that could potentially be used if there’s a human pandemic.”
Federal funding decisions loom over response efforts
...Hensley added that the current uncertainty over the future of federal funds – part of a push to review federal government spending by President Donald Trump’s administration – has researchers worried about losing access to resources to combat the spread of bird flu.
“We’re sweating a little bit,” Hensley told lawmakers on Wednesday. “My center – it’s about $10 million a year we get from federal spending. That goes away next month – guess what? The whole staff’s getting laid off. We don’t have money to pay them. So, doing the surveillance effort, sequencing, doing the basic science studies, trying to understand how mutations affect the ability to infect human cells, developing vaccines – that all goes away. I would be lying to you if I were to tell you that we aren’t all sweating. We’re really nervous to see some of the conversations on the federal level as far as it relates to funding the surveillance effort and vaccine effort.”
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/poli...bird-flu-briefing/403308/?oref=cspa-skybox-hp
Experts said the threat from avian flu is unlikely to dissipate in the near future
Excerpts:
Leaders from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Perelman School of Medicine were in the state Capitol on Wednesday to inform lawmakers about the spread of H5N1 in North America and examine ways that the agricultural community and government entities can work together to better control the spread of avian influenza.
Avian flu threat is ‘unlikely to dissipate’ this year
Dr. Andrew Hoffman, the dean of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine, told state lawmakers that the threat of avian influenza is unlikely to go away anytime soon.
“HPAI has not been stamped out in the United States,” Hoffman told House lawmakers on Wednesday. “Many new confirmed cases in commercial poultry recently in the commonwealth have underscored the urgency of combating this outbreak. Further, the virus appears to have adapted or sustained endemic infection in wildlife populations, making it unlikely to dissipate as a threat in this calendar year or anytime in the foreseeable future.” Hoffman said it would take a collaborative effort from experts in medicine and all levels of government to protect both animals and the public from highly pathogenic avian influenza.
-snip-
Combating the spread of avian influenza
Hoffman said control of H5N1 depends on three key actions: tracking new cases of H5N1 in both animals and humans – along with their origins; monitoring changes to its ability to adapt and spread; and observing virus modifications that may make it more resistant to antiviral medications and vaccines.
“We can’t let up on surveillance,” Hoffman said, adding that Penn is continuing to conduct diagnostic testing and surveillance of domestic and wild birds, and performing risk assessments on the disease’s potential to spread in humans. He added that the university is also doing public outreach and education about food safety and biosecurity measures that can limit the spread.
-snip-
Risk of human infection is ‘actually very low’
... “The humans, the ones that are working closely with infected animals, those are the ones that are high-risk,” he said, noting that H5N1 viruses currently bind well to avian cells, but don’t bind as well to human cells. “But we know that that can change literally overnight, and I think we have to continue to invest in these H5 vaccines that could potentially be used if there’s a human pandemic.”
Federal funding decisions loom over response efforts
...Hensley added that the current uncertainty over the future of federal funds – part of a push to review federal government spending by President Donald Trump’s administration – has researchers worried about losing access to resources to combat the spread of bird flu.
“We’re sweating a little bit,” Hensley told lawmakers on Wednesday. “My center – it’s about $10 million a year we get from federal spending. That goes away next month – guess what? The whole staff’s getting laid off. We don’t have money to pay them. So, doing the surveillance effort, sequencing, doing the basic science studies, trying to understand how mutations affect the ability to infect human cells, developing vaccines – that all goes away. I would be lying to you if I were to tell you that we aren’t all sweating. We’re really nervous to see some of the conversations on the federal level as far as it relates to funding the surveillance effort and vaccine effort.”
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/poli...bird-flu-briefing/403308/?oref=cspa-skybox-hp