Avian Flu: It’s Not Just For The Birds Anymore

The cost of eggs has skyrocketed in recent months, in part due to the rampant spread of avian influenza. This highly communicable disease has been around for a while, but several regions are now in the grips of their first battle against bird flu.

The most notable impact

As its name implies, avian flu is most prevalent among birds. Here are a few stats that will put its impact into perspective:

• 10 South American nations, most notably Peru, are being inundated with cases for the first time.
• Argentina and Uruguay recently declared national health emergencies related to the disease.
• In the United States, a staggering 43 million hens died from bird flu or were preemptively killed last year as the disease spread far and wide.
• This is the worst animal disease in U.S. history and the biggest poultry outbreak ever for several other countries.

Is it a threat to humans?

Bird flu is nothing new, and there have been concerns in the past that it could lead to an epidemic in humans. Since an initial outbreak more than 25 years ago infected 18 people and killed six, there have been nearly 900 confirmed human transmissions with a mortality rate of more than 50%.

Even without directly infecting people, however, the threat of avian flu is serious. It has spread to several other animal species, most likely by eating infected chicken carcasses. Nearly 52,000 minks were killed on a farm in Spain following an outbreak last year.

Experts recommend focusing on vaccinations and biosecurity measures — as well as cutting down on chicken consumption.

Political economist Jan Dutkiewicz offered this analogy: “We would never have a debate about preventing cancer from tobacco products without talking about stopping smoking.”

Chris Agee February 20th, 2023

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