Axios: Bird Flu Crisis “Entering Troubling New Phase”

Axios reports:

Dozens of newly confirmed cases of avian influenza in wild birds and the first verified U.S. case of a new strain of the virus are raising concern the bird flu crisis may be entering a troubling new phase. The outbreak is intensifying as the Trump administration maintains a pause on most external federal health agency communications, including publication of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a venerable source of scientific reports on public health.

The Department of Agriculture last week confirmed 81 detections of highly pathogenic avian flu in wild birds collected across 24 states between Dec. 29 and Jan. 17. Wild birds can be infected and show no signs of illness, allowing them to spread the virus to new areas and potentially expose domestic poultry. Officials in Pennsylvania and New York have culled thousands of wild geese, as well as commercial poultry flocks, after detecting cases of flu.

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