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 To date, the virulent H5N2 influenza, which has infected turkeys and
chickens on Midwestern poultry farms, has not affected humans. But
because flu viruses are highly mutable, there is a worry that those
in direct contact with infected birds could fall ill from the
disease.
How severe such human infections could be is not known. But even if
some people become ill, government researchers and public health
experts said, it is highly unlikely the illness could be passed
between humans – in part due to the genetic make-up of this
particular flu strain.
Dr. Alicia Fry, a medical officer in the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention’s influenza division, said that while health
officials are cautiously optimistic that humans will not be
affected, her agency has isolated a pure strain of the H5N2 virus
for potential use in a human vaccine, should one be needed.
Concerns about human health risk have prompted investigators to ramp
up biosecurity measures on infected farms, with some government
staff overseeing the culling of birds wearing full protective body
suits and ventilators.
At the same time, the CDC is also working through legal issues
related to releasing the government’s stockpile of Roche's antiviral
drug Tamiflu to be used for this outbreak, agency officials said.
An estimated 300 people in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and South
Dakota have been told they should take the drug as a precaution,
public health officials told Reuters, but fewer than half of them
have begun doing so.
In South Dakota, all of the infected turkey flocks have been on
farms owned by Hutterites, members of a Christian sect that lives
and farms collectively, and more than 100 workers there have
declined the medical treatment, state officials said.
Elsewhere, workers refusing the drug have said that they do not feel
they are at high risk or want to wait to see if they actually get
the virus before taking medication, agency officials say.
ECONOMIC IMPACT UNKNOWN
The outbreak's rapid escalation is fueling concerns among scientists
that the virus could become permanently entrenched in the nation’s
wild bird population.
And agriculture regulators are trying to assess how severe the
economic impact will be on the nation's poultry industry.
The United States has boosted the number of people it has put into
the field in recent days, from 220 to nearly 365 employees from the
Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS).
The outbreak also could strain the agency’s resources in other ways.
So far, the outbreak has affected more than 7.3 million birds in
U.S. commercial flocks. On Friday, an APHIS official told Reuters
the department has a pool of $84.2 million in funds available for
the outbreak. It is already aware of $60 million in indemnity claims
that will be made by poultry farmers seeking compensation for culled
flocks.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, state officials say the virus is being
discovered on three to four new poultry farms each day.
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HUNT FOR ANSWERS
Iowa, the top U.S. egg-producing state, has seen the largest number
of affected birds to date: The strain was identified in an
egg-laying facility with 3.8 million hens earlier this month.
Wisconsin, which has to cull hundreds of thousands of birds because
of the outbreak, declared a state of emergency last week. Governor
Scott Walker authorized the state's National Guard to help contain
the disease.
Minnesota, which has seen more than 2.6 million birds affected by
the outbreak, soon followed. On Sunday, the National Guard was
called up to deliver water for use in the effort to contain the
rapidly spreading virus.
One question still unanswered is how the virus is entering poultry
barns.
Federal and state researchers are conducting a sweeping research
effort to solve the puzzle, said Michael Osterholm, director of the
Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University
of Minnesota, which is coordinating the study.
One partner in the research is U.S. meat producer Hormel Foods Corp,
whose Jennie-O Turkey Store unit has seen at least 29 suppliers hit
by the outbreak.
Researchers are examining a variety of factors – dust, wind, wild
birds, age of poultry that fall sick and human factors, among others
– at farms that have been infected with the virus, and those that
have not.
TRACKING WORKERS
State health investigators say they move quickly once a farm has
tested positive for the virus.
Michael Schommer, a spokesman for the Minnesota health department,
said state epidemiologists interview everyone working on affected
farms to assess their level of contact with infected birds.
Sara Vetter of Minnesota’s Infectious Disease Laboratory said her
lab has tested 11 individuals who have developed cold symptoms to
see if they might be related to avian flu. None has yet tested
positive.
(Editing by Sue Horton)
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