Wildlife Veterinarian Discusses Impacts of Bird Flu

THE HEADLINES SINCE THE CURRENT OUTBREAK STARTED IN 2022. AT THIS POINT, ABOUT 100 MILLION CHICKENS AND TURKEYS HAVE BEEN SLAUGHTERED. BUT IT WAS A FEW RECENT CASES IN HUMANS THAT LAUNCHED IT BACK INTO THE SPOTLIGHT. VETERINARIANS, THOUGH, WARN THAT IT’S SPREADING RAMPANTLY AMONG OTHER ANIMALS, AND THEY SAY THAT IS CAUSE FOR CONCERN. DOCTOR DEBORAH MCCAULEY IS CO-FOUNDER OF THE VETERINARY INITIATIVE FOR ENDANGERED WILDLIFE REVIEW. SHE JOINED ME RECENTLY HERE IN STUDIO AND I ASKED HER ABOUT THE ROLE THAT OTHER ANIMALS, NOT BIRDS, PLAY IN IDENTIFYING THIS OUTBREAK AND HOW THEY COULD BE PART OF A SOLUTION. SO IN TEXAS, THEY FOUND THE COWS WERE HAVING A LOW MILK PRODUCTION AND NOT EATING VERY WELL AND GETTING SICK. BUT THEY ALSO STARTED TO NOTICE. THE VETERINARIAN NOTICED THAT THE CATS IN THE FARM, THERE WAS A LOT LESS CATS. CATS WERE DISAPPEARING. THEY WERE GETTING SICK OR DYING, AND THEY TESTED NOT ONLY THE COWS, BUT THEY TESTED THE CATS. AND BOTH HAD AVIAN INFLUENZA. AND NOW YOU CAN SEE WHAT’S THE BIGGEST CONCERN IS THAT TODAY WE REALLY ARE NOW NOTICING THAT DISEASES AND VIRUSES CAN BE SHARED WITH PEOPLE, DOMESTIC ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE. AS WE’VE SEEN WITH COVID, HOW UNUSUAL IS AVIAN INFLUENZA? WE’VE SEEN IT OVER THE PAST TEN YEARS CIRCULATING IN POULTRY INDUSTRY. BUT AS THIS POPULATION OR VIRUS IS INCREASING, WE’RE SEEING IT MORE IN A HIGHLY PATHOGENIC AVIAN INFLUENZA, WHICH IS NOW SPILLING OVER INTO MAMMAL SPECIES. WHAT’S HIGHLY PATHOGENIC MEAN, EXACTLY? WELL, A VIRUS SHIFTS AND CHANGES, AND SO WE CAN SEE THAT THE VIRUS IS DOING WHAT VIRUSES DO. THEY ADAPT. THEY GET BETTER. AND THIS ONE IN PARTICULAR IS REALLY KEY, WIPING OUT TENS OF MILLIONS OF BIRDS ACROSS THE GLOBE RIGHT NOW. AND IN THE UNITED STATES, WE’VE SEEN 200 MAMMAL SPECIES BEEN TESTED TO HAVE AVIAN INFLUENZA. HOW NERVOUS SHOULD PEOPLE BE WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT DISEASES THAT JUMP FROM, UM, ANIMALS TO HUMANS? I THINK IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE LEARN THE LESSONS OF COVID TO IMPROVE OUR TESTING, PUT MORE RESOURCES INTO UNDERSTANDING CAUSES OF DEATH OF OF WILDLIFE, UNDERSTAND THESE DYNAMICS OF GOING TO PEOPLE OR TO CATS. THE REASON WHY THAT WE ARE ABLE TO EVEN KNOW THAT THESE DISEASE ARE OUT THERE IS BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN STARTING TO IMPROVE OUR TESTING, BUT UNLESS WE PUT MORE RESOURCES INTO THAT TESTING, THEN WE’RE AT A RISK. THE PEOPLE IN THE US WHO HAVE CONTRACT TESTED AVIAN FLU ALL HAD DIRECT CONTACT WITH CATTLE OR POULTRY AND IT’S NOT ABLE TO SPREAD TO HUMANS THROUGH THE AIR. SO FAR, THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL SAYS THE RISK TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS CURRENTLY LOW AND THAT IT’S WORKING CLOSELY WITH