China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs says an H5N1 bird flu outbreak occurred near the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. So far more than 18,000 birds have been culled. Iowa Poultry Association CEO and Executive Director Kevin Stiles says with this case they’re concerned about the pattern of migratory birds, rather than travelers who may have been in the outbreak area.
He says Iowa’s poultry producers are more prepared now for a potential avian influenza outbreak than they were in the past.
Stiles says this latest Chinese bird flu outbreak was the H5NI strain, which is more highly pathogenic than other types.
The World Health Organization calls H5N1, a type of influenza virus that causes a highly infectious, severe respiratory disease in birds. Human cases of H5N1 avian influenza occur occasionally but it is difficult to transmit the infection from person to person.
