Pinal County, AZ - Credit Wikipedia
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Until this week Arizona had been one of the few states (see map below) to avoid outbreaks of HPAI H5N1 in commercial poultry (or livestock) since the virus arrived in North America 3 years ago.
The H5 virus has been detected in Arizona among 2 small non-commercial flocks in 2022, and nearly 80 times in wild birds (including among the endangered California Condor), and once in a wild mammal (Albert's squirrel).
But their lucky streak for commercial poultry producers in Arizona ended this week with the discovery of the virus at a large egg-producing facility in Pinal County (which lies south Phoenix and north of Tucson).
This press release from the Arizona Department of Agriculture.
With > 50 human infections over the past 8 months, its successful leap to livestock (cattle, alpacas, goats, and even pigs) this year, and the virus showing up last week in Hawaii, it's fair to say that HPAI H5 is on a bit of a roll.
Complicating matters, this year we are dealing with at least 3 new H5 genotypes (B3.13 aka `bovine strain', D1.1 which has infected > a dozen people working with poultry in the Pacific Northwest, and D1.2 which has infected poultry and at least 2 pigs in Oregon).
While state and federal agencies continue to say the risks are `low' for the general public, no one truly knows where this virus will go from here. With luck, it will remain mild and poorly transmissible, or better yet, burn itself out.
But luck is not a plan, and the virus's current momentum shows no signs of slowing. In fact, we are seeing quite the opposite.
While it is currently the Western states (Washington, Oregon, California, Utah, and Arizona) that are being hit by this year's influx of migratory birds carrying the virus, that threat will likely begin to shift eastward over the weeks and months ahead.
Which is why all flock owners (large and small) need to increase their biosecurity (see USDA's Defend the Flock).
And while the risks to the public are still considered low by most public health authorities, the CDC and the WHO have issued advice to the public on how best to avoid infection with HPAI.
CDC Updated Advice To The Public On HPAI H5N1
Meanwhile, H5N1 marches on.
