Migratory birds are driving up avian flu cases across the country, reviving concerns about U.S. readiness to respond to outbreaks, especially during the government shutdown.
Why it matters: The most immediate concern is how the spread of the disease in commercial poultry flocks could drive up food prices.
- But the virus is continuing to evolve and spill over to other species, fueling fears of human-to-human transmissions and a possible pandemic.
- "It's happening pretty fast and doesn't seem to be slowing down and I'm really very unclear about what the U.S.'s approach is going to be," said Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan.
Driving the news: Influenza was found in 62 commercial and backyard flocks across 17 states in the last month, affecting an estimated 6.6 million birds, according to the USDA.
- Infections have also been identified in dairy cows, cats and other mammals in a half dozen states in recent months.
- Public health officials say the federal response is hampered by staff cuts at both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Agriculture, immigration enforcement on farms and the government shutdown, which has suspended some activities like a weekly call among animal health laboratories.
What they're saying: "At USDA, the cupboard is pretty bare when it comes to human resources," said Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
- He added that funding in the Republican budget law is held up as long as a farm bill isn't passed.
- The CDC flu team is largely intact and can quickly sequence samples from humans suspected to be bird flu, said Demetre Daskalakis, who was director of the agency's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases before he resigned over Trump administration policies this summer.
- "Will they be able to communicate what they found? I don't know the answer, because it sure seems as if CDC ... [officials] don't seem to be in a communication phase in terms of letting scientists interpret what they're finding," Daskalakis said.
Between the lines: The bird flu posed one of the first tests for the Trump administration, creating egg shortages and driving up prices.
- Concern has since grown in public health circles after the administration gutted the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness.
- Meanwhile, vaccination rates for animals have lagged as farmers await shots, Poulsen said. The administration also pulled funding for an mRNA vaccine for bird flu in people.
- Regularly scheduled meetings of experts held under the Biden administration haven't been occurring, authorities tell Axios. And earlier this summer, the CDC announced it was winding down its emergency response.
The shutdown has further complicated matters by, for example, preventing USDA participation in a key meeting of top animal health experts later this week, Poulsen said.
- "We're getting to the point now where we don't have enough good information to make evidence-based decisions, and we don't want to be shooting from the hip when it comes to pathogens like this," he said.
The other side: An HHS spokesperson said Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was taking steps in response to CDC "failing in its core mission."
- "He is reforming the agency to restore its original purpose: protecting Americans from infectious disease," the spokesperson wrote in an email.
- USDA and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. Officials say they're maintaining emergency operations during the shutdown and responding to urgent public health threats.
In February, the administration designated $1 billion toward fighting bird flu, with funding largely aimed at biosecurity audits on farms and financial relief for farmers to curb the pain of rising egg prices.
- The public health community also criticized the Biden administration for a sluggish response and general downplaying of bird flu risks ahead of the presidential election.
The bottom line: While the bird flu is not considered a threat to most Americans yet, it's difficult to respond to bird flu amid shrinking resources and information blackouts.
