Re: H7N9 in a broiler breeder flock

On 3/19/2025 8:42 PM, RonO wrote:

On 3/19/2025 6:34 PM, RonO wrote:

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/usda-launches- biosecurity-steps-poultry-producers-adds-details-h7n9-avian
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https://www.aphis.usda.gov/news/program-update/aphis-confirms-h7n9- highly-pathogenic-avian-influenza-hpai-us-flock
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The H7N9 is claimed to be similar to virus known to be circulating in wild birds in North America.  The breeder flock was infected in Mississippi and the infection is not related to the H5N1 B3.13 or D1.1 virus.
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3 more dairy herds in Idaho have been confirmed to be positive for H5N1, but they are not releasing the genotype information.  6 herds since the end of Feb., but there were over 30 confirmed before the last confirmations in Oct. 2024 identified due to California contact tracing.
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https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/AHFSS/Animal_Health/HPAI.html
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California is claiming that 422 herds of the 755 infected are fully recovered.
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Ron Okimoto
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https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/spotlights/h5n1-response-03192025.html
 New CDC update.  The Ohio poultry worker was infected with another H5N1 related to the D1.1 genotype.  It has been designated genotype D1.3 with the same H5N1 virus as an ancestor of both D1.1 and D1.3.  They do not give the genetic make up of the D1.3 genotype.
 The claim 989 dairy herds confirmed infected (probably most infected herds were likely never tested).  Since April 2024 335 commercial poultry flocks and 207 backyard flocks for a total of 90.9 million birds were infected, but they do not state the genotype of the virus involved.   Nearly all the commercial layer flocks that went down during this period accounting for the vast majority of animals were infected with the dairy virus.  A few were found to be infected by the D1.1 genotype.
 They finally have the antibody results for two Michigan Dairy workers infected early in the dairy epidemic.  One was shedding virus and was antibody positive, but the other did not have virus isolated and did not produce neutralizing antibodies.  This is like the 2022 poultry workers infected with H5N1 that did not produce neutralizing antibodies.  This just means that even if we tested all the dairy workers for antibodies we would still miss a lot of them that had been infected.  The Missouri patient and their contact (believed to have been infected at the same time) were only positive for one of the 3 antibody tests.
 They lump all the human cases together as H5N1 and claim the mortality rate is much lower than the 50% for H5N1 infection in Europe and Asia, but the B3.13 virus is a reassorted virus is only half Asian H5N1.  The D1.1 genotype doesn't even have the Asian N1 allele.  So they are claiming only 1 mortality out of 70, but probably only around 10 humans have been infected with the D1.1 genotype 4 have been hospitalized, two had to go on respirators and one died.  They do not tell the public that statistic.
 Ron Okimoto
 

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/avian-influenza-bird-flu/usda-launches-biosecurity-steps-poultry-producers-adds-details-h7n9-avian
The USDA is annoucing a new biosecurity plan, but if they do not have restriction of dairy workers from working on poultry farms they are bound to keep failing until they get the dairy epidemic under control. If California had restricted dairy workers from working on poultry farms they would have not lost over 40% of their commercial layer flocks, Most of that 90 million bird loss would have been avoided across the US.   It doesn't matter if they make houses bird proof and even implement HEPA filters an infected dairy worker will still infect the birds on any farm that they work on.
Ron Okimoto