Bird flu has been wreaking havoc across the globe. While over a dozen farm workers have contracted the virus, the first case of a person contracting the virus without direct contact with infected animals has just occurred.
A Missourian was diagnosed with the H5N1 strain of bird flu late last month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on September 13. The person infected is the first case of bird flu contracted without any direct contact with wild animals, farmed birds, or cows and no consumption of raw dairy products.
The strain that infected this person has been closely related to the one infecting dairy herds in 14 states. While they’re the 14th person in the US reported to have bird flu, the other cases have had direct links to infected animals. The cause of the infection is still under investigation, but experts are concerned about the possible cause of transmission as it deviates from the current pattern. The patient has since recovered after a brief hospitalization.
Currently, people with close or prolonged unprotected exposure to infected animals are at a higher risk of contracting the virus, according to federal agencies. Because bird flu is so infectious, it spreads rapidly throughout bird populations—both wild and farmed. Chickens, turkeys, and ducks on factory farms are highly susceptible due to the cramped, overcrowded conditions they’re forced to endure.
Since 2022, outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza have led to the killing of more than 80 million birds on factory farms in the United States. The spread of H5N1 avian influenza, which has hit Europe and the Americas hard since 2021, has been described as “the largest-ever” continuous outbreak of the disease.
Now more than ever, we need to rethink the way we interact with all animals.
By shifting to more sustainable and kinder practices, such as reducing or eliminating our consumption and use of animals, we can end the largest source of animal cruelty on the planet: factory farming.
But the animals we share this planet with can’t wait. Take action to ban factory farming right now.