CSU veterinarian talks with Science Friday about unprecedented avian flu outbreak
The June 16 episode of Science Friday included a discussion on avian influenza, which has been circulating for decades among wild birds. But the U.S. is now experiencing the worst outbreak in its history.
The highly pathogenic avian influenza has left around 60 million birds — mostly poultry — dead. This has implications for many people, including backyard chicken owners, egg lovers or those concerned about yet another threat to public health.
In this live call-in, host Ira Flatow talked with Ashleigh Blackford, the California Condor Coordinator at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service about the initiative to vaccinate California condors — the first of its kind to vaccinate any bird.
Flatow also explored what this outbreak means for other wildlife, poultry and for humans.
He spoke with Dr. Kristy Pabilonia, professor and director of the Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratories at Colorado State University, and Dr. Richard Webby, director of the WHO’s Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals and Birds and a researcher at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
Pabilonia said this is the largest outbreak the U.S. has seen, affecting 325 commercial flocks and 511 backyard flocks. A similar outbreak occurred in 2014 and 2015, but that outbreak was mostly detected in commercial poultry. States and the USDA were able to respond and eradicate the virus at that time, Pabilonia said.
Listen to the entire episode or read the transcript on the Science Friday site. The episodes are also available on SoundCloud.
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