COVID-19 has eclipsed all other viruses by far in the last two years, but another has reemerged as a potential new threat in recent weeks – the bird flu.
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The avian flu has swept across the country before, but never at the same time as a global pandemic. Now, reports of the bird flu have been coming out close to the west coast, in Colorado, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have found birds infected with the virus, according to the paper. Once birds are infected, the virus can spread quickly, through feces and "respiratory emissions," the paper wrote, which can then be passed onto humans working with the animals.
While humans typically aren't affected by the virus, transmission can be catastrophic for poultry farms. When a case is detected, all affected animals have to be euthanized and disposed of properly, and the entire site needs to be disinfected, which can months, the paper reported.
Supply chains have already been struggling due to COVID-19 related issues, and an outbreak of bird flu could further disrupt food production.
While no cases of the bird flu have been reported in California yet, migration patterns from other areas could bring infected birds into the state.
In the meantime, the state is reducing the amount of poultry coming in from parts of the country that have seen outbreaks and increased security measures at poultry farms, Steve Lyle, a spokesperson for the California Department of Food and Agriculture told the paper.
"The objective is to ensure we are ready to quickly detect, contain and eliminate (the virus) in domestic poultry, should it arrive in California," Lyle told the paper.
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