More than 15 million chickens and turkeys from infected commercial and backyard flocks in 19 states have been killed, officials said.From Wyoming to Maine, an outbreak of the highly contagious bird flu has swept across farms and backyard flocks in the United States this year, prompting millions of chickens and turkeys to be culled.Iowa has been particularly hard hit, with disasters being declared in some counties and the state canceling live bird exhibits in an order that may affect its famed state fair.Here is what we know about the bird flu.What is avian influenza?Better known as the bird flu, avian influenza is a highly contagious and deadly virus that can prey on chickens, turkeys and wild birds, including ducks and geese. It spreads via nasal secretions, saliva and fecal droppings, which experts say makes it difficult to contain.Symptoms of the virus include a sudden increase in the mortality of a flock, a drop in egg production and diminished consumption of feed and water.The virus, Eurasian H5N1, is closely related to an Asian strain that has infected hundreds of people since 2003, mostly those who had worked with infected poultry. Its prevalence in the United States is not unexpected, with outbreaks previously reported in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.Should humans be worried about being infected?The risk to humans is very low, said Ron Kean, a faculty associate and extension specialist in the University of Wisconsin at Madison department of animal and dairy sciences.“It’s not impossible for humans to get this virus, but it’s been pretty rare,” Professor Kean said.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had been monitoring people in the United States who were exposed to infected poultry and other birds. So far, no cases of H5N1 infection have been found among them, the C.D.C. said.Is it safe to eat poultry and eggs?Yes, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has said that properly prepared and cooked poultry and eggs should not pose a risk to consumers.The chance of infected poultry entering the food chain is “extremely low,” the agency has said. Under federal guidelines, the Food Safety and Inspection Service, part of the U.S.D.A., is responsible for inspecting all poultry sold in interstate and foreign commerce. Inspectors are required to be present at all times during the slaughtering process, according to the service, which noted that the inspectors have unfettered access to those facilities.Egg-production facilities that are subject to federal regulation are required to undergo daily inspections once per shift, according to the inspection service. State inspection programs, which inspect poultry products sold only within the state they were produced, are additionally monitored by the U.S.D.A.Because of the mandated culling of infected flocks, experts say, the virus is primarily an animal health issue at this time.Still, the U.S.D.A. recommends cooking poultry to an internal temperature of 165 Fahrenheit to reduce the potential for food-borne illness.Can I expect to pay more for poultry products?Egg prices soared when an outbreak ravaged the United States in 2014 and 2015. Recently, the average price of premium large white eggs has been “trending sharply higher,” according to a March 25 national retail report released by the U.S.D.A. If infections course through more flocks, experts said, there could be some shortages of eggs. Prices for white and dark chicken meat were also rising, according to the U.S.D.A. Experts also warned that turkey prices could also become more volatile.How is the virus detected?Testing for the avian flu typically involves swabbing the mouths and tracheal area of chickens and turkeys. The samples are sent to diagnostic labs to be analyzed.Outbreaks have been detected in more than a dozen states.As of March 31, the highly pathogenic form of the avian flu had been detected in 19 states, a tracking page maintained by the U.S.D.A. showed.The combined number of birds in the infected flocks — the commercial and backyard type — totaled more than 17 million, according to the agency. A spokesman for the U.S.D.A. confirmed that those birds would be required to be euthanized to prevent the spread of the virus.An commercial egg production facility in Buena Vista County, Iowa, constituted the largest infected flock and was made up of more than 5.3 million chickens, the U.S.D.A. said.A producer of eggs in Jefferson County, Wis., was next on the list, with more than 2.7 million chickens. A commercial poultry flock in New Castle County, Del., was the third-largest infected flock, with more than 1.1 million chickens.How do these outbreaks compare to previous ones?The outbreak in 2014 and 2015 in the United States was blamed for $3 billion in losses to the agricultural sector and was considered to be the most destructive in the nation’s history. Nearly 50 million birds died, either from the virus or from having to be culled, a majority of them in Iowa or Minnesota.The footprint of the current outbreak, extending from the Midwest and Plains to northern New England, has raised concerns.“I think we’re certainly seeing more geographic spread than what we saw with 2014-2015,” said Dr. Andrew Bowman, associate professor at Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.What can be done to stop the spread of the virus?As early as last year, the U.S.D.A. warned of the likelihood of an outbreak of the avian flu and emphasized a hardening of “biosecurity” measures to protect flocks of chickens and turkeys.Biosecurity measures include limiting access to the flocks and requiring farm workers to practice strict hygiene measures like wearing disposable boots and coveralls. Sharing of farm equipment, experts say, can contribute to spreading the virus. So can farm workers having contact with wild birds, including when hunting.“Whether that’s limiting access where we source feed and water, even truck routes, how do we try to limit those connections that might spread pathogens between flocks are all really important,” Dr. Bowman said. “At this point, every person producing poultry has to be considering how to improve their biosecurity.”Is it necessary to kill millions of chickens and turkeys?Infected birds can experience complete paralysis, swelling around the eyes and twisting of the head and neck, according to the U.S.D.A. The virus is so contagious, experts say, that there is little choice but to cull infected flocks.Methods include spraying chickens and turkeys with a foam that causes asphyxiation. In other cases, carbon dioxide is used to kill the birds, whose carcasses are often composted or placed in a landfill.“It’s arguably more humane than letting them die from the virus,” Professor Kean said.

AdvertisementContinue reading the main storySupported byContinue reading the main storyDoctors Are Investigated After Posting Organ Photos Online as ‘Price Is Right’ GameThe medical residents, who are employed by Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., asked people on Instagram to guess how much a surgically removed organ weighed.Medical residents in Grand Rapids, Mich., posted photos on Instagram showing themselves posing with tissue and organs that were removed during an operation.Credit…Wood TV8March 15, 2021, 9:10 a.m. ETA health care network in Michigan said it had opened an investigation after some operating room doctors posted photos on social media last week showing themselves holding a surgically removed organ and tissue material as part of a game that they likened to “The Price Is Right.”The doctors, who are employed as medical residents by Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich., and specialize in obstetrics and gynecology, asked people to guess how much an unidentified organ weighed, according to one of the Instagram posts obtained by the NBC affiliate WOOD-TV.The station said it blurred part of the image in that post so that people could not tell what type of organ was shown in the post, which was shared publicly.The posts appeared to show at least one patient in the background, the television station reported. They were taken down shortly after the station contacted the medical residents on Friday.“The other game we play in the OR is guess that weight,” the post said. “It applies to much more than just babies. As always, ‘Price is Right’ rules apply so if you go over then you’re out!”The doctor was referring to the television game show’s longstanding rule in which contestants who overestimate the value of a prize are disqualified.Spectrum Health, which operates 14 hospitals in Western Michigan, three of which are in Grand Rapids, said in a statement on Sunday night that patient confidentiality was paramount.“We were shocked and dismayed when we learned that surgical images were posted on an Instagram account not officially connected to Spectrum Health that was used by a group of medical residents,” the statement said. “This unacceptable behavior does not in any way reflect our organization, the outstanding professionalism of our medical staff or our resident physicians-in-training.”It was not immediately clear which hospital or how many doctors were involved in the episode. None of the doctors who were involved have been identified. The Instagram handle used by the medical residents was @grandrapids_obgyn_residency.“We are actively and comprehensively investigating this unfortunate incident,” Spectrum Health said. “These posts do not follow our code of excellence, our values or our expectations for team member behavior. We deeply value the trust that our patients have in us, and we work to strengthen this bond every day.”In another photo that was shared publicly on Instagram by the medical residents, a doctor can be seen pointing to a strand of tissue after a patient had an operation to remove uterine fibroids, which are usually benign tumors but can hide a dangerous type of cancer.The doctor had just completed a procedure known as morcellation, in which a surgeon typically uses a tool with a spinning blade that slices tissue so it can be extracted through small incisions. The technique has been the subject of an intense medical debate: Some say it can spread cancer, while others say the procedure is less invasive than alternatives.The doctor wrote that medical residents could be a little competitive when the attending physician challenged them in morcellation, the station reported.“Longest one wins!” the station quoted the post as saying. “Good work.”Arthur Caplan, a professor of medical ethics at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine, said in an interview on Sunday that the social media posts could be grounds for serious disciplinary action against the doctors, possibly resulting in loss of license.“It certainly is a serious breach of ethics,” he said. “There’s absolutely no excuse for turning something that should be serious and treated with respect into a kind of silly carnival.”Many patients consider tissue or organs that have been surgically removed to still be part of themselves, especially female reproductive organs, Dr. Caplan said. Posting a photo featuring a patient partly visible in an operating room, he said, crossed a line.“We try to explain that a key aspect of professionalism is always respect for the patient and understanding that patients have a strong feeling about their bodies and intimacy,” he said.At least one person complained about the Instagram posts before they were removed.“And do you think the patient would appreciate you posting this?” the television station quoted the person as saying in a comment below the organ photo. “Did she agree for her body to be displayed on social media as a part of your ‘game’?”AdvertisementContinue reading the main story