In a recent and much publicized case, infected birds at a Canadian ostrich farm became a global controversy that drove immense traffic to news websites.

“This is a good example of how almost any event can be made into a political wedge issue,” said Timothy Caulfield, a University of Alberta professor and author of numerous books about scientific communication.

“And the discourse around the topic — on social media, in the popular press and by online influencers — leads to further distrust of scientific institutions.”

For much of 2025, about 300 ostriches at a British Columbia farm became the stars of dramatic conflict between the institution determined to cull the flock and the activists, celebrities and billionaires who tried to save the ostriches.

The saga began nearly a year ago, after it was reported that ostriches had died on the farm and the likely cause was H5N1, a deadly form of avian flu.

Shortly after, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency ordered that the remainder of the flock be culled to prevent the further spread of H5N1.

That triggered a months-long legal fight that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. On Nov. 7 the court dismissed an appeal from the ostriches’ owner to prevent the cull. The next day, marksmen representing the CFIA killed all the ostriches on the farm.

That prompted strong reactions in Canada and the United States:

• An American billionaire, John Catsimatidis, held a press conference where he suggested the U.S. government would conduct an investigation into the CFIA and what it did to the ostriches.

• Vandals in Kelowna, B.C., threw eggs at and smeared feces on the local CFIA office.

The highly charged reactions speak to the power of social media and online influencers and how government agencies such as the CFIA struggle to tell their side of the story, said Heidi Tworek, a social scientist at the University of British Columbia.

The powerful backlash from a vocal minority could be a hangover from COVID-19 and public distrust of scientists that unfolded during the pandemic.

“Part of what we’re seeing … in this case were some dynamics we saw in the pandemic,” Tworek said.

One major consequence from the pandemic was a loss of trust in vaccines. Fewer parents are now vaccinating their children against diseases such as measles, prompting a rise in cases and Canada eventually losing its “measles free” status.

A similar fallout might happen because of the ostriches.

More livestock farmers may refuse to comply with CFIA orders because they don’t agree with the agency’s science or its policy of “stamping out” diseases by culling a herd or a flock.

What’s obvious from the ostrich saga is that Canadians know little or nothing about the CFIA and its role, Tworek said.

“In a moment like this, the lack of knowledge about it (the CFIA) opens up a broad space of many interpretations of what it’s doing and why it’s doing (it),” Tworek said.

Fighting back against misinformation is difficult and getting harder, thanks to fake videos and generative AI.

However, organizations such as the CFIA can get ready for the next crisis by producing basic information about their role and the science of food and animal safety, Tworek said.

“What do you do before hand, so you have very clear explanations on your website about what you do, which means explanations that make sense to a layperson.”

It’s a safe bet that Canada will have another disease outbreak in a herd of livestock sometime in the future. Therefore, the livestock industry needs to be ready.

“When there is some sort of epidemic … some sort of politicization is going to happen. Pinpointing the exact instance where it’s going to happen, that’s where it gets difficult.”

The post Ostrich farm case shows power of social media appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

There are 10 premises infected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in B.C. and one in Saskatchewan. The nation estimates 11,099,000 birds are affected, according to the latest data from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. All B.C. cases are in Chilliwack and Abbotsford.

“I think there’s definitely worry and apprehension in the industry, because in the last two years in a row – and this is the third year – the growers have seen HPAI cases around this time,” said Natalie Veles, executive director of British Columbia Turkey.

Why it matters: Avian flu poses a serious risk to Canada’s poultry supply, and migratory birds that land in the Fraser Valley make B.C. farms particularly vulnerable.

Culprits for the new cases are migratory birds, Veles said. Dr. Theresa Burns, B.C.’s chief veterinary officer, agreed. Waterfowl carry avian influenza viruses north to south and they love to rest in standing water in the Fraser Valley, especially during wet years.

“We get large numbers of waterfowl in the Fraser Valley specifically, and they’re shedding the avian influenza virus into the environment,” Burns said.

This particular strain has been infecting farms in the area for three years. Industry groups and the provincial and federal governments have helped producers prepare for and reduce the risk of avian influenza.

“We’ve seen our poultry industry really step up,” Burns said.

Different orders are in place for infected premises under the Animal Health Act. British Columbia Turkey and other poultry groups in the province are working with the CFIA to ensure infected premises are quarantined and quickly managed.

“We’re also sharing a lot of good information as we go through the outbreak,” Veles said. “The industry is handling it the best we can.”

When HPAI is confirmed in poultry through lab testing, the CFIA designates the affected area as an infected premises and places it under quarantine. It may also establish a primary control zone around an infected premises.

Movement of poultry, related products and equipment is restricted within this 10-kilometre radius. Locations of active primary control zones can be viewed on CFIA’s website.

If a flock is located within an active primary control zone, producers must obtain a permit to transport birds, their products or byproducts. Permits apply to both small and commercial flocks.

“We’ve regulated poultry types – broilers, breeders, layers, turkeys, and also on the non-regulated side, with ducks,” Veles said. “And those are the things that we are really trying to work with the CFIA to understand.”

On poultry farms, biosecurity measures include ensuring birds come only from reputable sources and that any sick birds are promptly isolated from the main flock. Introducing new birds should be done sparingly, and newcomers, as well as those returning from exhibitions, should be isolated before integration. Implementing an all-in, all-out movement for flock management is advisable where feasible, the sector has been told.

Good biosecurity protocols require regular cleaning and disinfection of poultry houses, equipment, clothing and footwear used by handlers. A specific area should be designated for cleaning vehicles and equipment. Dead birds and damaged eggs should be promptly disposed of, and plastic crates should be used for bird transport, protocols indicate.

Such protocols also require restricted access for visitors, and measures to prevent other birds, rodents, pets or wildlife from interacting with the flock. Accurate records of people, animals and equipment moving on and off the premises should be kept.

Veles said she hopes that, in working with producers, the CFIA and other groups, they may discover other risk factors that will allow better control of future outbreaks.

“We need to know what those risk factors are to be able to respond better,” she said.

The CFIA is working with the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Food and industry groups to respond to current infections, a spokesperson for the CFIA wrote in an Oct. 30 email.

Around 145,000 birds have been affected by HPIA at the six premises in B.C. All have been humanely killed and disposed of, the CFIA said. Manure, feathers and other material that could spread the disease are disposed of as well, and all premises go through cleaning and disinfection overseen by the CFIA.

“The continued detections of HPAI in both wild and domestic birds in Canada is a strong reminder for anyone raising birds to remain vigilant of HPAI and ensure they have effective biosecurity measures in place,” the spokesperson wrote.

If this year follows the same pattern as the previous two, Burns is hopeful that cases of HPAI will drop off in December.

The post HPAI cases rise in B.C. amid birds migrating south for winter appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Pigs represent a particular concern for the spread of bird flu because they can become co-infected with bird and human viruses, which could swap genes to form a new, more dangerous virus that can more easily infect humans.

The USDA said there is no risk to the nation’s pork supply from the Oregon case and that the risk to the public from bird flu remains low.

Pigs were the source of the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009-2010, and have been implicated as the source of others, said Richard Webby, a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital virologist who studies flu in animals and birds for the World Health Organization.

The finding of the virus in a small farm makes the pig infection less of a concern than if it had been detected in a commercial pig farm, he said.

“I think it probably doesn’t increase the risk much, but surely, if this virus starts transmitting in pigs, that absolutely increases the risk,” he said.

The Oregon farm has been quarantined, and other animals there, including sheep and goats, are under surveillance, USDA said.

Pigs and poultry on the farm were culled to prevent the spread of the virus and enable additional testing of the swine, USDA said. Tests are still pending for two of the pigs, the agency said.

The swine case originated with wild birds and not from a poultry or dairy farm, said a USDA spokesperson. Wild bird migration has carried bird flu to poultry flocks and cattle herds.

The case was one factor that drove the USDA to broaden its bird flu surveillance to include nationwide bulk milk testing, which the agency announced on Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told Reuters in an interview.

“While it’s a different variation of the virus and it is tied to wild birds, it is a factor to make sure that we understand and appreciate exactly where the virus is in dairy and in bovine,” he said.

The pigs on the Oregon farm were not intended for the commercial food supply, USDA said.

Still, the finding pressured lean hog futures prices at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a trader said.

Poultry and swine on the backyard farm shared water sources, housing and equipment, which have all served as pathways for transmitting the virus between animals in other states, the agency said.

The detection is a warning for pig farmers to be on the lookout for further infections, said Marie Culhane, a professor of veterinary population medicine at the University of Minnesota who has researched flu viruses in swine.

“People need to start increasing their plans to deal with it if it should happen in another herd and another herd,” Culhane said. “Pigs are just really good at picking up influenza viruses.”

This year, 36 people have tested positive for bird flu as the virus has spread to nearly 400 dairy herds. All but one of the people were farm workers who had known contact with infected animals.

Since 2022, the virus has wiped out more than 100 million poultry birds in the nation’s worst-ever bird flu outbreak.

—Reporting by Tom Polansek, Leah Douglas and Julie Steenhuysen

The post US detects H5N1 bird flu in a pig for the first time appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Ever since the discovery of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in Texas and Kansas milk in late March, there have been reports of cats getting sick and dying from the flu on infected operations. A similar incident in a southern Ontario dog hearkens back to April 2023.

Although the bird flu has not been reported in dairy herds in Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has some ideas on what to watch for and what to do if you think your dogs or cats have contracted the disease.

Signs of HPAI in mammalian pets include fever, lethargy, conjunctivitis, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, neurological signs (for example, tremors, seizures) and death.

According to the CFIA, animals that hunt, scavenge or otherwise consume infected birds are at risk. For example, cats that go outdoors may hunt and consume an infected bird. Dogs may scavenge dead birds. “If your pet has found a sick or dead bird or other wildlife, report it to your regional avian influenza hotline or the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative,” advises the CFIA.

“While most H5N1 HPAI cases in mammals involve direct contact with infected birds, exposure to heavily contaminated environments such as ponds or other bird congregation areas could also lead to infection.”

Here are some tips from the CFIA to help protect mammalian pets:

• Contact your veterinarian if you have questions or concerns about your pet’s health
• Don’t allow your dog or cat to eat or play with dead wild birds
• Don’t feed your dog or cat any raw meat from poultry, wild or game birds, especially during peak migration seasons
• Keep cats indoors and dogs on a leash to avoid giving them access to potentially infected wild birds or their carcasses

The post Don’t let furry friends fall to bird flu appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The FDA released results from tests of products including sour cream and cottage cheese, after reporting last week that preliminary results from testing showed pasteurization kills the virus in milk and baby formula.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed bird flu in 36 dairy herds in nine states since late March. One Texas dairy worker tested positive for the virus.

The FDA said it has looked at 297 total retail samples of dairy products, and the results released on Wednesday represent tests of a group of 201 of those samples.

“It is a pretty good body of results,” Donald Prater, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said on a call with reporters that also included officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as the USDA.

“There are probably a few more products that we would look at just so that we make sure that we’ve got a good national sample,” Prater added.

CDC official Dr. Demetre Daskalakis said that 25 people had been tested so far for bird flu and that no additional positive cases had been found.

The agency tested a sample of the virus taken from the farm worker who was infected with H5N1 and found that all three commercially available antiviral flu treatments are effective against it. The worker’s only symptom was conjunctivitis, commonly known as pink eye.

Currently approved antiviral drugs include Roche’s Tamiflu as well as a generic versions, GSK’s Relenza and BioCryst Pharmaceuticals’ Rapivab.

The post Bird flu testing shows more dairy products are safe, US FDA says appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Of more immediate concern is evidence the disease, once largely confined to bird species, appears to be spreading between mammals. This strain has already killed a handful of dolphins in Chile and Peru, some 50,000 seals and sea lions along the coasts, and at least half a million birds regionwide.

To confirm mammal-to-mammal transmission, scientists would likely need to test infections in live animals.

“It’s almost certainly happened,” said Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. “It’s pretty hard to explain some of these large infections and die off without having mammal-to-mammal spread.”

The strain has shown up in dozens of bird species, including some migrating species, which can spread it beyond the region, scientists told Reuters.

As climate change escalates, animals will be forced to move into new territories, mixing with one another in new ways and possibly boosting opportunities for the virus to further mutate.

“It’s a matter of time before you will detect the first South American strain in North America,” said Alonzo Alfaro-Nunez, a viral ecologist at University of Copenhagen.

Human risk

The growing concern has prompted the 35 countries in the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to convene regional health experts and officials at a meeting this week in Rio de Janeiro.

The group plans to launch the world’s first regional commission to oversee bird flu monitoring and response efforts, a PAHO official told Reuters. This has not been previously reported.

Since the virus was first detected in Colombia in October 2022, there have been two known cases in humans on the continent, one each in Ecuador and Chile. Both came from exposure to infected birds.

While those patients survived, H5N1 bird flu is deadly to humans in roughly 60 per cent of cases worldwide.

The World Health Organization is unlikely to raise the risk level for humans from the current “low” without evidence of human-to-human transmission or mutations adapted to human receptors, experts said.

Drugmakers, including GSK and Moderna, have said they are developing bird flu vaccines for humans, and have the capacity to produce hundreds of million so doses within months utilizing production lines used for seasonal flu vaccines.

“We’re seeing (the virus) doing little evolutionary steps that are on the long-term moving towards a potential human infection,” said Ralph Vanstreels, a University of California, Davis researcher studying South American variants of H5N1.

Every year, Argentina’s Peninsula Valdes on the windswept Atlantic coast teems with densely packed elephant seals rearing pups.

Last November, Vanstreels came across a grim scene: hundreds of dead and rotting pups on the beach. Researchers estimate 17,400 pups died, nearly all born to the colony that year.

For each of those pups to have been infected by birds is highly unlikely, scientists said. Pups usually have contact only with their mothers, leading scientists to suspect this is how it spread.

Vanstreels is part of a group of scientists working to trace the virus’ genetic mutations in South America.

In a draft paper posted on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, they analyzed samples from sea lions, seals and birds from up the coast from Peninsula Valdes. Comparing the genomes from these samples with those collected in North America in 2022 and Asia earlier, the team identified nine new mutations.

The same mutations were found in samples collected in 2022 and 2023 in Chile and Peru, which were also hit by mass mortality of sea lions and birds.

“This is the first time this virus is so adapted to wildlife,” Vanstreels said. “Clearly something happened in Peru and in northern Chile where they acquired these new mutations.”

In the draft paper, researchers noted that the same mutations were present in one of the continent’s two human cases, a 53-year-old man who lived one block from the seashore where seabirds congregated.

Researchers said that case “highlights the potential threat posed by these viruses to public health.”

Regional response

With health officials and experts meeting in Rio this week, Latin American countries will be pressed to boost disease surveillance in the wild.

The region’s patchy data and limited resources has left scientists struggling to understand how the disease is spreading in the wild, with the number of cases likely much higher than reported. Some cases are not being sampled or lab-tested, scientists said.

Bolivia, for example, did not register a case in the wild last year, though the disease has been detected in surrounding countries, said Manuel Jose Sanchez Vazquez, epidemiology coordinator for PAHO’s veterinary health center.

Managing the disease response can also be complex, Sanchez noted. Threats to humans are dealt with by public health officials, while threats to poultry or livestock fall to agriculture or veterinary authorities. In wild animals, the purview typically falls to environmental officials.

The new regional commission, expected to be announced on Thursday, would aim to set standard protocols for monitoring, handling and reporting cases among various government agencies. It could also help in pooling laboratory resources, Sanchez said.

“We are worried and we are vigilant,” Sanchez said. “The more adaptation of the virus to mammals, the more likely it is that transmission to humans could happen.”

The post Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Canada has booked 322 outbreaks in domestic birds in the past 19 months, of which 31 were detected so far in 2023. Of the 31, just one was detected in May, in a commercial barn in Quebec’s Les Maskoutains regional municipality (RCM) on May 6.

As of Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which oversees quarantines, culls and disinfections at outbreak sites, counts 35 of the 322 as still “infected,” mainly in backyard non-poultry flocks.

Of those remaining 35, eight active sites were in commercial poultry: five at Les Maskoutains, one in Quebec’s Rouville RCM, one at Taber, Alta. and one at Chilliwack, B.C. One other still-active site, near Weyburn, Sask., involved “non-commercial” poultry.

While Canada is not yet free of notifiable avian flu, its decline in active cases and absence of new cases can be seen as positive signs amid North America’s months-long run of outbreaks.

Under the World Organization for Animal Health’s Terrestrial Animal Health Code, WOAH member countries should not impose bans on trade of poultry commodities in response to cases of influenza A viruses in birds “other than poultry.”

In all, as of Friday, Canada has had to cull an estimated 7.668 million domestic birds in nine provinces, both poultry and non-poultry, since its 18-month run of avian flu cases began in Newfoundland in December 2021.

That case, at a “non-poultry” farm on the Avalon Peninsula, had marked Canada’s first high-path avian flu outbreak since 2015.

No domestically-acquired human cases of avian influenza strains have been reported in Canada. However, Canada’s run of outbreaks since late 2021 has seen the virus turn up in multiple wild species, including foxes, seals, dolphins, black bears, wild mink, raccoons, porpoises and skunks. The virus was also confirmed in April to have killed one domestic dog at Oshawa, Ont., after it was seen chewing on a wild goose.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., where 836 domestic and backyard flocks in 47 states have had cases since the start of 2022, leading to culls for an estimated 58.79 million domestic birds, no new cases have been confirmed in domestic birds since May 18. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post Canada books first month in 19 without bird flu outbreak appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

Bird flu chiefly spreads among wild birds such as ducks and gulls and can also infect farmed birds and domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and quails.

Although the viruses largely affect birds, they can spill into bird predators, and in rare cases, humans typically in close contact with infected birds.

A team of scientists from the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research studied hundreds of genes normally expressed by human cells, comparing the genes’ behaviour during infection with either human seasonal viruses or avian flu viruses.

They zeroed in on a gene called BTN3A3, expressed both in the upper and the lower human respiratory tract. Nicknamed B-force by the researchers, the gene was found to block the replication of most strains of bird flu in human cells.

However, the gene’s antiviral activity failed to protect against seasonal human flu viruses.

This gene is part of a broader defensive apparatus in the human immune arsenal against bird viruses.

All the human influenza pandemics, including the 1918-19 global flu pandemic, were caused by influenza viruses that were resistant to BTN3A3, and therefore the gene appears to be a key factor in whether any bird flu strain has human pandemic potential, the researchers said.

To be sure, viruses mutate all the time, and this does not mean that bird flu viruses could not evolve to escape the activity of BTN3A3.

Earlier this year, a new H5N1 strain of bird flu that transmits easily among wild birds explosively spread into new corners of the globe, infecting and killing a variety of mammal species and raising fears of a human pandemic. So far, only a handful of human cases have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

About 50 per cent of H5N1 strains circulating globally so far in 2023 are resistant to BTN3A3, said professor Massimo Palmarini, the corresponding author of the study published in the science journal Nature.

“This is the sort of thing which we should be paying particular attention to as an elevated level of risk,” added Sam Wilson, a co-senior author of the study.

— Natalie Grover is a Reuters health and pharma correspondent in London, England.

The post Scientists isolate human gene able to fend off most bird flu viruses appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it has confirmed cases of the virus detected last Friday in a backyard poultry flock in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, about 80 km west of Windsor, and Tuesday this week in a commercial poultry barn in the township of West Lincoln, about 35 km southeast of Hamilton.

The CFIA set up restricted zones around the affected properties this week on Monday and Thursday respectively.

The Ontario cases were two of just three to have been confirmed in domestic birds in Canada since early February; the third was in a backyard poultry flock in southern Nova Scotia’s Yarmouth County, detected March 4.

Ontario’s Feather Board Command Centre, which monitors disease outbreaks on behalf of the province’s poultry and egg producer groups, said Thursday it will begin hosting weekly Zoom calls for producers and industry personnel starting next Wednesday (March 22).

Meanwhile, the FBCC urged producers and backyard flock owners to keep poultry away from areas frequented by wild birds; keep “strict control” over access to poultry houses and premises; clean and disinfect equipment before taking it into poultry houses; change footwear when entering a CFIA-designated restricted area; not wear contaminated clothes in production areas; and keep dead birds in secure, covered containers until they’re moved to a disposal area or off-farm.

Skunks

As of Wednesday, CFIA has estimated the number of domestic birds impacted by high-path H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in Canada since December 2021 at 7.184 million.

Of those, just over half were in British Columbia, which saw a lengthy run of outbreaks, mainly at commercial barns in the Fraser Valley, between mid-November 2022 and mid-January this year.

While B.C. hasn’t booked any new cases in domestic birds since Jan. 22, provincial officials on Monday did confirm the H5N1 virus in eight dead skunks found in residential areas of Vancouver and Richmond.

The province on Monday advised people who encounter dead skunks in those cities to leave the animals where they are and contact the B.C. Wildlife Health Program at 250-751-7246.

Influenza in skunks is considered to be a low risk to human health, officials said in a release, adding that the animals “may have contracted influenza by scavenging infected wild birds.”

According to CFIA, there’s no evidence to suggest that eating cooked poultry or eggs could transmit high-path avian flu to people.

Canada has seen outbreaks in domestic commercial and backyard birds at 302 premises in nine provinces since high-path H5N1 began its run through North America in late 2021. Of those premises, 231 have since been released from federal quarantine.

In the U.S., officials estimate about 58.62 million domestic birds have been impacted in 799 flocks in 47 states since high-path H5N1 outbreaks began there in early 2022. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported 22 outbreaks so far this month, with the bulk of affected birds at commercial poultry barns in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County.

Further south, authorities in Chile on Monday reported that country’s first outbreak of avian flu in domestic poultry. Argentina reported its first case in poultry on Feb. 28, also after finding cases in wild birds. Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador have also seen cases in commercial barns in recent months. — Glacier FarmMedia Network

The post High-path avian flu pops back up in southern Ontario appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The group of scientists, regulators and vaccine manufacturers meets twice a year to decide which strain of seasonal flu to include in the vaccine for the upcoming winter season, in this case for the Northern Hemisphere.

But it is also a chance to discuss the risk of animal viruses spilling over to humans and causing a pandemic. At this week’s meeting, H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b was a key topic, the World Health Organization (WHO) and global flu experts told Reuters. They will brief reporters on both the seasonal flu vaccine composition and spillover risks later on Friday.

“We are more prepared (than for COVID), but even if we are more prepared, we are not yet prepared enough,” Sylvie Briand, WHO director of global infectious hazard preparedness, said ahead of the meeting. “We need to really continue the efforts for a flu pandemic.”

Experts have been tracking H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b since it emerged in 2020, but recent reports of mass deaths in infected mammals from seals to bears, as well as potential mammal-to-mammal transmission on a Spanish mink farm last year, have raised concern.

However, there have been very few human cases, and the WHO currently assesses the threat to humans as low.

“This is a natural experiment playing out in front of us, and I don’t think we are complacent,” said Nicola Lewis, director of the WHO Collaborating Centre on Influenza at the Crick Institute in London. Speaking before the meeting, she said it would include assessments of the situation worldwide.

Experts also discussed potential vaccine development.

WHO-affiliated labs already hold two flu virus strains that are closely related to the circulating H5N1 virus, which could be used by vaccine manufacturers to create a human vaccine if needed. One of them was added after the previous WHO flu meeting in September 2022, and labs around the world are currently testing how closely both subtypes match the strain spreading among animals to determine whether any more updates are necessary.

A number of companies that produce seasonal flu vaccines can also make pandemic flu vaccines. For example, GSK and CSL Seqirus are already working with the United States Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to test shots based on one of the closely-related strains.

Having these strains ready could save around two months in the development of a vaccine, said the WHO’s Briand. But getting enough vaccine developed quickly would still remain a challenge in a pandemic situation, the experts said.

— Jennifer Rigby is Reuters’ global health correspondent in London, England.

The post Flu experts gather with H5N1 risk on the agenda appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.