US reports first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N9

Online Desk

US animal health officials were conducting "comprehensive epidemiological investigations" and had increased surveillance in response to the outbreak, the WOAH said.

(File Photo | AP)

The US outbreak, whose origin was unknown, was confirmed on January 13 and all 119,000 poultry at the farm in question had been culled. (representational image)

File | Express

Health experts have been sounding the alarm about the potential pandemic threat to humans posed by bird flu, which has been showing signs of mutating as it spreads among cows and infects people in the United States.

Representational image

The emergence of the new strain of bird flu in the US comes at a time when President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw the country from the World Health Organization (WHO). If the US and the WHO no longer cooperate and share critical data, tracking the spread of viruses internationally will be more difficult.

Image used for representational purposes only