LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – When some poultry from across the pond began showing signs of sickness, the United States began banning it for import beginning on Oct. 1. 

France recently decided to vaccinate commercial meat ducks against Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), and due to the increased risk of introducing the disease into the United States, the U.S. has decided to introduce restrictions according to APHIS. 

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A rise in restrictions of live ducks, duck eggs, and unmitigated/untreated duck products from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and subgroup Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)-recognized European Poultry Trade Region, as well as Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Norway occurred after new vaccination requirements were made. 

“Vaccination of poultry against HPAI virus may mask HPAI virus circulating in poultry,” APHIS officials said, “Vaccinated birds may not show signs of HPAI infection, which could lead to the export of infected live animals or virus-contaminated products to the United States.” 

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are two types of Avian influenza A viruses, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) and low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI).  

“Most bird flu viruses are low pathogenic and cause few or no signs of disease in infected wild birds,” the CDC said, “LPAI viruses also cause either no signs of disease or mild disease in chickens and other domestic poultry. In contrast, HPAI viruses can cause severe disease and high mortality in infected poultry yet cause little to no disease signs in certain wild aquatic bird species.” 

In April 2022, the first human case of HPAI virus was reported in the United States, roughly two years after the first cases of HPAI were reported with poultry.  The fall of 2022, the United States also reported its first cases of detections of the virus in other mammals, according to the CDC. 

“The reported signs and symptoms of bird flu virus infections in humans have ranged from no symptoms or mild illness [such as eye redness (conjunctivitis) or mild flu-like upper respiratory symptoms], to severe (such as pneumonia requiring hospitalization) and included fever (temperature of 100ºF [37.8ºC] or greater) or feeling feverish*, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, and shortness of breath or difficulty breathing. Less common signs and symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or seizures,” according to the CDC. 

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The U.S. The Department of Health and Human Services reminds the public that the wild birds that can be affected are waterbirds, like ducks, geese and swans, and shorebirds, like storks.  However, bird flu can spread to wild birds like poultry, such as chickens and turkeys. 

A variant of the HPAI virus have “previously been known to occasionally infect mammals that eat (presumably infected) birds or poultry including, but not limited to, the following: wild or feral animals, such as foxes and seals; stray or domestic animals, such as cats and dogs; and zoo animals, such as tigers and leopards,” according to the CDC. 

“The United States has the strongest avian influenza surveillance program in the world,” according to the USDA affiliate, “Through our ongoing wild bird surveillance program, APHIS collects and tests large numbers of samples from wild birds in the North American flyways.” 

APHIS is currently engaged in discussions with the European Commission about HPAI vaccination programs in the EU.