The current outbreak of the bird flu is the largest Massachusetts has ever seen. It’s now considered widespread , affecting wild birds, poultry farms and — if you’ve noticed the price of eggs at the grocery store — our economy.
Beyond its impact on farms and wildlife, bird flu raises questions about potential risks to humans and pets. And now, Massachusetts-based Moderna is working on what could be the first bird flu vaccine , adding another layer to this evolving situation.
Dr. Catherine Brown, Massachusetts state epidemiologist, and Ashley Randle, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, joined GBH’s All Things Considered host Arun Rath to break down the avian flu outbreak in Massachusetts and across the country. What follows is a lightly edited transcript.
Arun Rath: Dr. Brown, let’s start with you. Give us a sense of the current situation. When we say that the bird flu is “widespread,” what does that mean, and what’s currently the risk of transmission for the average Massachusetts resident — someone who doesn’t, say, handle livestock?
Dr. Catherine Brown: That’s a great question. When we’re talking about bird flu being “widespread” in Massachusetts right now, what we mean is that it is widespread in wild waterfowl, primarily — so wild ducks and geese are actually kind of the original reservoir species for these viruses.
I don’t want people to misunderstand and think what we mean is that [bird flu] is widespread among people or our pets at this moment. It’s really wild waterfowl.
However, because it is so widespread and being found in several different places across Massachusetts and in different species, there is always the risk that we could see “spillover.” That’s what it’s called when it’s not a human virus — spillover into a person.
Now, to be fair, despite the extent of bird flu in the U.S., there have only been 67 reported human cases , and so even with all of the virus that we’re seeing in wild birds, the risk to humans in Massachusetts remains low.
Rath: We still have not had a human case in Massachusetts. Is that correct?
Brown: That is correct. And I would like to keep it that way, thank you!
Rath: We would all like that. You mentioned very specifically that what we know about the local bird populations: it’s very specifically waterfowl. I want to kind of get that across to people, as well — not, say, feeder birds, or, it’s not widespread across bird populations in general.
Brown: Yeah, I think that’s absolutely fair. Bird flu is actually an influenza virus, right? It’s kind of distantly related to our own flu viruses that we see in people. These viruses tend to spread best between wild waterfowl.
We do see other species of birds that can be impacted — particularly birds that might consume dead birds. So our hawks, owls and eagles who might eat a dead bird that’s been infected with H5N1. But the songbirds — the ones that you put out your bird feeders for — those species do not tend to be impacted by avian flu.
“Even with all of the virus that we’re seeing in wild birds, the risk to humans in Massachusetts remains low.”Dr. Catherine Brown, Massachusetts state epidemiologist
Rath: Commissioner Randle, let’s talk about the bird populations and, in particular, looking at local agriculture. How has the industry been affected so far, and what has the response been?
Ashley Randle: We’ve been very fortunate in terms of working with our poultry producers on an ongoing basis to stress the importance of biosecurity and ensuring that their flocks are closed so that they don’t have exposure to the wild bird population.
Thus far, this year, we have had one case in a domestic flock, which was a backyard flock of about 30 birds in Plymouth County, and we have about 10 or fewer commercial flocks across the state.
Those commercial flock owners have really continued to emphasize and implement on their farms the biosecurity practices of making sure that there are no entry points for wild birds, ensuring that their flocks stay inside so that they can’t have access to standing water or feces from birds that are defecating that may have the virus, or the feathers, even, and also limiting visitors to their operations.
The importance of biosecurity cannot be overstated. We’ve continued to work with our commercial flock owners to ensure that they are following those best practices.
Rath: I’m curious. Since neither birds nor diseases recognize boundaries, is there coordination with other states in terms of what they’re seeing and their responses as well?
Randle: Yes. So, I can speak from the Department of Agricultural Resources side: We do talk consistently with our colleagues throughout the Northeast region, as well as our colleagues at USDA. We have monthly calls to assess the current pathways for the virus, where we’re seeing cases, outreach and communications, and how we can continue to address this both at a state and federal level.
Brown: From the Department of Public Health standpoint, yes, we speak to other state departments of public health regularly. In fact, we have an every-other-week standing call, at this point, just to cover bird flu. We’ve even expanded that call so that it now includes both public health departments and departments of agriculture from all of the northeastern states because this is such an important place where we all need to be cooperating to address this issue.
Rath: I have to ask, in this context, as well because this is happening at the same time that there have been some changes and disruptions in the flow of information in terms of the CDC, Health and Human Services. Has there been any kind of disruption at the federal level in terms of communication?
Brown: So, specifically, I think there was a memo that went out kind of pausing some of the routine communication that was happening between the CDC and states. But there were exceptions allowed that permit communication for emergency response.
As well — it was a pause, right? It was time-limited, and so I think we are hoping that this week is going to see some reestablishment of even the more routine communication pathways.
Randle: On the agricultural side, our communications with USDA have continued, but we are hoping that the pause is lifted shortly because we do recognize the importance of those communications and the scientific data.
Rath: Finally, as I mentioned, Moderna is reportedly working on a bird flu vaccine. We don’t have a lot of details. I’m curious, Dr. Brown, if you have any sense of how close we are in the process.
Brown: So, I mean, this is not a new question in terms of developing a vaccine for bird flu. I started in public health back in 2004, and we were talking about it then. I am aware that Moderna has been granted some funding to really focus on the development of a vaccine. I don’t think anybody believes that there’s an immediate need for that vaccine to roll out, but obviously, we want to make sure as a community that when something is needed, it is available.
I have not read anything recently that really tells me exactly how long it’s going to take, but we certainly saw during the COVID pandemic how quickly some of these vaccines could be developed when there was a need.