Just as Massachusetts is experiencing a large outbreak of avian flu, the flow of scientific information from the federal government that state officials need to combat the outbreak has become unreliable.
It’s a lot more than just birds that could be affected if updates do not resume on a consistent basis: Aggressively responding to the disease when it’s mostly affecting birds and livestock is the best way to ensure it doesn’t spread further to humans.
In a call with reporters Wednesday, state ornithologist Andrew Vitz said between 500 and 1,000 suspected cases of avian flu have been reported in wild birds in Massachusetts (there may be multiple reports about each bird). The actual number of infected wild birds is likely much higher.
Some domestic birds have also been affected. One 30-bird flock of domestic chickens in Plymouth had to be euthanized because of infections.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or H5N1, can be fatal to birds. Waterfowl and aquatic birds are most at risk, along with raptors that eat bird carcasses. Avian flu has also spread to dairy cows, with around 950 infected herds reported nationwide, although none so far in Massachusetts. Most worryingly, there have been 67 reported human cases and one death, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost all of them among people exposed to infected birds or cattle. The biggest fear about avian flu is that it will mutate to a form that’s more dangerous to people.
Soon after he took office, President Trump imposed a freeze on federal health agencies’ meetings and public communications. Despite that, the US Department of Agriculture is updating its public website about the number of bird flocks affected by flu and the CDC is updating its tally of infected dairy cow herds.
But researchers say there has been less communication over the last two weeks than before from the federal government.
Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health, said the CDC canceled all of the regular informational calls and briefings it typically holds with state and local public health partners.
Keith Poulsen, director of the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, said in an email that in addition to the lack of updates to stakeholders, groups at the CDC and National Institutes of Health that do work related to the avian flu were put on hold. “The confusion over messaging and who can say what or anything is complicating matters at a bad time,” Poulsen said.
Kaiser Health News reported that the Trump administration stopped the publication of new studies related to whether veterinarians who treat cattle have been infected by bird flu and whether infected people have spread the virus to pet cats. The studies had been scheduled to be released in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a weekly publication that, as of Thursday, has not published since Jan. 16.
Massachusetts state epidemiologist Catherine Brown said the communications freeze is a “disappointment,” but if the pause is only two weeks, it is unlikely to result in a significant impact on the state’s ability to track or respond to avian flu. The Trump administration has called the pause short-term, but it is unclear when communications might fully resume. Massachusetts is continuing to communicate with officials in other Northeast states and national professional organizations of epidemiologists and public health labs.
For now, state recommendations are to follow basic precautions: Stay away from sick or dead birds; report sick poultry to state wildlife officials; keep cats indoors and pets away from wildlife; eliminate standing water; isolate new birds before adding them to a flock; and take biosecurity measures around domestic birds, like disinfecting equipment.
Going forward, it will be important for scientists and health officials to track the disease’s spread and continue learning about how it is transmitted, who is at risk, and what preventative measures and treatments are recommended. Federal government agencies like the CDC, USDA, and NIH are well-poised to do this research and communicate their findings nationwide. Trump shouldn’t just let them do that; he should insist that they do.
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