2024 Avian Influenza Summit to address virus’ impacts on global health beyond poultry

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — While surges in colds, flu and even COVID may come and go, agricultural producers are always on the lookout for avian influenza — and not just in poultry flocks. In 2024, highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected not only in birds, but cattle, swine and humans as well.

MORE THAN FOWL — The 2024 International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit will feature 55 speakers over four days, addressing the virus' effect not only in birds, but other species as well. (Division of Agriculture image.)

To address the current state of HPAI, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Center of Excellence for Poultry Science will host the International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit on Sept. 30 – Oct. 3 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

While the general public may be most familiar with the H5N1 strain of HPAI, multiple viruses have infected tens of millions of birds and more than 20 species of mammals worldwide since 2022. In response, event organizers have expanded the scope of this year’s annual summit to address emerging issues affecting cattle, swine, bees, humans and more as part of the “One Health” concept.

This year’s summit will feature 55 speakers over four days, more than doubling the number of speakers at the 2023 two-day conference. More than 1,800 individuals from 81 countries registered for the 2023 summit.

In-person attendance is limited to 200 people and online attendance is limited to 1,000 participants this year. There is no cost to attend either way, but registration is required. To register, visit https://internationalavianinfluenzasummit.uada.edu/registration/. To see a complete agenda listing speakers and topics, visit https://internationalavianinfluenzasummit.uada.edu/agenda/.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit set for fall 2024

By John Lovett
University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — As highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses adapt to infect a broad range of species, including one recent human case, the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science has expanded the outlook for its second annual international conference.

AVIAN FLU SUMMIT — Highly pathogenic avian influenza has adapted to species other than poultry, prompting The Internatioanl Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit this fall in Fayetteville. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo)

The International Avian Influenza and One Health Emerging Issues Summit will be held in person and online, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences, 1371 W. Altheimer Dr., in Fayetteville.

“Avian influenza has adapted to mammalian species, and it is now endemic in the United States,” said Guillermo Tellez-Isaias, poultry science research professor for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. “Now we see that migratory birds that were not susceptible in the past are dying, and wild birds are spreading the virus worldwide.”

Tellez-Isaias is one of 14 organizers for the summit, hosted by the Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Last year, 23 speakers made presentations over two days, and 1,842 people registered from 81 countries. This year, the summit remains free and will have 46 speakers over four days.

“The One Health concept recognizes that everything that affects humans will impact animals and the environment,” Tellez-Isaias said. “We are all connected in this world.”

Expanded outlook

Knowing the virus could mutate, organizers of the summit had already expanded the outlook to include other species and emerging diseases prior to the March 25 outbreak of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI, in dairy cows.

On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it confirmed one human HPAI infection after exposure to dairy cattle in Texas. The CDC has also reported H5N1 in domestic cats in Kansas and Texas, which “reflects the continued spread of clade 2.3.4.4b viruses that entered the country in late 2021.”

The CDC’s risk assessment for the public remains “low.” However, like the virus that is thought to have originated in a Kansas army camp near the end of World War I and became known as the “Spanish flu,” HPAI viruses mutate and have the potential to inflict massive casualties.

Tellez-Isaias said H5N1 “hijacks the immune system and creates a tremendous inflammatory response like an anaphylactic shock” in its victims.

“That’s why you don’t see any clinical signs,” Tellez-Isaias said. “No respiratory, sneezy coughing, no lesions. Nothing. You can leave a poultry house, and everything seems fine, but when you come back in the morning, you have up to 100 percent mortality.”

Since January 2022, multiple HPAI viruses have infected millions of wild birds, commercial poultry flocks and more than two dozen species of terrestrial and marine mammals worldwide. This bird flu has also spread across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Australia, Europe and Antarctica.

Emerging issues

Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Gallinarum, Inclusion Body Hepatitis, and Histomonas meleagridis, a protozoal parasite that causes histomonosis, will also be addressed by speakers as emerging issues in food production.

Histomonosis, also known as blackhead disease, is lethal in turkeys 12 to 14 weeks old. It was controlled by arsenic-based drugs in poultry feed from the 1940s to 2013, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdrew approval for three common formulas. The FDA removed another chemical formula from the market in 2015. There are currently no vaccinations to control histomonosis.

Event registration

To register for the summit, online or in-person, please click on “Registration” at the top of the event page. The capacity for in-person attendees is 150 people.

To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu.

Bird flu detected in cattle in eight states; Arkansas Ag Department restricts transport into state

By Ryan McGeeney
U of A System Division of Agriculture 

LITTLE ROCK — As highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is detected in cattle in a growing number of states, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture has issued an order restricting livestock exhibiting symptoms or testing positive for the virus from entering the state.

CURRENT SITUATION — As of April 15, USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service reported confirmed cases of HPAI in cattle in eight states, including Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, South Dakota, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina. All of the reported cases have been in dairy milking cattle. (Image courtesy USDA.)

Dustan Clark, extension poultry health veterinarian for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said Arkansas has seen no reports of cattle infected with the virus within its borders. Additionally, there have been no reports of bird flu in Arkansas commercial poultry production facilities or backyard “hobby flocks” since December 2023.

“So far, we’re doing quite well,” Clark said. “I won’t say we’re safe. We need everyone to maintain good biosecurity practices.”

Clark is also the associate director of the Division of Agriculture’s Poultry Center.

Per an April 5 letter from Arkansas State Veterinarian John Nilz:

• No dairy cattle exhibiting symptoms of or testing positive for HPAI shall be allowed to move into Arkansas.

• No dairy cattle from states with impacted herds shall be allowed to move into Arkansas.

• Livestock moving into Arkansas found to be in non-compliance with this order shall be quarantined to the nearest facility until all requirements are met on said animals to meet specifications.

“This is still an unfolding issue,” Clark said. As of April 15, USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service reported confirmed cases of HPAI in cattle in eight states, including Idaho, New Mexico, Texas, South Dakota, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and North Carolina. All of the reported cases have been in dairy milking cattle.

Clark said that since February 2022, more than 90 million birds in the United States have been affected by the H5N1 strain of bird flu.

“It’s been detected in about 480 commercial flocks and 645 hobby flocks,” Clark said.

According to an April 16 U.S. Department of Agriculture report, more than 8.5 million birds had been affected within the previous 30 days. While HPAI has been detected in 48 states over the last two years, it has only been reported in eight states — Michigan, Florida, New Mexico, Minnesota, Kansas, Texas, North Carolina and Maine — during that 30-day period.

“Two of the largest of those were table egg flocks in Michigan,” Clark said. “One with more than 2 million birds, the other slightly less than 2 million birds. Then there was a commercial table egg flock in Texas that was more than 1.8 million birds. Those were the biggest in the last 30 days.”

Clark said that while USDA and the state veterinarian outlined clear biosecurity guidelines for the transportation of poultry for both commercial producers and backyard hobbyists, one factor that can’t be controlled is the presence of wild birds.

“Don’t expose your hobby flock birds to wild waterfowl,” Clark said. “Keep them penned up at this point in time, while the migration is still going on. Don’t let them range and keep them away from water sources that may have had wild waterfowl on them, such as a pond.

“If you go somewhere such as a park and there’s a pond there, stay away from it,” he said. “When you go home, clean and disinfect your shoes and change clothes before you visit your own poultry.”

Many public resources are available to help individuals establish good biosecurity measures and assess the possibility of an infected herd or flock, including the USDA’s HPAI biosecurity factsheet, the Division of Agriculture’s biosecurity resources page and the Arkansas Department of Health’s HPAI page. Individuals who think they may have an infected bird should consult their veterinarian or call the Arkansas Department of Agriculture at  501-823-1746.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu/. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.