Disease

Bird Flu Outbreak In USA Midwest Spreads

A bird flu outbreak that has puzzled scientists spread to three more Midwest turkey farms, bringing the number of farms infected to 23 and raising the death toll to more than 1.2 million birds killed by the disease or by authorities scrambling to contain it.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Saturday that the H5N2 strain of avian influenza was found among 38,000 birds at a commercial farm in Kandiyohi County in west-central Minnesota. It's the third confirmed outbreak in Kandiyohi, which is the top turkey producing county in the country's top turkey producing state.

H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Egypt prompts CDC travel advisory

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday advised travelers to Egypt to protect themselves from H5N1 avian influenza by avoiding contact with wild birds, live or uncooked poultry, and body fluids from birds and poultry in light of the record numbers of human cases reported since the beginning of the year.

The federal health agency reports the Egyptian Ministry of Health and Population, as of March 19, 2015, Egypt has reported more than 120 human cases of H5N1 bird flu since November 2014. However, two other more timely sources put the total cases higher.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported earlier this week, that as of Mar. 31, there were 125 cases and 33 fatalities in Egypt.

Mike Coston at Avian Flu Diary put the total case count 135 on Thursday. Regardless, what we do know is this is the highest number of human cases of H5N1 reported by any country in a similar time period.