'This Is How Zoonotic Transmissions Occur': Virologists Horrified by Sick Emu Cuddlefest

[Stevicus]

'This Is How Zoonotic Transmissions Occur': Virologists Horrified by Sick Emu Cuddlefest (gizmodo.com)

There's been a strain of highly infectious avian influenza going around.

A highly infectious strain of avian influenza has been raging across the U.S. for months now, claiming the lives of thousands of wild birds and tens of millions of domestic poultry, according to the latest estimates from the CDC.

And now, the bird flu has reportedly come to one of TikTok’s most famous farm’s: Knuckle Bump Farms in Florida, home to Emmanuel the Emu. The bird, who became a viral sensation for his video-bombing tendencies, has now gone viral in the bad way. Emmanuel contracted avian flu, according to multiple tweets from Taylor Blake, the influencer whose family owns the farm.

“We lost 50+ birds in 3 days. I am still trying to wrap my head around it,” she wrote on Twitter. “We thought we were out of the woods, when Emmanuel unexpectedly went down,” Blake added.

But scientists were concerned about the pictures of those on the farm cuddling up next to the birds, which they say you should definitely not do.

As tragic and devastating as bird flu outbreaks are, and as beloved as Emmanuel the Emu may be, virologists on Twitter were horrified to see the type of up-close care Emmanuel seems to be receiving. Many of Blake’s tweets show her cuddling face to face with the ill emu.

Experts are warning: DO NOT DO THIS. “Being face to face with a bird w [sic] avian flu is a bad idea,” posted Boghuma Kabisen Titanij, a doctor and global health and infectious disease researcher at Emory University. “This is how zoonotic transmissions occur, this is why entire farms cull sick birds. We live with the threat of pandemic flu,” Titanij further explained in her tweet thread on the topic.

It's rare for the disease to affect humans, but it does happen.

Although not very common, bird flu can and has jumped from poultry to people multiple times before. A strain closely related to the one currently circulating nationwide has infected hundreds hundreds of people in the past two decades and killed about 50% of those who contracted it, according to the World Health Organization.

In the current U.S. outbreak, only one human is known to have contracted the virus. The person caught the virus at a commercial poultry facility in Colorado and recovered from the disease, according to WHO. Yet the virus has proven that it can mutate to be more transmissible between birds and people.

Close contact with infected birds certainly increases the risk of cross-species spread. “Infected birds shed bird flu virus through their saliva, mucous, and feces,” warns the CDC. “Human infections with bird flu viruses can happen when virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. This can happen when virus is in the air (in droplets or possibly dust) and a person breathes it in, or possibly when a person touches something that has virus on it then touches their mouth, eyes or nose,” the agency further says on its website.

In other words: Absolutely, positively do not go nose to beak with a sick bird. Other virologists voiced their concern online. “I screamed when I saw this,” tweeted Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Georgetown University and the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.

“If your emu (or any bird) has avian influenza, do not kiss it. Do not cuddle with it. Do not touch it. Bird flu is extremely dangerous to humans and other animals. And it sounds harsh but to prevent [its] spread, birds that get avian flu should be euthanized,” said Rasmussen.

And Tom Peacock, a flu researcher at Imperial College London, posted a lengthy thread outlining the risks of handling sick birds.

Back at the farm, Blake has posted multiple tweets claiming she and her family are following “FDA guidelines” surrounding bird flu, including quarantining. However instead of cuddling infected birds, the CDC recommends that anyone responding directly to an avian influenza outbreak avoid direct contact where possible and wear protective equipment like gloves, a medical face mask, and eye protection when contact can’t be avoided.

More: Surging Bird Flu Cases in the U.S. Have Come for the Bald Eagle

I guess that's good advice.

 

[Alien826]

Someone should tell Liberty Mutual about this!

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Reminds me of the video game Plague Inc where you play a virus trying to spread across the world. If you pick zoonotic transmission occasionally you'll get a headline like 'world parrot kissing day' followed by a helpful uptick in your transmission rate.

And while it's best to form good health habits for your and the animal's case it is worth noting that industrial farms are the number one transmission source. Packed in animals with poor conditions means more receptivity to vectors like bat bites, and more close proximity transmission. We've had two major pandemics come from American hog farms, which perhaps wouldn't have happened if we a. Had better policies about animal welfare and b. Did not make meat an all-day every day food staple, thereby having less giant crowded hog farms in the first place.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Reminds me of the video game Plague Inc where you play a virus trying to spread across the world. If you pick zoonotic transmission occasionally you'll get a headline like 'world parrot kissing day' followed by a helpful uptick in your transmission rate.

And while it's best to form good health habits for your and the animal's case it is worth noting that industrial farms are the number one transmission source. Packed in animals with poor conditions means more receptivity to vectors like bat bites, and more close proximity transmission. We've had two major pandemics come from American hog farms, which perhaps wouldn't have happened if we a. Had better policies about animal welfare and b. Did not make meat an all-day every day food staple, thereby having less giant crowded hog farms in the first place.

California was trying to pass laws to demand enough space for animals (particularly aimed at pigs) to be able to turn around in their enclosure, but they're running afoul of some old trade law that prevents states from establishing laws that impact on trade from other states in general terms.

So, because pig farmers in Ohio would be forced to make infrastructure changes by this law (or lose 13% of the pork market due to the size of California) it was looking like the law might not be legally applicable.

[edit]Added a link to an article mentioning this, so people can have SOME idea what I'm blabbering about...

Pork industry takes fight over California law to U.S. Supreme Court | Reuters

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