BREAKING! United States Reports First H7N9 Bird Flu Outbreak on Poultry Farm Since 2017, WOAH Confirms
Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Mar 17, 2025 4 hours, 8 minutes ago
U.S. Medical News: The United States has reported its first outbreak of H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, according to a statement released by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) on Monday, March 17, 2025.
https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-reported-first-outbreak-h7n9-bird-flu-farm-since-2017-woah-says-2025-03-17/
United States Reports First H7N9 Bird Flu Outbreak on Poultry Farm Since 2017
This marks a significant development in the ongoing global battle against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a disease that has wreaked havoc on poultry populations worldwide, resulting in the culling of hundreds of millions of birds in recent years.
A Resurgent Threat
The WOAH, citing U.S. authorities, confirmed the detection of the H7N9 strain, a highly pathogenic form of bird flu, on an unspecified poultry farm. While details such as the farm’s location and the scale of the outbreak remain undisclosed, the announcement signals a potential new challenge for the U.S. poultry industry.
According to past
U.S. Medical News reports, the last H7N9 outbreak in the U.S. occurred in 2017 on a commercial chicken farm in Tennessee, where approximately 55,000 birds were culled to contain the virus. Since then, the strain had largely faded from the U.S. spotlight, overshadowed by other variants like H5N1, which has dominated recent headlines.
Global Context of Bird Flu
The resurgence of H7N9 comes amid a broader "panzootic" of avian influenza that has swept across continents, driven largely by migratory wild birds. These natural carriers can introduce the virus to domestic flocks through contaminated droppings, feed, or direct contact. In the U.S., the poultry sector has already been battered by H5N1 outbreaks since 2022, with over 148 million birds culled nationwide. The virus has also spilled over into mammals, including dairy cows, and caused a handful of human infections, primarily among farm workers. It has currently being found in rat populations and also in cats. The reappearance of H7N9 now raises questions about its origins and potential impact.
Response and Implications
Though specifics about the current outbreak are scarce, U.S. authorities, likely led by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), are expected to have implemented standard containment measures. These typically include culling affected flocks, establishing quarantine zones, and enhancing biosecurity protocols. The 2017 Tennessee outbreak offers a precedent: swift action limited its spread, but vigilance remains critical given H7N9’s history. Globally, this strain gained notoriety in China starting in 2013, where it caused significant poultry losses and occasional human cases.
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Looking Ahead
The WOAH’s announcement underscores the persistent threat of avian influenza as a global agricultural and public health concern. While recent U.S. attention has focused on H5N1 and a new H5N9 outbreak in California ducks in January 2025, H7N9’s return could complicate efforts to stabilize the poultry industry. Experts will likely investigate whether this outbreak stems from wild bird transmission or another source, with further details expected soon. For now, the U.S. faces yet another test in its ongoing fight against bird flu, a reminder of the disease’s unrelenting grip on the world’s food supply chains.
As this story develops, additional updates from the USDA or WOAH may shed light on the outbreak’s scope and containment efforts. The poultry sector and public health officials alike are on high alert, bracing for what this rare reemergence of H7N9 might mean in the weeks ahead.
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