An Iowa lawmaker has joined others from across the country in calling for additional research on the bird flu, while new cases of the virus have been confirmed.
U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson, a Republican who represents northeast Iowa, wants Congress to make additional investments in animal health research.
Iowa had gone about five months without a confirmed bird flu outbreak. However, the Iowa Department of Agriculture reported four new outbreaks over the past week in poultry. That increased the confirmed yearly outbreaks to seven.
While many American consumers know little about highly pathogenic avian influenza, they have seen the impact when they go to the grocery store. The price of eggs tends to increase during higher demand times of Easter and Christmas. But bird flu concerns have led to the culling of millions of hens, reducing the supply of eggs.
"We're at a time when…I know I met with egg producers not too long ago…and Easter and Christmas season are the most expensive times for eggs, which is normally a very cheap and accessible protein for Iowa Americans," Hinson told Iowa reporters Thursday.
RELATED: The Des Moines Register reported on the latest bird flu outbreaks in Iowa, including one that led to the destruction of 45,000 birds in a commercial turkey flock in west central Iowa. Read that here.
Five animals died after testing positive for bird flu at the Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park, Arizona. The dead animals included a cheetah, mountain lion, swamphen, Andean goose, and kookaburra. A white tiger also tested positive for bird flu but is expected to recover.
The zoo is monitoring zoo staff who had close or prolonged contact with the infected animals, according to this report from ABC 15-TV in Phoenix, Arizona.
Two cats died from suspected avian influenza in in Los Angeles County. And the department of public health confirmed that it is investigating after those cats had consumed infected raw milk.
“The nationwide H5 bird flu outbreak has seen other cats infected with the virus after consuming infected raw milk,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a statement.
RELATED: Iowa Department of Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig told American Farmland Owner in April that he was concerned about the spread of bird flu in infected raw milk. Watch or listen to that conversation here.
NBC News reported that the Biden administration has no immediate plans to authorize a bird flu vaccine for humans. Officials say a vaccine is not warranted yet because the virus is not spreading from person to person or causing severe illnesses in humans. Find more details here.
