Bill That Would Give FDA Authority to Conduct Sampling on Factory Farms Reintroduced to Congress
Reintroduced to U.S. Congress on February 3, 2025, the Expanded Food Safety Investigation Act (EFSIA) seeks to grant the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to collect microbial samples from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The bill is sponsored by Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), also referred to as “factory farms,” are large-scale facilities that raise food-producing animals in confinement. At present, FDA lacks the authority to conduct microbial sampling on factory farms during foodborne illness outbreak investigations, and therefore, public health investigators are frequently denied access to CAFOs.
Bird Flu Moving With Migrating Wild Flocks - by Jan Wondra - Ark Valley Voice
Locals who were at Sand Lake early on Saturday morning, February 1 spotted a Canadian Goose in distress. It turns out that their worst fears were true:
Structure of a zoonotic H5N1 hemagglutinin reveals a receptor-binding site occupied by an auto-glycan - PubMed
Highly pathogenic avian influenza has spilled into many mammals, most notably cows and poultry, with several dozen human breakthrough infections. Zoonotic crossovers, with hemagglutinins mutated to enhance viral ability to use human α2-6-linked sialic acid receptors versus avian α2-3-linked ones, hi …
Diversifying T-cell responses: safeguarding against pandemic influenza with mosaic nucleoprotein - PubMed
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that seasonal influenza causes 3-5 million cases of severe illness annually. The influenza virus frequently undergoes genetic changes through antigenic drift and antigenic shift, resulting in annual epidemics and occasional pandemics. Consequently, a maj …
Turkey farm in Minnesota combats avian influenza with high-tech Laser bird deterrents
Avian influenza has continued to challenge the agricultural sector, impacting nearly every state over the past two years. Minnesota, a state where turkey production is a cornerstone of the economy, is no exception. For local...
Animal Groups Warn Brooke Rollins: USDA Driving Inflation, Animal Suffering, and Risking Health with Bird Flu Response
Agency response is gutting a key sector of agriculture, costing consumers more than $20 billion and doing little to stem spread of runaway bird flu H5N1
While the developments may not raise the risk of a pandemic, they could create more havoc for farmers, worsen egg shortages and expose surveillance gaps.
NINTH poultry operation in Delmarva tests positive for bird flu, culled for public health
HAGERSTOWN- The Maryland Department of Agriculture has announced the first presumptive positive case of H5 avian influenza in a commercial broiler farm in Worcester County. This is the fifth case of highly pathogenic […]
Trump Administration Faces Scrutiny Over Bird Flu Study Interference
The Trump administration faces growing criticism for its intervention during the escalation of bird flu outbreaks across the United States, particularly for suspending…