The new 12 months has began off in disaster mode for poultry farms throughout California, as a wave of avian influenza sweeps throughout the state forcing farmers to euthanize a number of million chickens and geese. The heartbreaking losses spell monetary devastation for farms and now have the potential to trickle right down to shoppers, as costs for poultry and eggs go up as a consequence of provide chain disruptions. But the affect of the H5N1 virus has been far worse for wildlife. In recent months it has jumped from chicken to many mammals as properly and is now killing off species in each continent besides Australia and Antarctica.
To perceive extra about this unprecedented panzootic — pandemic amongst animals — that would probably spillover into the human world as properly, Earth Island Journal editor and Terra Verde-cohost Maureen Nandini Mitra speaks with two avian influenza consultants from the University of California, Davis’ School for Veterinary Medicine — Dr Marcela Uhart and Maurice Pitesky.
