North Carolina Watches For Signs Of Bird Flu As Fall Migration Begins

By Will Atwater

Mid-September signals nan soon-to-arrive acquainted autumn rhythms: leaves preparing to move from greenish to golden and crimson, pumpkin herb flavors reappearing connected menus and migratory birds filling nan skies.

Along pinch these seasonal markers comes a much troubling 1 — nan apt dispersed of highly pathogenic avian influenza, aliases vertebrate flu.

Experts opportunity that, successful nan past, nan seasonal dispersed of vertebrate flu followed a predictable pattern.

“Until astir 2 to 3 years ago, nan highly pathogenic avian influenza, different known arsenic vertebrate flu, [was transmitted] by migratory waterfowl arsenic they were flying from summertime nesting grounds up successful nan Arctic circle down to wintertime nesting grounds successful nan tropics,” said Matt Koci, co-director of nan N.C. State Animal Health and Nutrition Consortium. 

Koci said migratory waterfowl utilized to beryllium nan main carriers of vertebrate flu, and would dispersed nan microorganism arsenic they flew complete farms and roosted successful adjacent ponds. Their droppings aliases extended beingness accrued nan consequence of introducing nan microorganism to home flocks.

But precocious researchers person noticed a alteration successful nan measurement nan illness spreads.

“There’s still benignant of a seasonality to it — arsenic birds migrate past us, there’s much vertebrate flu successful nan area,” Koci said. “But what’s happened successful nan past 2 years is birds that don’t migrate look to beryllium holding connected to it now. So there’s ever immoderate debased level of vertebrate flu simmering retired location successful nan woods successful nonmigratory birds, posing a consequence to poultry farms and now, potentially, to dairy cows arsenic well.”

Infections person besides dispersed to humans.

In 2024, nan United States saw a crisp emergence successful highly pathogenic avian influenza crossed poultry, cattle and people. Nationwide, outbreaks successful poultry person led to nan nonaccomplishment of astir 170 cardinal birds done decease aliases culling since 2022, according to federal records.

Heading South: “Until astir 2 to 3 years ago, nan highly pathogenic avian influenza, different known arsenic vertebrate flu, [was transmitted] by migratory waterfowl arsenic they were flying from summertime nesting grounds up successful nan Arctic circle down to wintertime nesting grounds successful nan tropics,” said Matt Koci, co-director of nan N.C. State Animal Health and Nutrition Consortium. Credit: Pjan Vandaele is licensed nether CC BY 2.0.

By nan extremity of 2024, H5N1 had dispersed to hundreds of dairy herds successful 16 U.S. states. While astir infected cows recovered, immoderate herds reported cattle deaths aliases culling owed to complications. The microorganism caused 61 quality infections, mostly among farmworkers. By early 2025, nan tally climbed to 66 cases, including nan nation’s first quality vertebrate flu death.

North Carolina, 1 of nan country’s largest poultry producers, has not reported immoderate quality cases, but nan authorities has seen its stock of outbreaks successful caller years. Since 2022, much than 3.8 cardinal chickens and turkeys person been affected successful commercialized and backyard flocks crossed counties successful nan eastbound coastal plain, including Wayne, Duplin, Lenoir, Sampson and Hyde, according to nan N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The authorities has besides had documented infections successful ample commercialized flocks and successful smaller independent farms, underscoring nan consequence nan microorganism poses to nan industry.

Complicating nan problem

For years, biology advocates person pressed for greater transparency successful North Carolina’s poultry industry. They reason that nan Department of Environmental Quality has been hamstrung successful its expertise to modulate nan manufacture effectively. A awesome obstacle is North Carolina General Statute 106-24.1, which shields galore specifications of animal feeding operations from nationalist scrutiny — including nan nonstop locations of commercialized poultry farms.

In 2022, Michelle Nowlin, co-director of nan Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, told NCHN that nan General Assembly had enacted laws restricting citizens’ entree to accusation astir complaints revenge against poultry operations. She noted that legislators had eroded NCDEQ’s backing and authority to modulate accommodation and protect h2o quality, quality wellness and aerial quality—while besides limiting citizens’ expertise to clasp nan manufacture accountable. Those concerns, stoked by increasing beingness of vertebrate flu, person elevated calls by activists to supply much manufacture transparency. 

What we know 

On Sept. 4, 2025, nan Raleigh-based North Carolina Environmental Justice Network made a nationalist records petition to nan North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The petition seeks records connected poultry operations and their domiciled successful spreading vertebrate flu, according to a news release issued by nan group. Several different biology organizations — specified arsenic nan Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Water for North Carolina and nan Socially Responsible Agriculture Project — joined nan effort.

NCEJN pointed to a January outbreak successful Hyde County that infected 3.3 cardinal birds. 

“Concerningly, this strain of flu has dispersed into business dairy herds, a increasing number of chaotic mammal species, and moreover humans, raising interest for early human-to-human transmission,” nan group’s merchandise said.

NCEJN said it received an email from nan NCDA and CS confirming nan agency would supply “all non-confidential documents responsive to nan petition arsenic promptly arsenic possible.” 

Protective measures

A Louisiana resident, who was older than 65 and had pre-existing wellness issues, died successful January aft contracting nan disease, according to a Louisiana Department of Health news release.

In North Carolina, wellness officials are intimately search imaginable dispersed among people. “We do immoderate hospital-based surveillance for group who are hospitalized for influenza,” said Emma Doran, aesculapian epidemiologist astatine nan North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. “We besides look astatine influenza successful our wastewater curen sites passim nan state.”

Doran explained that nan section pays peculiar attraction to farmworkers who whitethorn beryllium astatine higher risk. “When we cognize that a herd has tested affirmative successful North Carolina, we scope retired to workers connected that tract to supply accusation astir protective equipment, what symptoms to watch for, and we do immoderate progressive monitoring,” she said.

Officials behaviour virologic surveillance to guarantee that immoderate flu cases are cautiously analyzed. 

“When group trial affirmative for nan flu, we make judge to subtype it truthful we tin drawback immoderate instances of H5N1,” Doran said. “Samples are sent to our authorities laboratory for that circumstantial testing.”

The authorities besides has a web of accommodation for search animal infections.

“We person a authorities diagnostic laboratory system. The main diagnostic laboratory for animal diseases is successful Raleigh and called nan Rollins Animal Diagnostic Lab,” said North Carolina State Veterinarian Mike Martin. The authorities has 3 outer labs successful nan network, adjacent Monroe, Asheville and Elkin, he said. 

Containment and confidentiality

In summation to nan activity of animals contributing to vertebrate flu spread, experts judge that workplace workers moving betwixt poultry and dairy operations whitethorn person contributed to its dispersed into and among cattle herds. 

In response, farms person adopted stricter biosecurity measures to trim nan consequence of transmission. These see quarantining sites wherever outbreaks hap and requiring inspectors to deterioration afloat protective cogwheel — specified arsenic oculus protection, Tyvek suits, double gloves and boots. Workers are besides utilizing manus and spray disinfectants, on pinch dried bleach footbaths, to further limit nan chance of carrying nan microorganism from 1 tract to another, Martin said.

Alongside these biosecurity measures, authorities rule plays a cardinal domiciled successful shaping outbreak response. North Carolina rule tightly restricts nan merchandise of workplace data, allowing entree only connected a need-to-know basis. Inspectors and partner agencies are fixed information guidance without disclosing delicate specifications — for example, whether an area is safe to participate aliases should beryllium avoided temporarily, Martin said. Protecting this accusation is captious for ineligible reasons and to support farmers’ trust, he said.

In 1 case, a dairy farmer’s personality became known contempt efforts astatine confidentiality, starring to nationalist harassment and reputational harm, Martin said.To forestall specified outcomes, authorities and section agencies activity intimately pinch national partners to equilibrium privateness pinch effective outbreak control, refining nan strategy aft each incident to amended early responses, he said.

While vertebrate flu has chiefly affected chaotic and home birds and dairy cows, immoderate home cats person been infected. To date, respective cats successful nan U.S. person contracted nan microorganism and died, according to nan CDC. Experts opportunity cats are astir often exposed by coming into interaction pinch infected chaotic birds aliases by consuming contaminated earthy nutrient aliases milk. 

There is nary grounds cats person transmitted vertebrate flu to humans. Nonetheless, to trim risks, experts urge limiting pets’ vulnerability to chaotic birds, avoiding earthy beverage aliases nutrient arsenic feed, and monitoring for dormant vertebrate sightings astir yards aliases feeders, which could awesome section outbreaks.

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