A bipartisan group of legislators addressed a letter to Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, urging “a new dynamic approach to bring long-lasting benefits to our farmers and producers” and urging a “Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Strategic Initiative within the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service”.

The Members of the House representing California, Iowa, North Dakota, North Carolina and Virginia pointed to the accumulated cost of the unsuccessful attempts over the past two years to eradicate HPAI. They noted that indemnity payments and related costs attained $3.3 billion for the 2014-2015 epornitic.  A significant sentiment expressed in the letter was the fact that the ongoing series of outbreaks that commenced in 2022 “has no end in sight”.  The letter also alluded to the emergence of bovine influenza-H5N1 caused by a mammalian-adapted B3-13 strain of avian influenza virus.

 The legislators suggested concerted action by the USDA including: -

• Developing innovative biosecurity methods including those that deter wild birds that are reservoirs and disseminators of the infection.
• Adoption of vaccination following the policy and action of other nations but requiring outreach with trade partners.
• Developing novel methods of depopulation and bird disposal that are both cost-effective and humane.

The legislators pointed to existing authority vested in the USDA to collaborate with Land-Grant universities to develop and implement a more effective program to mitigate the extent and cost of avian influenza.