What is Avian Influenza?
Bird flu is a disease caused by Avian Influenza virus, that usually spreads between birds, not people. Wild water birds are the hosts of Avian Influenza A viruses. Infected birds and other animals can spread the virus through their mucous, saliva or feces. Birds' migration plays a very important role in avian influenza dissemination.
A difference exists in the virus classification:
- LPAI (Low-Pathogenic Avian Influenza): it causes minor sickness or no noticeable signs of disease. It is rarely fatal in birds.
- HPAI (High-Pathogenic Avian Influenza): cause severe symptoms such as sudden death, trouble breathing, clear runny discharge (from nose, mouth, and eyes), lethargy. HPAI spreads rapidly and has a higher death rate in birds than LPAI.
From Birds to Cattle
Like all viruses, the Influenza A virus mutates. Meanwhile, it also infects mammals, particularly dairy cattle. Since March 25, 2024 to January 15, 2025 around 937 dairy herds in 16 states were affected by HPAI.
Spread Among Birds
Since the first confirmed outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in a commercial poultry flock in the United States on February 8, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been working on surveillance, identifying cases of the disease and minimizing outbreaks.Usually, in the United States, the flu season occurs in the fall and winter. Although influenza viruses circulate year-round, flu activity generally peaks between December and February. The overall health impact, including infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, can vary each season.
How the Influenza A Virus Spreads:
Avian influenza spreads quickly through infected birds via:
- Body fluids,
- Excretions,
- Contaminated feed or water,
- Indirect contact through humans working with sick animals,
- Contaminated surfaces (animal houses, cages, waterers, feeders), and
- Agricultural equipment (tractor, rubber boots, brooms, etc.).
The Avian Influenza virus is resilient and can survive for long periods, even at low temperatures, making it transmissible for an extended time. Effective containment requires comprehensive biosecurity measures.
LANXESS Solutions for your Biosecurity Measures
Solutions that have been specifically engineered to provide effective, flexible and convenient, modern formulated disinfectant solutions for commercial livestock producers, veterinary hospitals and farmers.
- US EPA Registered – with a significant number of studies supporting approved US EPA master label claims against disease-causing organisms affecting poultry, swine and cattle production. Consult the product container label for a comprehensive list of organisms and directions for use.
- Versatility – Effective on hard non-porous surfaces, agricultural production equipment, vehicles, wheels, boot disinfection and day-to-day farm disinfection.
- Secured return on investment for farmers.
Our EPA registered solutions break the cycle of cross-contamination on hard non-porous surfaces for poultry and livestock production.
Thoroughly clean the barn using high-performance cleaners, such as: Bioklyn® Plus and Bioklyn® AFC.
A thorough cleaning properly prepares hard, non-porous surfaces for disinfection by reducing organic load.
After cleaning, disinfect the dried hard non-porous surface using an EPA registered disinfectant or virucidal* product such as: Virkon® S, Glutex® GQ1 Sanitizer and Disinfectant or Glutex® GS2 Sanitizer.
- Virkon® S, at a 1:200 dilution rate and at cold temperatures, 5°C, is effective on hard non-porous surfaces against Avian Influenza in just 15 seconds.†,1 (†Not approved for this use in California)
- Glutex® GQ1 Sanitizer and Disinfectant: is effective for disinfection against Avian influenza (H6N2 and H5N1) on hard, non-porous surfaces.1
- Glutex® GS2 Sanitizer: is virucidal* against Avian influenza (H6N2 and H5N1) on hard non-porous surfaces.1
1Please consult the product container label for a comprehensive list of organisms and directions for use.
Proper disinfection reduces cross-contamination on treated hard non-porous surfaces in poultry and farm premises, livestock facilities and stalls, and animal containment areas.
Global Impact of Avian Influenza
An outbreak of Avian Influenza has severe consequences for the poultry industry:
- Poultry Farmers: Avian Influenza viruses that cause HPAI are highly virulent, and inefctious. Domestic flocks can experience high morbidity and mortality rates up to 100 percent.
- Job losses: Can be significant in developing countries due to the labour intensive nature of the poultry industry.
- Healthy Birds: Healthy birds are often culled to contain outbreaks, resulting in risks to animal and human welfare, protein wastage and economic impacts.
- HPAI Presence: restricts international trade in live birds and poultry meat, significantly impacting national economies.
Health Risks for Humans
In rare cases, avian influenza can infect humans, typically through close contact with sick animals, often without protective equipment.
Transmission occurs similarly to regular flu viruses via hands touching the eyes, nose, or mouth.
In January 2025, a person in Louisiana died from H5N1 avian influenza, marking the first U.S. fatality from this virus. Despite 66 confirmed cases since 2024, the CDC maintains that the risk to the general public remains low, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
Pandemic Potential
Pandemics will continue to occur, but predicting when, where, and how is challenging. Authorities are monitoring zoonotic influenza viruses in both animals and humans.Biosecurity measures are the most critical tool for containment. Let’s work together to curb the spread of Influenza A and minimize its impact.
