The consequences of letting avian influenza run rampant in US poultry

As of 20 May, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in more than 173.1 million birds since the outbreak began in January 2022. The secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr., has suggested allowing the unmitigated spread of HPAI in turkeys and chickens to identify surviving birds—a sentiment supported by Brooke Rollins, secretary of the USDA, which, along with state-level departments of agriculture, has jurisdiction over animal disease outbreaks (1). This approach would be dangerous and unethical. Allowing a highly lethal, rapidly evolving, and contagious virus to run a natural course of infection in poultry would lead to unnecessary suffering of poultry and put other susceptible animals on and near affected farms at risk. It would prolong exposure for farmworkers, which could increase viral adaptation and transmission risks for poultry, other peridomestic animals, and humans.