CDC Launches National Dashboard To Track Bird Flu In Your Area

The CDC notes what they are testing and the effectiveness of it:

• Current wastewater monitoring methods detect influenza A viruses but do not determine the subtype. This means that avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses can be detected but would not be distinguished from other influenza A virus subtypes.
• Wastewater testing cannot determine the source of the influenza A virus. It could come from a human or from an animal (like a bird) or an animal product (like milk from an infected cow).
• Public health officials at CDC and state and local health departments are monitoring these data. For areas where influenza A virus levels in wastewater are high, CDC works with relevant partners to better understand the factors that could be contributing to these levels.
• Efforts to monitor influenza A virus activity using wastewater data are likely to evolve as the methodologies and interpretation are evaluated and refined.
• For the latest information on H5N1, and what you can do to protect yourself, visit H5N1 Bird Flu: Current Situation. For the latest information on influenza activity in people, visit the Weekly U.S. Influenza Surveillance Report.

Yesterday, May 14th, the CDC reports of 230 positive tests for H5N1 avian influenza.

The surveillance map was released in the wake of reports that bird flu has been spreading among cattle populations, and has infected some workers.

This comes just days after the Biden administration allocated roughly $200 million in funding to deal with this outbreak, some of this funding directly going towards upped viral testing and wastewater surveillance. The U.S. greatly invested in new wastewater testing methods during the years of the Covid pandemonium.

A separate table updated on the 14th by the CDC reports a whopping 90,892,846 birds have been ordered to be exterminated, ranging from “wild aquatic birds, commercial poultry and backyard or hobbyist flocks.”

The CDC’s metric is not accurate in defining what type of animal was infected or if the cases are to humans, though reports are still making the headlines warning about the spread of bird flu.

One such headline from The Mirror reported, “Bird flu cases map as California and Texas wastewater findings spark pandemic fears.”

Roughly 70 dairy farmers are also being monitored with symptoms of bird flu contamination in Colorado…