Four backyard alpacas in southern Idaho have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1, the first time bird flu has been found in members of the camelid family. According to the US Department of Agriculture.
On Tuesday, the USDA announced that the agency’s National Veterinary Service laboratories confirmed the infection on May 16 at a farm in Jerome County. While the infection is a first for the spitting llama’s relatives, the USDA said they were not particularly surprised. The alpacas were in close contact with chickens infected with HPAI on the farm, which “depopulated the human population” this month. Of the 18 alpacas on the affected farm, only four were confirmed to be infected. No deaths have been reported, he said. USDA submitted to the World Organization for Animal Health.
Genomic sequencing shows that the H5N1 virus infecting alpacas (B3.13) is related to the virus currently found in US dairy cows and farmed birds.
As of 2011 Alpaca Owners AssociationThere are over 264,000 alpacas in the US.
The discovery that HIV USDA registered As of May 2022, hundreds of HIV-positiveAs the epidemic began to spread across North America. In March, the USDA announced an unprecedented outbreak among dairy cows. But the agency has found the virus circulating in mink, raccoons, foxes, cats, seals, bears, mountain lions, bottlenose dolphins, goats and coyotes, among other animals. With each new strain and infection, HIV And as the virus jumps to mammals that live in close proximity to humans, the risk increases that the virus will have a chance to adapt to spread among humans.
USDA and state officials continue to identify H5N1 in dairy herds. At least 66 dairy herds in nine states have been infected, according to the latest data on the USDA monitoring site.