Bird flu outbreaks: When will we learn our lesson?

Last month a man in Colorado became the first human known to have contracted a new, highly infectious strain of avian flu. But lethal bird flu viruses can and do kill wildlife, and this year's hybrid H5N1 is proving especially deadly to wild birds in the United States and Europe. Much of the government's research on bird flu impacts on wild birds is done by the Geological Survey at the National Wildlife Health Center. Their final report found that "despite" the government's massive effort to stop the spread by killing all birds on infected farms, while also using quarantine and disinfection, bird flu continued to swiftly infect huge numbers of domestic birds. Until we learn from the lessons of this and other outbreaks, it seems the status quo will continue to involve lethal bird flu and devastating impacts on domestic and wild birds.