The US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) late last week announced it will provide $12 million to state and tribal governments, research institutions, and universities to control and prevent chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The money will boost surveillance, testing, management, and response activities for the fatal prion disease, which affects cervids such as deer, elk, and moose. Approximately $6 million will be for projects to control CWD in farmed cervids and will be based on the state's CWD status and the number of herds and cervids participating in their CWD Herd Certification Program. The other $6 million will support research and management of CWD in wild cervids. 

"Specifically, these funds will allow for State departments of agriculture, State animal health agencies, State departments of wildlife or natural resources, federally recognized Native American Tribal governments and organizations, and research institutions and universities to further develop and implement CWD research, management, and response activities," APHIS said in an agency press release.

CWD is a slow and progressive disease caused by misfolded prions, which affect animals' brains and ultimately leads to their death. It spreads through cervid-to-cervid contact and environmental contamination. Although no human cases of CWD have been reported, health officials warn the public not to eat the meat of infected animals.

CWD was first identified in captive deer in Colorado in the late 1960s and in wild deer in 1981. The disease has been confirmed in 36 states. 

Cambodia has reported another human H5N1 avian flu case, the second in a week, according to a health ministry Facebook post translated and posted by Avian Flu Diary, an infectious disease news blog.

It is the seventh case of the year and is part of an overall rise in H5N1 infections in Cambodia since late 2023. The patient is a 41-year-old woman from Siem Reap province in the northwest whose samples tested positive yesterday at the country's National Institute of Public Health. She is listed in critical condition. 

Latest cases both tied to poultry

Investigators found that there were sick and dead poultry at her home and that of her neighbors and that she had handled and cooked them 5 days before she became ill.

A few days ago, Cambodia reported its sixth case and its fifth death of the year, involving a 52-year-old man from Svay Rieng province who had handled sick poultry 2 days before his symptoms began.

Some of Cambodia's recent cases have been linked to a novel reassortment between an older 2.3.2.1c clade known to circulate in Southeast Asia's poultry and genes from the newer 2.3.4.4b clade spreading globally. So far, it's not known what clade infected the latest two patients.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed more H5N1 avian flu detections in mammals and wild birds, as confirmations remain low in poultry and dairy cattle.

Of four new H5 detections in mammals, two had recent collections dates, including a desert cottontail rabbit from Arizona's Maricopa County, where the virus in May spurred large outbreaks at commercial egg-laying farms in mid-May through early June. The other is a red fox from Costilla County, Colorado, that was sampled on May 29. 

The two other confirmations had older sample collection dates, including a domestic cat from Contra Costa County, California, that was sampled on December 11, 2024, a time when the state reported deaths in cats linked to consumption of raw pet food and raw milk, and a muskrat from Saratoga County, New York, that was sampled on January 6. 

Wild-bird detections in Arizona poultry outbreak area

Regarding wild birds, APHIS reported 75 more H5N1 detections, though most involve birds sampled during the winter. Recent detections include agency-harvested grackles, pigeons, and other birds from Arizona's Maricopa County, as well as a Canada goose from Maryland's Cecil County.

The most recent H5N1 confirmation in dairy cows is from June 3, keeping the national total at 1,073 in 17 states, and the last confirmation in poultry is from June 11.