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國際時事跟讀VIP Ep.K799: Bird Flu Outbreak Raises Concerns in the United States

Highlights 主題摘要：

The recent bird flu outbreak in the U.S. has affected poultry, dairy herds, and raised concerns about the safety of meat and milk products.
Despite the outbreak, health officials emphasize that the risk to public health remains low, with rare human cases and no person-to-person transmission.
The economic impact of the outbreak is uncertain, but it could potentially affect egg and beef markets, leading to higher consumer prices.

The recent outbreak of bird flu (Type A H5N1) in the United States has raised concerns among health officials and the public. The virus has been detected in wild birds, commercial poultry operations, and backyard flocks across the country, leading to the death of tens of millions of chickens. Additionally, the virus has been found in dairy herds in five states, including Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, and Texas, as of Tuesday. The U.S. government is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in affected states for testing to verify the safety of milk and meat products.

最近美國爆發的禽流感（Type A H5N1）疫情已經引起衛生官員和公眾的關注。該病毒已在全國的野生鳥類、商業家禽業和後院家禽群中被檢測到，導致數千萬隻雞的死亡。此外，截至週二，該病毒已在五個州的乳牛群中被發現，包括愛達荷州、堪薩斯州、密西根州、新墨西哥州和德克薩斯州。美國政府正在受影響州的零售商店收集牛絞肉樣本進行檢測，以驗證牛奶和肉類產品的安全性。

Despite the rising concern, health officials emphasize that the risk to the public remains low. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated that the agency is taking bird flu seriously but stressed that the virus has been well studied and prepared for over the past two decades. The current strain is not new, and scientists have been monitoring its evolution and spread among various animal species since 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also stated that the overall public health risk is low, although it is higher for those with exposure to infected animals.

儘管關注度不斷上升，但衛生官員強調，公眾面臨的風險仍然很低。美國疾病管制與預防中心主任曼迪・科恩（Mandy Cohen）博士表示，該機構正在認真對待禽流感，但強調該病毒已經被充分研究，並為此準備了二十多年。目前的毒株並不陌生，科學家們自 2020 年以來一直在監測它在各種動物物種中的進化和傳播。世界衛生組織也表示，儘管接觸受感染動物的人面臨更高風險，但總體公共衛生風險仍然很低。

Human cases of bird flu are rare, with only two reported cases in the United States, neither of which were fatal. In 2022, a prison inmate in Colorado caught the virus while killing infected birds at a poultry farm, and recently, a person in Texas who had been in contact with cows was diagnosed with bird flu. Both individuals experienced mild symptoms and recovered. Health officials stress that there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus in the current outbreak. Globally, nearly 900 people have been diagnosed with bird flu in the past two decades, with more than 460 deaths reported.

人類感染禽流感的病例很罕見，在美國只有兩例報告病例，且都沒有致命。2022 年，一名科羅拉多州的監獄囚犯在一個家禽場宰殺受感染的鳥類時感染了該病毒，最近，德克薩斯州一名與牛接觸的人被診斷出患有禽流感。這兩個人都出現了輕微症狀並康復。衛生官員強調，目前暫無證據表明該病毒在當前疫情中存在人傳人的現象。在過去二十年中，全球近 900 人被診斷出患有禽流感，其中超過 460 人死亡。

The economic impact of the bird flu outbreak is yet to be fully determined. However, experts warn that the transmission of the virus from one species to another is concerning and could potentially affect various markets, including the egg and beef industries. If the outbreak is not quickly contained, consumers may face higher prices, and some industries could experience reputational strain, possibly affecting the export market. The egg industry is already experiencing some tightening of supply due to the recent detections of bird flu and the busy Easter season. Marc Dresner, a spokesperson for the American Egg Board, stated that even with the outbreak in Texas and the nearly 2 million birds that were killed there, there are an estimated 310 million egg-laying hens in the U.S., and wholesale egg prices are down about 25% from a February peak.

禽流感疫情對經濟的影響尚未完全確定。然而，專家警告說，病毒從一個物種傳播到另一個物種的情況令人擔憂，可能會影響包括蛋品和牛肉行業在內的各個市場。如果疫情不能迅速遏制，消費者可能會面臨更高的價格，一些行業可能會遭受聲譽損失，可能會影響出口市場。由於最近檢測到禽流感以及復活節旺季的影響，蛋品行業的供應已經出現一些緊張。美國蛋品委員會（American Egg Board）發言人馬克・德雷斯納（Marc Dresner）表示，即使在德克薩斯州爆發疫情並撲殺了近 200 萬隻鳥，美國估計仍有 3.1 億隻蛋雞，批發蛋價從 2 月的峰值下降了約 25％。

Keyword Drills 關鍵字：

Prevention (Pre-ven-tion): Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated that the agency is taking bird flu seriously but stressed that the virus has been well studied and prepared for over the past two decades.
Monitoring (Mo-ni-tor-ing): The current strain is not new, and scientists have been monitoring its evolution and spread among various animal species since 2020.
Poultry (Poul-try): The virus has been detected in wild birds, commercial poultry operations, and backyard flocks across the country, leading to the death of tens of millions of chickens.
Transmission (Trans-mis-sion): Health officials stress that there is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus in the current outbreak.
Reputational (Rep-u-ta-tion-al): If the outbreak is not quickly contained, consumers may face higher prices, and some industries could experience reputational strain, possibly affecting the export market.

Reference article:
1. https://apnews.com/article/bird-avian-flu-chickens-eggs-03793b5b1cb7429ce293e8577aef0358
2. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/usda-test-ground-beef-us-165714011.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAIYiXrRGFATvRkTblHSYbd7oZhEA8xuSn7p2kb_5AN8xsURZjVdghy2V-gB-sweIR3ERE78jdRE32VzHOvG3fDjyVn9LOAGFYmLYJ9LREjAT-cEn9yzcrUDWWGyW0-0adKLTF5l7yLhuc2E-RbovK8neY_a1GcjjRRl7o37cy_M7

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國際時事跟讀 Ep.K799: 美國爆發禽流感疫情引發關注 Bird Flu Outbreak Raises Concerns in the United States

通勤學英語 15Mins Today