Five members of the U.S. House of Representatives are investigating the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) agency’s approach to handling the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) situation.
Reps. Gerald Connolly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Emily Randall, Wesley Bell and Lateefa Simon, all Democrats, wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., requesting that he provide information on how the agency is addressing the HPAI outbreak, the associated costs, and any coordination with other federal agencies on the matter.
They also pointed out to Kennedy that the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, of which Connolly is the ranking member, has broad authority to investigate any matter at any time.
The House members, in their letter, addressed an earlier statement made by Kennedy, who suggested considering allowing HPAI to “run through the flock so that we can identify the birds, and preserve the birds that are immune to it." They also expressed concern that U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins gave credence to Kennedy’s suggestion, despite it being contrary to aspects of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) $1 billion plan to combat HPAI, which Rollins introduced in February.
“Allowing avian flu to ravage flocks across the country is dangerous and reckless, and is an approach unsupported by scientists, public health officials and veterinarians. This ‘strategy’ also coincides with the emergency of a new strain of a highly pathogenic bird flu known as H7N9, which surfaced at a poultry farm in Mississippi earlier this month and led to the deaths of 46,000 birds,” the Democrats wrote.
The information the authors of the letter requested from Kennedy include:
- All documents and communications related to HPAI coordination between HHS, USDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- A complete list of any non-governmental experts consulted by HHS related to HPAI response, including public health officials, epidemiologists, scientists and veterinarians.
- A complete list of individuals who recommended that the federal government allow HPAI to “run through the flock” in an effort to build immunity. That list is to include each individuals’ credentials and expertise, and whether that individual has ever provided recommendations to the federal government in the past.
- A detailed description of the potential risks to humans from allowing avian influenza to mutated and spread.
- A detailed explanation of the potential effects on children and families if eggs and related avian products continue to increase in price, and a full list and description of steps being taken by HHS – whether it be alone or in conjunction with other federal and state agencies – to ensure that eggs remain affordable for all U.S. families.
The House members asked that the above information be provided by April 18. The letter is dated April 1.
View our continuing coverage of the global avian influenza situation.
To learn more about HPAI cases in commercial poultry flocks in the United States, Mexico and Canada, see an interactive map on WATTPoultry.com.
