In the New York Times, Joseph Goldstein investigates New York City's preparations for a potential bird flu outbreak. While the H5N1 virus has not been found to spread between people, it has been found in dairy cattle (though not in New York). Although the article suggests that H5N1 is not "imminent," New York agricultural and public health officials and experts are wary.
The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets has established a system of mandatory H5N1 testing for dairy cattle at county fairs. On the human side, the state's public health laboratory is said to have "sufficient testing capacity." However, there is no widely available H5N1 test and epidemiologists have advised the state to encourage commerical and academic labs to develop such tests . The article reports that a team of epidemiologists are developing a test in the New York public hospital system to sample wastewater for H5N1.
The report notes that Federal officials have identified two vaccine virues for H5N1 and have stockpiled a million doses, with another 4.8 million on order. It has also amassed a large stockpile of influenza antivirals. Having drawn lessons from the Covid pandemic, NYC public hospital officials express a cautious readiness.