调查披露犹他州一水貂养殖场禽流感蔓延逾两月未受控：专家称水貂呼吸道与人相似，州与联邦处置被指迟缓
位于美国犹他州 Utah County、Provo 以西的 C&T Fenn Farms 是一家饲养数千只水貂取皮的养殖场。据 ProPublica 10月23日发表的调查报道，犹他州农业官员早在今年8月中旬就已得知该场水貂正死于禽流感，依据是依州公共记录法公开的内部通讯；此后两个多月，疫情在场内持续蔓延，未得到有效控制。
报道指出，处置之所以迟缓，与制度空白直接相关：若家禽检出这一毒株，美国联邦规定要求整群扑杀，养殖户可获补偿；但对患病水貂，联邦层面没有相应处置规则。负责犹他州应对的是州兽医 Amanda Price，她曾向主管家禽与奶牛禽流感疫情的美国农业部（USDA）求助，得到的答复是该部不管辖水貂、也没有获批可用于水貂的疫苗。美国疾控中心 CDC 曾与州卫生部门中较少参与此事的人员沟通，却从未与 Price 本人通话，Price 也没有主动联系 CDC。
流感专家对这一处置提出严厉批评。报道引述多位专家称，相关失误「不负责任」「令人费解」，有人直言这是「在玩火」。专家担心的机制是：水貂的肺与呼吸道在细胞层面与人高度相似，水貂此前既能感染、传播其他流感病毒，也曾把新冠病毒传给人；若禽流感病毒在大量水貂中长时间传播，可能增加其适应哺乳动物乃至人的机会。据该调查，目前没有证据显示这一毒株能在人与人之间传播。
报道还称，犹他州官员在处置中更优先考虑的是养殖业者的生计：Price 对 ProPublica 表示，这场疫情对场主「是毁灭性的」，「这是他毕生的事业，正在眼看着被摧毁，我真心希望你们理解这背后的处境。」ProPublica 的调查认为，州与联邦官员除低调处理疫情存在外，几乎没有采取阻止病毒外溢到人的措施。（GSM 据 ProPublica 报道）
来源：GSM·美国
Bird Flu Has Spread Unchecked for Over Two Months on a Utah Mink Farm, ProPublica Investigation Finds
C&T Fenn Farms, west of Provo in Utah County, Utah, raises thousands of mink for fur. According to an investigation published by ProPublica on October 23, Utah agriculture officials learned in mid-August that mink were dying of bird flu on the farm, based on communications released under the state's public records law; in the more than two months since, the outbreak has continued to spread on the farm without effective control.
The investigation found that the slow response is tied to a regulatory gap: if poultry test positive for this strain, federal rules require the whole flock to be culled and farmers are reimbursed, but there are no federal rules for how to deal with sick mink. Utah's response was handled by state veterinarian Amanda Price, who sought help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which leads on bird flu outbreaks involving poultry and cows; USDA officials said they did not regulate mink and had no vaccine approved for them. Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spoke with Price's health department counterparts who were less involved in the outbreak, but never talked to Price herself, and she never reached out to them.
Flu experts sharply criticized the handling. The investigation quoted experts calling the cascade of missteps 'irresponsible' and 'puzzling,' with one calling it 'playing with fire.' The concern, experts say, is that mink have lungs and airways that on a cellular level are remarkably similar to those of people; mink have caught and spread other flus and have infected some humans with COVID-19, so prolonged circulation in large numbers of mink could give the virus more chances to adapt to mammals and potentially to people. According to the investigation, there is no evidence the strain can spread between people.
The investigation also reported that Utah officials put the farm business's interests front and center. Price told ProPublica the outbreak's impact on the farm's owner had been 'devastating': 'This is his life's work that he's seeing be destroyed. I really hope that you understand the humanity behind this situation.' ProPublica found that state and federal officials had done little beyond trying to keep the outbreak's existence quiet, and little to stop the virus from spilling into humans. (GSM, based on reporting by ProPublica)
Source: GSM, United States
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：水貂资料图（Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0；图说：资料图，非涉事养殖场）
