(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/05/2025) State agencies would be given $11.5 million, under new Rep. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) legislation, to test more animals and humans for the avian flu, a virus that is wiping out entire bird flocks and starting to make people sick. 

Flanked by eight of her House Democratic colleagues, Rheingans laid out at a press conference on Wednesday the need for more respiratory samples, sequencing and subtyping of the H5N1 virus, so officials can pinpoint the origins of a potential gene that allows for human-to-human transmission. 

From what she said she’s hearing, Michigan and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) are among the best in the country at getting ahead of bird flu transmission, but she wants to keep the momentum going to prevent human-to-human transmission as much as possible. 

"The bird flu is the flu,” she said. “So, we know for sure it will behave like the flu. That's why we’re worried about this.” 

Infectious disease researchers say a more virulent mutation of the bird flu could be headed this way as migratory flocks make their way back from warmer climates. 

House Democrats commended Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration’s response to the “bird flu,” but they were more critical of the President Donald Trump administration.   

Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) said Trump’s layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “is not helpful.” 

Her resolution urged the feds and Trump to create a comprehensive national strategy to curb the spread of bird flu – one that includes multi-agency coordination to improve surveillance and prevention measures. 

“The federal government, under the Trump administration, must do its job and play a leading role in responding to the epidemic for all 50 states,” Coffia said. “Bird flu is a national problem. It doesn’t respect the invisible state lines that we do . . . States cannot go it alone.” 

The bills rolled out on Wednesday include HB 4171, which puts $10 million into the Department of Health and Human Services to test those exposed to infected birds or their droppings and now have flu-like symptoms. From there, the goal is to prevent complications and stop the spread of the virus. 

HB 4172 steers $500,000 from the General Fund to the Department of Natural Resources to test backyard flocks, dead birds and their droppings to find evidence of H5N1. 

HB 4173 steers $1 million from the General Fund to MDARD for the same charge. 

Rheingans is sponsoring all the bills with multiple House Democrats signing on as co-sponsors. 

Coffia’s resolution was not read into the record Wednesday.   

The money would come from the General Fund and would need to stretch until Sept. 30, 2029.