AVIAN FLU

contract it, and symptoms include sudden fatigue, decreased egg production, and nasal discharge.

e avian u has recently been linked to deaths in mammals that consumed infected birds.

e nationwide outbreak has driven up egg prices across the country. According to federal data, a dozen eggs cost an average of $4.83 as of January 2023, up from the average of $1.93 recorded a year prior.

“What we can likely expect is higher education funding formula. At the same time, he said he understands why money is a sensitive subject.

“I totally respect the reason that folks are really concerned about the funding formula is that higher education is way underfunded in this state, just severely underfunded,” Taggart said. “If you start messing with the formula, you’re going to rob Peter to pay Paul.”

For university leaders, the bill did place funding under the microscope. Supporters such as Colorado Mesa University President John Marshall said he hoped the designation would kick o a larger conversation about the money schools need to educate rst-generation students who often need more support. Colorado Mesa University and Metropolitan State University of Denver supported the bill and would have almost immediately earned the rst generationserving designation.

In a statement, MSU Denver President Janine Davidson said the school was proud to stand behind the bill.

“While we’re disappointed it didn’t pass, we remain committed to making MSU Denver a vibrant home for those trailblazing students who are the rst in their families to go to college,” she said.

Opponents such as Colorado State University System Chancellor Tony Frank said during committee testi- across the nation, we’re going to see another increase in cases this spring, and that’s really what led to consumer impacts was when we had a lot of our commercial egg laying populations impacted around the same time,” Baldwin said.

With the length of the outbreak hitting “unprecedented” levels, Baldwin acknowledges that fatigue may be setting in for commercial and domestic owners. However, she urges owners to keep up their biosecurity measures. When big, commercial farms are impacted, it takes months and millions of dollars to recover from a mass death event.

From avian u to zoning per- mony that other schools also serve students who are the rst in their family to go to college in their family. He worried that the designation would create unfair considerations later on. A CSU System spokeswoman did not return a request for comment. e bill passed the House Education Committee unanimously last month, but Taggart and co-sponsor state Rep. Serena Gonzales-Guttierez, a Denver Democrat, pulled the bill from consideration before a full House vote last week.

Taggart said schools should get recognized for what they do for students, and students should know about their options. For example, schools whose student populations are 25% Hispanic or more are desig- mits, here’s what you need to know about raising backyard chickens e federal government is discussing the possibility for a largescale avian u vaccination program for poultry, and e New York Times reports a potential vaccine is already being tested.

Baldwin, along with experts from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado State University, will host a webinar next week to share more information about the avian u and how to keep ocks safe this spring.

Avian u cases among humans are extremely rare, and they usually occur only when people are heavily exposed to infected poultry.

“ e USDA is really the rst step nated Hispanic-Serving Institutions. However, that federal designation does come with extra money. Other schools or programs might get special designations for what they’ve accomplished, Taggart said. is story was originally published by Chalkbeat. Sign up for their newsletters at ckbe.at/newsletters in getting that approval process started because, if you vaccinate, there are potential trade implications,” Baldwin said. is story is from CPR News, a nonpro t news source. Used by permission. For more, and to support Colorado Public Radio, visit cpr.org.

Taggart hopes he can nd more agreement when he brings the bill back next year. Educating rst-generation students will be a big part of how Colorado gets a more educated population, he said.

“I am disappointed because this evolved into a funding discussion rather than sticking to a designation that these universities deserve,” Taggart said.

In the meantime, agriculture o cials and veterinarians are still searching for other solutions. ere’s “no clear end in sight” for this avian u outbreak, Baldwin said. With no treatment available and the uncontrollable nature of bird migration coming back into play, it appears this strain of avian u is here to stay.