A guidance committee, composed of representatives from several State and Federal wildlife agencies, was instrumental in helping us frame the decision context for this risk assessment.

Prior to the emergence of the A/goose/Guangdong/1/1996 (Gs/GD) H5N1 influenza A virus, the long‐held and well‐supported paradigm was that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks were restricted to poultry, the result of cross‐species transmission of precursor viruses from wild aquatic birds that subsequently gained pathogenicity in domestic birds. Therefore, management agencies typically adopted a prevention, control, and eradication strategy that included strict biosecurity for domestic bird production, isolation of infected and exposed flocks, and prompt depopulation. In most cases, this strategy has proved sufficient for eradicating HPAI. Since 2002, this paradigm has been challenged with many detections of viral descendants of the Gs/GD lineage among wild birds, most of which have been associated with sporadic mortality events. Since the emergence and evolution of the genetically distinct clade 2.3.4.4 Gs/GD lineage HPAI viruses in approximately 2010, there have been further increases in the occurrence of HPAI in wild birds and geographic spread through migratory bird movement. A prominent example is the introduction of clade 2.3.4.4 Gs/GD HPAI viruses from East Asia to North America via migratory birds in autumn 2014 that ultimately led to the largest outbreak of HPAI in the history of the United States. Given the apparent maintenance of Gs/GD lineage HPAI viruses in a global avian reservoir; bidirectional virus exchange between wild and domestic birds facilitating the continued adaptation of Gs/GD HPAI viruses in wild bird hosts; the current frequency of HPAI outbreaks in wild birds globally, and particularly in Eurasia where Gs/GD HPAI viruses may now be enzootic; and ongoing dispersal of AI viruses from East Asia to North America via migratory birds, HPAI now represents an emerging disease threat to North American wildlife. This recent paradigm shift implies that management of HPAI in domestic birds alone may no longer be sufficient to eradicate HPAI viruses from a given country or region. Rather, agencies managing wild birds and their habitats may consider the development or adoption of mitigation strategies to minimize introductions to poultry, to reduce negative impacts on wild bird populations, and to diminish adverse effects to stakeholders using wildlife resources. The main objective of this review is, therefore, to provide information that will assist wildlife managers in developing mitigation strategies or approaches for dealing with outbreaks of Gs/GD HPAI in wild birds in the form of preparedness, surveillance, research, communications, and targeted management actions. Resultant outbreak response plans and actions may represent meaningful steps of wildlife managers toward the use of collaborative and multi‐jurisdictional One Health approaches when it comes to the detection, investigation, and mitigation of emerging viruses at the human‐domestic animal‐wildlife interface.

On May 5, 2021, this report was posted as an MMWR Early Release on the MMWR website (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr).Recent studies have documented the emergence and rapid growth of B.1.526, a novel variant of interest (VOI) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the New York City (NYC) area after its identification in NYC in November 2020 (1-3). Two predominant subclades within the B.1.526 lineage have been identified, one containing the E484K mutation in the receptor-binding domain (1,2), which attenuates in vitro neutralization by multiple SARS-CoV-2 antibodies and is present in variants of concern (VOCs) first identified in South Africa (B.1.351) (4) and Brazil (P.1).* The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) analyzed laboratory and epidemiologic data to characterize cases of B.1.526 infection, including illness severity, transmission to close contacts, rates of possible reinfection, and laboratorydiagnosed breakthrough infections among vaccinated persons. Preliminary data suggest that the B.1.526 variant does not lead to more severe disease and is not associated with increased risk for infection after vaccination (breakthrough infection) or reinfection. Because relatively few specimens were sequenced over the study period, the statistical power might have been insufficient to detect modest differences in rates of uncommon outcomes such as breakthrough infection or reinfection. Collection of timely viral genomic data for a larger proportion of citywide cases and rapid integration with population-based surveillance data would enable improved understanding of the impact of emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and specific mutations to help guide public health intervention efforts.SARS-CoV-2 specimens were sequenced at the Public Health Laboratory (PHL) or the Pandemic Response Laboratory (PRL). During January 1-April 5, 2021, PHL received specimens primarily from NYC residents at nine COVID Express laboratories. All nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT)positive SARS-CoV-2 specimens with a cycle threshold (Ct) value <32 underwent whole genome sequencing (WGS) (Scott Hughes, PhD, NYC PHL, personal communication, April 2021). At PRL, specimens collected at approximately 190 outpatient facilities were randomly selected, and those with a Ct value ≤30 were sequenced (5,6). Characteristics of persons *

Background and Significance Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is an emerging infectious disease that is fatal to free-ranging and captive animals in Cervidae (the deer family; referred to as "cervids"). Affected animals include some Odocoileus, Cervus, and Muntiacus species (deer), Cervus canadensis (elk), Alces alces (moose), and Rangifer tarandus (reindeer). Once an animal is infected, CWD typically causes neurological damage that grows more severe until the host animal dies. Originally identified in 1967, to date (early 2018), the disease has been found in 24 States as well as Canada, South Korea, and Norway. It continues to spread across North America through new and ongoing outbreaks (fig. 1). In addition, the proportion of CWD-infected animals is increasing in many areas where the disease is already established. For example, the proportion of adult male and female Odocoileus virginianus (white-tailed deer) in north-central Iowa County, Wisconsin, that tested positive for CWD has more than doubled during a 6-year period (2011-16). Approximately 40-50 percent of the adult male population and 20-30 percent of the adult female population was infected by 2016, making north-central Iowa County one of the most heavily affected regions in the United States (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2017). In some heavily affected areas, total cervid numbers have decreased over time due to CWD, which suggests that these cervid populations may not be sustainable in

Experimental logging of Appalachian forests reduced the overall abundance of ovipositing mosquitoes captured by gravid traps. Two container‐breeding Aedes species responded strongly to logging, while Culex pipiens/restuans was largely unaffected. The richness and diversity of the sampled mosquito community were not significantly affected by logging treatment, but gravid traps are unlikely to have robustly sampled all mosquito species present. Logging resulted in significant shifts in community composition of ovipositing mosquitoes. This was probably driven by the differential responses to logging of the container‐breeding Aedes species versus Culex pipiens/restuans.