What is bird flu, and how much should you worry about it?

With COVID-19 Omicron variant Currently, the main illnesses people are worried about still exist, but government officials are quietly warning about another virus, bird flu, that is occurring in the United States.

Recent USDA Issued an alert After detecting cases of “highly pathogenic” avian influenza in some wild birds. (If you are not familiar with the term “pathogenic”, it means that it can cause disease.) So far, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has been a specific strain of bird flu, H5N1HPAI. I found. With three wild birds through the sampling program. Two were in South Carolina and one was in North Carolina.

“These findings are not unexpected, as wild birds can become infected with HPAI and show no signs of illness,” said USDA. “They can carry the disease to new areas when they migrate. APHIS expects additional wild bird discoveries as a powerful wild bird sampling program continues into spring.”

USDA encourages people to minimize contact with wild birds and wear gloves when they need to come into contact with them. Anyone involved in hunters or commercial or backyard poultry is encouraged to “practice good biosecurity” to reduce the risk of getting sick and spreading the disease.

All of this raises many questions about bird flu and how much you really need to worry about. Infectious disease specialists break it down.

What is bird flu?

Bird flu, also known as bird flu or bird flu, is a disease caused by infection with the bird flu type A virus. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Bird flu occurs naturally in wild aquatic birds around the world and can infect poultry along with other bird and animal species.

Bird flu is not common in humans, but it is an infectious disease in humans. This particular strain has a high mortality rate.Data from World Health Organization (WHO) shows that of the 863 reported cases of H5N1 avian influenza worldwide between 2003 and 2021, 456 died.

How do people get the bird flu?

Infected birds shed the avian influenza virus in saliva, mucus, and feces. CDC If the virus invades or inhales the human eye, nose, or mouth, it can infect humans. The virus can enter the air with droplets or dust, which can be inhaled by a person or can be transmitted after touching something with the virus on the mouth, eyes, or nose.

The spread from person to person has been reported in the past. “Still, it’s pretty rare,” says Thomas Russo, MD, a professor at the University at Buffalo at the University of New York and responsible for infectious diseases. “At this point, human-to-human communication is inadequate.”

It is important to point out that eating does not cause bird flu. Completely cooked Poultry products. “You can’t get it by eating cooked chicken, ducks, and geese,” says Dr. William Schaffner, MD, an infectious disease specialist and professor at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

However CDC Warn against eating raw or poorly cooked poultry products due to the risk of bird flu. This includes eating fully cooked (non-pink) meat and chicken, as well as eating hard-cooked (non-fluent) eggs.

What are the symptoms of bird flu?

Bird flu can cause a variety of potential symptoms, from mild to severe. CDC To tell. They include:

• Pink eyes
• heat
• cough
• sore throat
• muscle pain
• Stomach pain
• diarrhea
• vomiting
• Dyspnea
• Dyspnea
• pneumonia
• Respiratory failure
• Changes in mental status
• Seizures

Who is at risk of getting bird flu?

Some people are at a higher risk of getting bird flu than others, says Dr. Russo. They are commonly included:

• Poultry worker
• Hunter
• farmers
• People with backyard birds and poultry

How is bird flu treated?

If you have bird flu, you are usually treated with antiviral drugs such as oseltamivir and zanamivir. People who have come into contact with infected birds may also be given antiviral and influenza medications to prevent infection. CDC To tell.

How much do you need to worry about bird flu?

There are several reasons why this latest detection of bird flu is talking to people in the infectious disease and agricultural communities. There are two strains of bird flu that cause the most human illnesses, serious infections, and deaths in the world. CDC— H7N9 and H5N1, recently detected strains in the United States

Bird flu does not spread easily among humans, but infectious disease experts are concerned that it will change at some point. “Before SARS-CoV-2 [the virus that causes COVID-19], H5N1 and other avian influenza strains have been concerned about causing a pandemic, “says Dr. Russo. “It hasn’t happened yet.”

However, experts continue to pay attention to bird flu, as bird flu can spread rapidly to people. “There is always concern that this bird flu strain can infect people who are already infected with traditional flu. These two viruses come together to share the genetics and bird flu from person to person. “It has the potential to acquire the ability to spread more efficiently,” says Dr. Schaffner.

Notable: CDC For this reason, it is “very important” to monitor human transmission of bird flu.

But with that said, experts say this isn’t something the average person should emphasize at this point. “For now, people shouldn’t be surprised at this,” says Dr. Russo. “This was there for a while and couldn’t evolve any further, but continuous monitoring is important and important.”

Dr. Schaffner agrees. “This warning is directed at all of us in public health,” he says. “That’s what we’re paying attention to.”

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