The CDC has confirmed the first serious human case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States in Louisiana in December. THE Louisiana Department of Health reported Monday that the patient had died.
The LDH revealed that the patient was over 65 years old, had underlying medical conditions and contracted avian flu after exposure to both wild birds and a non-commercial backyard flock. “LDH’s extensive public health investigation has not identified any additional cases of H5N1 or evidence of person-to-person transmission,” the department wrote. “This patient remains the only human case of H5N1 in Louisiana.” CNN Health reports that the patient had the Avian influenza virus clade D1.1which differs from the strain circulating in dairy cattle.
When the patient first contracted the illness in December, the CDC said this sporadic case of severe H5N1 avian flu was not uncommon. The H5N1 virus has been associated with serious human illness and fatal illness in other countries in 2024 and earlier. At the time of publication, the CDC had not reported the patient’s death.
This occurs approximately two months after a A Canadian teenager was hospitalized with H5N1 avian flu. The Public Health Agency of Canada said the virus was “linked to H5N1 avian influenza viruses from the ongoing poultry outbreak in British Columbia.” However, citing privacy reasons, Canadian public health officials did not provide patient updates or the source of the virus even if their investigation is closed.
In recent months, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Influenza Surveillance System has announced two human cases of avian influenza for which there was no clear link to exposure to sick animals — a adult in Missouri reported in early September and late November, a child in California.
The risk for the general public (i.e. people who do not have direct contact with farm animals, particularly sick ones) remains weakAccording to the CDC. Many infectious disease experts and scientists have consistently called for more alarm and action on the current bird flu situation, especially after bird flu was first reported in a pig this autumn. While once again emphasizing that the risk to the general public is low, the CDC has called avian flu a “spread to a new mammal”still worrying“, especially in pigs, because they are particularly sensitive to influenza viruses.
What’s more, the spread of avian flu is accompanied by a renewed interest in wellness trend of drinking raw milk. In November, raw milk sold in California was recalled because it contained the avian flu virus.
Two indoor cats that consumed this raw milk and have since died tested positive for influenza A (of which H5N1 avian influenza is a subtype), which is rare in cats. According to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the department is “taking into account these suspected cases of H5 bird flu and is in the process of obtaining confirmatory testing,” noting that the nationwide outbreak of H5 bird flu has been detected in other cats infected with the virus after consuming infected raw milk. Most recently, pet food company Northwest Naturals recalled a lot from its raw turkey pet food after an indoor cat died of bird flu linked to the product.
According to the USDA, over the past 30 days there have been 182 confirmed cases in two states, cattle infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) virus. This brings the total number of confirmed cases in cattle to 917 in 16 states.
The fact that bird flu can be found in raw milk is not necessarily surprising since raw milk does not go through the pasteurization process that inactivates harmful bacteria or viruses like bird flu, but it has attracted attention. watch out for another pathway in which – although no human illnesses have been reported – people could theoretically be exposed to bird flu.
As long as animals and humans live, work and gather around each other, there is a risk that viruses will mutate enough to jump from one species to another. Fortunately, so far, bird flu in humans is rare, in part because the virus does not spread as easily from animals to humans or between humans, although sporadic cases have occurred in other countries. as well as in the United States. As the gap between the potential for human exposure narrows versus the continued spread of avian influenza in animals, it is increasingly important to understand the risk that avian influenza poses to public health and threat of another pandemic.
Here’s what you need to know about avian flu, or bird flu, and what it looks like in humans.
Avian flu began as a poultry and bird problem in the United States, but has spread to cows, which are often affected. have close contact with people. This increases the risk that the virus will one day spread to humans.
What is bird flu?
In short, avian flu, also called bird fluis a type of flu that spreads between certain animals and is currently causing outbreaks in birds and livestock in the United States. Scientists are closely monitoring mutations that could allow the virus to spread between people, posing a major threat to public health.
Specifically, avian influenza is an illness caused by infection with an influenza type A virus, and it is either “highly pathogenic” or “lowly pathogenic.” The current H5N1 outbreak strain in animals is highly pathogenic.
Avian flu was first detected and controlled in 1997, but it reappeared in 2003 and began to spread widely among birds.
The World Health Organization reports four types of flu viruses: A, B, C and D. Type A viruses, found in humans and different types of animals, pose the greatest threat to public health and can cause pandemics, according to the WHO. THE “swine flu” of the 2009 pandemic was caused by a type A virus. Seasonal flu virus in humans are caused by type A and type B viruses.
Avian flu has ravaged the American poultry industry for several years, leading to slaughter (murder) of millions of people of infected or potentially infected birds.
Is bird flu deadly? How many cases have there been in the United States?
There have been 66 confirmed human cases of H5 avian influenza (highly pathogenic) in the United States, according to January 6 information from the CDC. The vast majority of them involved people who had direct contact with sick animals, and the CDC’s flu surveillance system shows no indicators of unusual flu activity in humans.
Human cases remain rare, but avian flu is considered a serious threat to public health due to its historically high mortality rate. about half cases of H5N1 avian flu in humans have resulted in deaths since tracking began, according to information from the WHO. One death from bird flu has been reported in the United States, and historically, people who have tested positive for the virus have had direct contact with sick animals and experienced symptoms. mild flu-like symptoms.
Is there a vaccine against bird flu?
There is currently no bird flu vaccine available or recommended for people. However, the United States has invested in developing vaccines that could be used in an emergency, should one arise. In October, the Strategic Preparedness and Response Administration awarded approximately $72 million to CSL Seqirus, Sanofi and GSK to fill and complete additional doses vaccines that could be used against avian flu.
The US Department of Health and Human Services announced in early July that the government provide Moderna with $176 million to develop its mRNA flu vaccine, which could be used if bird flu starts spreading from person to person or becomes a pandemic.
Can I get bird flu from milk, eggs or meat?
No person in the United States has contracted bird flu from drinking milk or eating bird or cow meat. The commercial food supply, which makes up most of the food you’ll find in a regular grocery store, is regulated and meat from affected animals should not end up on store shelves.
There was fragments of an inactive avian flu virus have been discovered in pasteurized milk samples since the virus began spreading to cows. The high-temperature pasteurization process inactivates any viruses or bacteria, including bird flu, that could make people sick. Infectious virus found in raw milk and US Food and Drug Administration reiterating the general health risks of consuming raw milknot only in terms of bird flu, but also for other pathogens that often live in unpasteurized milk.
In terms of meat, cooking ground hamburger should also kill bird flu virusaccording to the Ministry of Agriculture. The same goes for poultry; According to the CDC, cooking eggs and poultry at an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit kills viruses, including bird flu.
It might be difficult to catch the flu from food or drinks anyway, depending on the infectious disease the experts we spoke with in the past since influenza (including avian influenza) is a respiratory virus.
If you work directly with animals or livestock, which includes working on a farm, or even if you visit a fair where there are livestockyou should consult specific information from the CDC safety tips to reduce the risk of spread.
