The latest on cases in the United States and what it means for your food.
How concerned should you be about bird flu, and what might this mean for the food supply? Here’s what you need to know.
🩺 What is bird flu?
Bird flu — clinically known as influenza A (H5N1) — is a variation of flu virus that spreads primarily among birds and poultry and can be highly contagious and even fatal among birds, according to the CDC. Occasionally, the virus will jump to other animals if they eat infected birds or drink water contaminated by the feces of infected birds, the CDC says. That has become more common in recent years. Viruses are constantly mutating, and the more they spread, the more they mutate. A recent family of variants may be particularly adept at infecting other animals, including cattle, according to the World Health Organization.
It’s rare for the virus to infect humans, and when it does happen, it’s usually confined to one person who was in close contact with an infected animal and doesn’t spread to others. Bird flu may cause mild to severe sickness in humans, and it has the potential to cause pneumonia and severe, sometimes fatal lung inflammation. Since 2020, there have been 26 cases in humans confirmed by the WHO, seven of which have been fatal.
❓What’s happening now?
The CDC continues to call for calm and considers the risk to the general public low, but on Monday the agency requested that state health departments begin gearing up in case additional people are infected.
So far the U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed nine cases of infected dairy cattle herds in Texas, three in Kansas, two in New Mexico and one each in Idaho, Michigan and Ohio.
The infected person was diagnosed after developing conjunctivitis, or pink eye. It’s only the second-ever human case of bird flu in the U.S.; the first was a poultry farm worker who was infected in 2022 while culling infected birds and recovered after experiencing only mild fatigue. Eye inflammation is the only symptom of the person currently infected, and they’re receiving antiviral medication.
Other dairy and poultry farm workers are the CDC’s main concern now. The agency asked state health officials to take steps like making sure they have bird flu tests available to confirm possible infections. It also said health officials should stay in close contact with veterinarians and agriculture department officials and asked to be notified of any “challenges” states encounter.
🏥 What are the risks to humans?
For the general public, the risk remains low, the CDC says. Bird flu has never been very good at spreading from person to person, so it’s unlikely to become widespread. The virus would have to mutate in some specific, key ways to make that possible.The good news is that it hasn’t, according to preliminary testing of a sample of virus from the infected person, who has only mild symptoms.
🥛 What does it mean for our food and milk?
Bird flu has been detected in egg-laying chickens and dairy cows at a handful of U.S. farms. It has also been found in unpasteurized milk. But the USDA says that there is “no concern about the safety of the commercial milk supply because products are pasteurized before entering the market.” Pasteurization is a partial sterilization process that’seffective at killing harmful viruses and bacteria, including bird flu. You shouldn’t consume unpasteurized milk or cheese regardless, the CDC warns, because they carry risks of infections like listeria. The CDC also notes that the risk of being infected from eating eggs is low, and properly cooking them would kill any virus anyway.
Farms are prohibited from selling products — including milk and eggs — from sick animals, so it’s unlikely that contaminated food would wind up on grocery store shelves. The most likely impact of the bird flu outbreak in animals on the food supply is rising prices. Egg prices have shot up as chickens have been culled or died, limiting the supply of eggs. Milk prices could see increases but are stable so far.
💉 Are there bird flu vaccines and treatments?
Two candidate vaccines — drafts of what would become the shots — seem to be good matches for the current strain of bird flu, the Washington Post reports. The CDC “maintains a stockpile of vaccines, including vaccines against A(H5N1)” — the strain the poultry farmer contracted — “and A(H7N9) bird flu viruses,” the agency’s website also states. Antiviral drugs can also be used to treat bird flu, although the CDC says that some variations of bird flu first found in Asia aren’t as responsive to these treatments.
Dr. Arnold Monto, a professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Michigan and member of the FDA’s vaccine committee, tells Yahoo Life that the U.S.’s bird flu vaccines require adjuvants, ingredients that improve human’s immune responses. An official with the Department of Health and Human Services also told the Washington Post that components for the vaccines are being tested, and it would likely take weeks to months for them to be ready for widespread distribution. Monto adds that the vaccine would also likely be given to only those at high risk — poultry and dairy farm workers — since there’s no evidence that bird flu spreads among humans.
🙅 How can I avoid bird flu?
Avoid close or prolonged contact with wild birds, cattle or any other animal suspected of being infected. The CDC also recommends steering clear of surfaces that may be contaminated with raw milk, animal feces, litter or anything else that might have crossed paths with an infected animal.
Cooking poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165˚F will kill off any virus. It’s also recommended for milk drinkers to consume only pasteurized milk to prevent contracting bird flu or other viruses or bacteria from raw foods, and to avoid raw or undercooked foods sourced from animals that may be infected with bird flu.
This article was originally published on Yahoo! life Apr. 4, 2024 edition. It has since been updated.
