What to know about the latest bird flu outbreak in the US

A poultry facility in Michigan and egg manufacturer in Texas each reported outbreaks of avian flu this week. The latest traits on the virus additionally come with infected dairy cows and the first recognized example of a human catching bird flu from a mammal.

Although well being officers say the chance to the public stays low, there’s emerging worry, rising in section from news that the greatest manufacturer of unpolluted eggs in the U.S. reported an outbreak.

Here are some key issues to know about the illness.

WHAT ARE EXPERTS SAYING?

Dr. Mandy Cohen, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, instructed The Associated Press on Wednesday that the company is taking bird flu critically, however stressed out that the virus has already been smartly studied.

“The fact that it is in cattle now definitely raises our concern level,” Cohen stated, noting that it approach farmworkers who paintings with livestock — and now not simply the ones running with birds — might want to take precautions.

The just right news is that “it’s not a new strain of the virus,” Cohen added. “This is known to us and we’ve been studying it, and frankly, we’ve been preparing for avian flu for 20 years.”

WHAT IS BIRD FLU?

Some flu viruses principally have an effect on folks, however others mainly happen in animals. Avian viruses unfold naturally in wild aquatic birds like geese and ducks, after which to chickens and different domesticated poultry.

The bird flu virus drawing consideration as of late — Type A H5N1 — used to be first recognized in 1959. Like different viruses, it has advanced through the years, spawning more recent variations of itself.

Since 2020, the virus has been spreading amongst more animal species — together with canine, cats, skunks, bears or even seals and porpoises — in ratings of nations.

In the U.S., this model of the bird flu has been detected in wild birds in each state, in addition to business poultry operations and yard flocks. Nationwide, tens of thousands and thousands of chickens have died from the virus or been killed to forestall outbreaks from spreading.

Last week, U.S. officers stated it were discovered in farm animals. As of Tuesday, it were found out in dairy herds in five states — Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico and Texas — in accordance to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

HOW OFTEN DO PEOPLE GET BIRD FLU?

This bird flu used to be first recognized as a danger to folks throughout a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong. In the previous 20 years, just about 900 folks had been recognized globally with bird flu and greater than 460 folks have died, according to the World Health Organization.

There had been best two instances in the U.S., and neither have been deadly.

In 2022, a jail inmate in a piece program caught it whilst killing inflamed birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His best symptom used to be fatigue, and he recovered.

This week, Texas well being officers announced that an individual who were in touch with cows were recognized with bird flu. Their best reported symptom used to be eye redness.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF BIRD FLU?

Symptoms are an identical to that of alternative flus, together with cough, frame aches and fever. Some folks don’t have noticeable signs, however others expand serious, life-threatening pneumonia.

CAN IT SPREAD BETWEEN PEOPLE?

The overwhelming majority of inflamed folks have got it without delay from birds, however scientists are on guard for any signal of unfold amongst folks.

There had been a couple of circumstances when that it seems that took place — maximum not too long ago in 2007 in Asia. In every cluster, it unfold inside households from a in poor health particular person in the house.

U.S. well being officers have stressed out that the present public well being chance is low and that there’s no signal that bird flu is spreading particular person to particular person.

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Associated Press journalists Jonathan Poet in Philadelphia and Mike Stobbe and videojournalist Sharon Johnson in Atlanta contributed to this document.