In recent news from Texas, there’s been a second case in the United States where someone got sick with a virus from bird flu — the HPAI A(H5N1) virus. It’s a pretty serious bird flu, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed this case.
The person who got sick worked around dairy cows in Texas. They had just one sign of being sick, which was a red eye, like pink eye. They’re getting better now, which is great! They had to stay away from others and they got medicine for the flu, too.
Even though this sounds pretty scary, the CDC says that for most of us, the risk is still low. But if you spend a lot of time around birds or animals that might be sick, or if you’re in places that could be dirty from sick birds or animals, your chances of getting sick are higher.
The CDC is keeping a close watch on people who work with animals, especially if they’ve been near sick birds or animals. They want to make sure everyone is okay. Doctors are also being told to look out for bird flu in people and to give medicine if someone does have it.
This isn’t the first time someone in the US got sick with this kind of bird flu. There was another case last year in Colorado. These bird flu cases don’t happen a lot, but they’ve been seen in different places around the world.
Birds in the wild and those being kept by people started getting sick with this flu in the US by the end of 2021. Sometimes people get a mild sickness from it, like an eye infection or cold symptoms, but it can also make people really sick with pneumonia. In some other countries, people have even died from it.
This flu is found in wild birds all over the US and the world. It’s also made some chickens and other birds that people keep sick, and sometimes other animals, too, like cows. Just recently, there was news about some cows in Texas and Kansas that got sick with this bird flu.
The good news is that the medicines we have for the flu should still work against this bird flu. If needed, there are also special flu shots being made that might help. The regular flu shots we get each year won’t protect us from the bird flu, though. Scientists are still studying the bird flu to learn more.
The CDC has some advice on how to keep safe. They say to stay away from sick or dead animals, not to touch them with your bare hands. This includes birds like chickens, other birds people may keep, and wild animals, even cows. Also, don’t drink milk that hasn’t been pasteurized or eat it in foods made with raw milk from a sick animal. The same goes for handling or eating raw meat.
If someone has been near a sick bird or animal, they should watch out for any signs of getting sick for 10 days. This is true even if they were wearing protective gear.
The FDA and the Department of Agriculture assure us that the milk we buy at the store is safe because it’s been pasteurized, which kills bacteria and viruses. Milk from the sick animals isn’t being used for food, and any milk that goes across state lines must be pasteurized, too.
The CDC is still working to keep track of this situation, along with other agencies. It’s important we stay prepared, just in case things change. They’ll let us know if there’s any new information we need.