Officials in California have declared a state of emergency due to the spread of bird flu, as infections in dairy cows are increasing and causing sporadic illnesses among people in the United States.
This raises new questions about the virus, which has been spreading for years in wild birds, commercial poultry and many mammalian species.
The virus, also known as Type A H5N1, was first detected in U.S. dairy cows in March. Since then, at least 866 herds have been confirmed infected with bird flu in 16 states.
More than 60 people have been infected in eight states, most with mild illness, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). US health officials said this week that one person in Louisiana was hospitalized with the first known serious illness caused by the virus.
Here’s what you need to know.
Why did California declare a state of emergency?
Governor Gavin Newsom said he declared a state of emergency to better position state employees and supplies to respond to the outbreak.
California looks for bird flu in large milk tanks during processing. They have detected the virus in at least 650 herds, representing about three-quarters of all infected dairy herds in the United States.
Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, Director of Epidemic Preparedness and Pandemics at the World Health Organization, is calling for increased global surveillance of animal populations known to be vulnerable to H5N1 infection, including wild birds, poultry, pigs and livestock.
The virus was recently discovered on dairy farms in Southern California after being detected in the state’s Central Valley since August.
“This announcement is a targeted action to ensure government agencies have the resources and flexibility they need to quickly respond to this outbreak,” Newsom said in a statement.
What is the risk to the general public?
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control stressed again this week that the virus poses a low risk to the general public.
Importantly, there are no reports of person-to-person transmission and no signs that the virus has changed to spread more easily between humans.
Overall, flu experts agreed with that assessment, saying it’s too early to know what path the outbreak could take.
“The very unsatisfactory answer would be, ‘I don’t think we know that yet,'” said Richard Wiebe, an influenza expert at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Michigan.
But virus experts are concerned because influenza viruses are constantly mutating and small genetic changes can change the outlook.
Have cases become more serious?
This week, health officials confirmed the first known case of severe illness in the United States. All previous US cases – there have been about 60 – have generally been mild.
The patient in Louisiana, who is over 65 years old and has underlying medical problems, is in critical condition. Few details have been released, but officials said the person developed severe respiratory symptoms after being exposed to a flock of sick birds in the backyard.
This makes it the first confirmed infection in the United States linked to backyard birds, the CDC said.
Tests showed that the strain that made the person sick was one found in wild birds, but not livestock. Last month, health officials in Canada reported that a teenager in British Columbia was hospitalized with a severe case of bird flu, also with a strain of the virus found in wild birds.
Previous infections in the United States have occurred almost entirely among farmworkers who were directly exposed to infected dairy cows or poultry. In two cases — an adult in Missouri and a child in California — health officials did not determine how they contracted the disease.
The H5N1 virus does not pose a threat to the general public at this time, but that does not mean it should be completely ignored, said Dr. Amesh Adalgia, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an infectious diseases physician in Baltimore. Due to exposure to farm workers.
“We only have one serious case in the United States, and understanding why most cases are mild, that’s also a big challenge,” Adalgia said in an interview with CBC News.
Adalgia said the case in British Columbia was a strain more closely related to what is spreading in geese, while the version found in Louisiana was more closely related to what is spreading in poultry.
How can people protect themselves?
The CDC and other experts said people who handle dairy cows, commercial poultry or backyard birds are at greater risk and should use precautions including respiratory and eye protection and gloves.
“If birds start looking sick or dying, they need to be very careful about how they handle those animals,” said Michael Osterholm, a public health disease expert at the University of Minnesota.
Day six7:19Why does an infectious disease expert say we should pay close attention to H5N1?
The case of a teenager in British Columbia who became seriously ill with the H5N1 virus shows it’s time to pay close attention to how bird flu spreads and changes, says Dr. Samira Mbaraka, an infectious disease physician and microbiologist at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto. It is transmitted from birds to mammals.
The CDC has paid for flu vaccines to protect farmworkers from seasonal flu — and from the risk of workers getting two types of flu at the same time, which could allow the bird flu virus to mutate and become more dangerous. The US government also said that farm workers who come into close contact with infected animals should be tested and offered antiviral medications even if they do not show any symptoms.
Canadians should be aware of the increased risks of exposure and transmission to humans through contact with poultry, wild waterfowl, other animals or their environments, said Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
“You have to have a lot of situational awareness around influenza-like illnesses, especially with Canada moving into flu season alongside the United States,” Adalja said.
How does bird flu spread?
In addition to direct contact with farm animals and wild birds, the H5N1 virus can be spread in raw milk. Pasteurized milk is safe to drink, because heat treatment kills the virus, according to the US Food and Drug Administration.
But high levels of the virus have been found in unpasteurized milk. And two brands Raw milk Products sold in stores in California have been recalled in recent weeks after the virus was discovered on farms and in produce.
In Los Angeles, county officials reported that two cats that were fed recalled raw milk died of bird flu infections. Officials are investigating additional reports of Sick cats.
Health officials are urging people to avoid drinking raw milk, which can spread a range of germs in addition to bird flu.
The USDA has stepped up testing of raw milk across the country to help detect and contain the outbreak. A federal order issued this month requires testing that began this week in 13 states.
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