Photo taken by: Willow Handley
Could your hamburger meat and milk be infected with a strain of bird flu? Hopefully not.
H5N1 is a strain of Bird Flu that is causing outbreaks within the poultry and dairy industry. This strain has been around since 1997. Bird Flu is defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as “the disease caused by infection with avian (bird) influenza (flu) Type A viruses.”
The main concern with the virus is its ability to cross barriers between species, bird to human.
As of April 30, 2024 there have been 36 dairy herds affected throughout 9 states according to the CDC. The CDC also confirmed that the first person who tested positive after having exposure to H5N1 was in Texas. The first instance of mammal to human transmission was in 2022 when someone in Colorado tested positive via nasal swab for a different strain.
This virus can be most commonly seen in chickens, ducks, geese, and hens. These viruses can be spread to other birds, animals, and although it is rare, even humans. Humans who work with poultry are the ones who get infected.
If humans get infected with bird flu, some of the side effects include; cough, headaches, difficulty breathing, fatigue, body aches, and many more. Other diseases humans can get from animals include rabies, trichinosis, and brucellosis, etc.
There are several ways in which humans can get infected. They can get it through direct contact, contaminated surfaces and the bird flu virus in the air whether in droplets or dust.
Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Georgia Southern University, Jessica Schwind, gave us some helpful statistics to understand the severity of this disease. She said “From January 1, 2003 to March 28 2024, only 888 cases of human infection with avian influenza (H5N1) were reported in 23 countries. Out of the 888 known cases, 463 were fatal. This equates to a catastrophic case fatality rate of 52% once H5N1 gets into humans.”
Justin Bennett, an agricultural teacher in middle Georgia, oversees students and helps them take care of swine livestock. He explained that “bacterial and viral infections can arise from different people entering the barn and working with the animals.”
Bennett gave the example of students and parents bringing in these diseases on their shoes and clothing, then passing it to the animals.
All unprotected contact with wild birds or animals should be avoided if at all possible. Even if the animals don’t look sick, they could still be carrying several kinds of diseases.
If contact is made, wash your hand with soap and water. If you work with a large number of animals, you should wear a N95 mask to help protect you from the airborne portion of the virus.
Personal Protective Equipment or PPE is recommended because “much of the risk to humans occurs during the removal of dead birds or clean up of spaces where infected birds were housed” according to the AgriSafe Network.
Pigs, if fallen ill, will not eat or drink water. Cows, however, can have low appetite, reduced milk production, and may have an abnormal appearance of milk such as being thick or discolored.
Even though the virus might be as deadly in cows as it is with birds, if an infected cow’s milk gets processed and consumed it could cause humans to fall ill. This is why humans are advised not to drink raw milk or eat raw-based cheese, it may have harmful bacteria according to the FDA.
If the animal is infected they will be given antibiotics and electrolytes to help cure the disease. Bennett said that “an antibiotic many have a 14-day withdrawal which means it will take 14 days for all the medication to exit the animal’s body. During this period of time the animal cannot be sent to the slaughter.”
This is to ensure that humans don’t consume any product containing the antibiotics or the disease itself, if the medicine hasn’t cured it yet.
To take extra precaution, make sure you are not drinking any raw milk that came straight from the farm. Also, if you are cooking meat or chicken, make sure that you are cooking it to completion. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services says that “all parts of the chicken need to be fully cooked to a temp. of 165 degrees F – this temp. will kill the H5N1 as well as other illnesses.”