Bird Flu Is Spreading. Here’s Everything You Should Know Right Now
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A new strain of bird flu, a.k.a. avian influenza or H5N1, has been circulating in birds and other animals around the globe for a few years now. It recently spread to dairy cows in the US, as well as a handful of the humans who work with them. As of June 6, three dairy farm workers in the US have caught the virus from cows—two from different facilities in Michigan and another in Texas. So if you’re like us, you’re probably thinking, Should I worry about catching this virus? And is another pandemic on the horizon?
The CDC says that, at this time, the “current public health risk is low” and the virus is more of a concern for wildlife. After all, there hasn’t been any known human-to-human transmission of bird flu with this strain. But if the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that humans and animals don’t live on separate planets, and what affects one species may eventually affect another.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot going on that’s lowering experts’ confidence in the US’s ability to control the bird flu and prevent person-to-person spread. For example, some researchers say there’s a lack of guidance from the USDA on quarantining infected cows; very little monitoring of exposed farm workers, many of whom are undocumented and don’t want to consent to testing; and a general lack of funding to track people at high risk of exposure. Public health officials say they’re doing everything they can, including wastewater surveillance and boosting lab capacity for testing and viral sequencing. Although the experts SELF spoke to say we’re not in pandemic territory just yet, there’s also concern that the current efforts are falling short.
“From a day-to-day life standpoint, there’s not any risk right now. But there wasn’t any risk to Americans in early January of 2020. By the time we got to April, though, COVID-19 was a real problem,” Emily Landon, MD, an infectious disease doctor at UChicago Medicine, tells SELF. “The goal here is to use public health for containment so we never get to that place again. In order to do that, public health has to be really aggressive, and I'm not sure I'm seeing ramped up coverage.”
Here are answers to some of your most pressing questions as the bird flu situation evolves.
Jump to a specific bird flu question in this article:
Why is bird flu spreading right now and is it a new virus?
Can I get tested for bird flu?
Can I get bird flu from raw milk?
Can I get bird flu from bird poop or bird baths?
Can I get bird flu from eating runny eggs?
Can the flu vaccine protect me against bird flu?
Can I get bird flu from eating chicken, turkey, or beef?
Are farmers markets and petting zoos safe from bird flu?
What do I do if I find a dead bird?
Why is bird flu spreading right now and is it a new virus?
H5N1 still mostly affects wild aquatic birds like duck, geese, and swans, but it’s getting better at hopping into other species, Dr. Landon says. (Around the world and in the US, cases have popped up in wild and domesticated creatures like foxes, cats, dogs, mice, tigers, leopards, sea lions, bears, skunks, and goats.)
Not only are we living closer to animals, but global travel is also at an all-time high, Dr. Landon says—two factors that boost our chances of coming into contact with infected wildlife or sharing germs with other people.
It’s not the best news considering how viral mutations work: “The more humans that get it, whether from an animal or another human, the more you open the door for the virus to make a mistake in its replication that results in more significant human-to-human transmission,” Dr. Landon says. “That’s where we can see a real problem coming down the pike.”
H5N1 was first detected and identified in 1996, so it’s not a “novel” virus by any means, Dr. Landon says; scientists understand how it spreads, how it affects animals and people, and how to treat it. The good news is that over those three decades, bird flu infections didn’t rise dramatically, and evidence that the virus can easily spread from person-to-person never emerged, Dr. Landon says. About 890 people have been infected with H5N1 since 1997, according to the CDC; that’s about 33 people per year, which isn’t a lot compared with the “staggering” number of animals that catch the virus, Dr. Landon says.
“Without direct contact with an infected animal, there is low concern for infection,” Carla Garcia Carreno, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Medical Center Plano in Texas, tells SELF.
Can bird flu kill people?
Although the bird flu has had about a 50% death rate in humans who have gotten it in the last 30 years, “people getting infected right now aren't getting that sick,” Dr. Landon says. So far symptoms in people in the US have been mild. The first two people who caught it this year had eye problems, like tearing, redness, irritation, and discharge; the third person had a cough without a fever along with some eye pain and watery discharge.
There also hasn’t been a surge in emergency room visits or in positive lab tests for human flu viruses. “These are all really great reasons to think that bird flu isn't a huge imminent threat,” Dr. Landon says.
There are several reasons why people might be coming down with mild symptoms despite the historically high death rate, Dr. Landon says—cows don’t get as sick as chickens do, so they may not shed as much virus (and the lower the viral load, the less sick someone gets); the strain that’s circulating now may not be as harmful as strains of decades past; and the farm workers who have been infected may be healthier in general and have stronger immune systems compared to the larger population, so their cases may not best represent how sick the general public can get.
“Regardless, we should still be vigilant about spread. In other settings, humans have had very severe disease, but we can’t count on these infections being predictive of whatever variant becomes able to spread reliably between humans,” Dr. Landon says. “This virus still needs to change in order to be able to cause a pandemic, but we can’t predict how that change will happen and if it will get worse or better for the humans that get it.”
Can I get tested for bird flu?
Yes you can, but not unless you’ve been in close contact with potentially infected wild birds. If you were, tell a doctor that you think you’ve been exposed to the bird flu. They’ll swab your throat or nose and send the sample to a special lab for testing.
Because bird flu symptoms—sore throat, runny nose, fatigue—closely mirror those of other viruses, it can be hard for doctors to determine who needs a test. But word on the epidemiological street, according to Dr. Landon, is that public health officials aren’t testing as many people who have been exposed as they should be, spurring fears about silent spread between people. On May 24, the CDC said that, “more than 350 people have been monitored as a result of their exposure to infected or potentially infected animals, and at least 39 people who have developed flu-like symptoms have been tested as part of this targeted, situation-specific testing.”
Is bird flu airborne?
It can be. People can catch the virus by touching contaminated surfaces or animals, or by inhaling tiny virus-containing droplets or small aerosol particles that infected wildlife cough or sneeze out, according to the CDC. These floating droplets can also land in your eyes, mouth, or nose. Several experts say that farm workers are likely becoming infected by touching contaminated surfaces, like milking machines, but too much remains unknown right now to say for sure.
Can I get bird flu from raw milk?
YES. YOU CAN. Dr. Landon says this is a big concern right now, because a lot more people are drinking raw milk for its purported health benefits. (As SELF has previously reported, the evidence for this just isn’t there.) As bird flu continues to spread among dairy cows, the fear is that more viral particles will slip into raw milk products, increasing the chances that a person gets sick.
The pasteurization process—which raw milk doesn’t undergo—kills harmful bacteria and viruses like the bird flu. The FDA says that nearly 99% of the commercial milk supply is pasteurized, but local farmers in several states can still sell raw products.
A recent FDA survey of 297 samples of pasteurized dairy products from retail stores in 17 states found that some contained bits of bird flu, but further testing showed the virus wasn’t live or infectious—meaning the sterilization process did what it was supposed to do. Raw dairy products, on the other hand, may contain H5N1 or other dangerous pathogens like salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, and campylobacter.
Can I get bird flu from bird poop or bird baths?
Birds spread this virus via their saliva, mucous, and poop—so yes, in theory, you can. (Other infected animals shed the virus in respiratory secretions and other body fluids, like milk.) “Bird poop isn't super sanitary, period,” Dr. Landon says. “There's a reason we wash our hands after we've been outside, before we eat, and after we go to the bathroom. This is it. This is the reason.”
Infected wildlife can also contaminate water sources like ponds, fountains, and bird baths, Dr. Carreno says, so it’s a good idea to wear gloves if you have to clean up bird crap, bird feeders, or anything else that comes from or is touched by fauna this summer, she says, and wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water when you’re done.
Can I get bird flu from eating runny eggs?
The odds are low (particularly if you’re buying pasteurized eggs in a store), but there are plenty of other delicious ways to consume eggs, so maybe don’t take the small risk, Darin Detwiler, PhD, a food safety expert and associate teaching professor of food policy at Northeastern University, tells SELF. “We’re not saying to avoid eggs entirely,” he says. “We’re just saying that maybe you need to eat eggs in the safest way right now.” (This is not a new recommendation. The USDA says no one should ever eat raw or undercooked egg yolks, mostly to avoid salmonella, which can linger inside eggs and on outer shells.)
That means you should cook your eggs until they are white and firm, to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills any germs. So over-easy and sunny-side-up eggs with runny yolks are off the table, Dr. Detwiler says, especially for babies, young children, older adults, pregnant people, and folks with weakened immune systems. “If you’re a healthy adult and want runny eggs that’s one thing,” he says. “But if you’re more vulnerable to food-borne illness, that’s another.”
Can the flu vaccine protect me against bird flu?
Seasonal flu vaccines do not protect against bird viruses, according to the CDC, but the only thing worse than getting sick from bird flu is having the regular flu at the same time—so you should make a point to get your annual flu shot every year. A double infection can make you more sick, Dr. Carreno says, and increases the chances that the virus will mutate. The CDC currently recommends that anyone who might need to handle potentially infected birds get a regular flu shot a couple of weeks in advance, just to be safe. (You can get a flu shot any time of the year!)
Can I get bird flu from eating chicken, turkey, or beef?
It’s highly unlikely, but in theory yes, if it’s raw (please don’t do this) or not cooked properly. Food safety experts say you should cook poultry to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and beef between 145 and 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a recent USDA investigation of 109 beef samples, one tested positive for H5N1. This sample didn’t enter the food supply, but even if it had, the virus would have been killed during the cooking process, says Dr. Landon, adding that this isn’t too surprising given how many cows are testing positive for bird flu. Other tests were done on ground beef samples from grocery stores in states with bird flu outbreaks in cows, and no evidence of the virus was found.
Are farmers markets and petting zoos safe from bird flu?
Farmers markets are safe as long as you refrain from buying unpasteurized dairy products, Dr. Landon says. Just remember that typical food safety rules apply even to those local fruits and veggies, Dr. Detwiler says. Always clean fresh produce under cold running water—not bleach, detergents, or produce “washes”—to remove dirt, bacteria, and any lingering pesticides, according to the USDA.
Petting zoos also aren’t off the table this summer, but you may want to avoid cuddling with cows in Michigan or other states with outbreaks in farm animals. Wherever you are, Dr. Landon recommends a “harm reduction approach” if you just can’t resist the urge to pet a goat: Keep the feeding to a minimum; don’t touch your face; and WASH YOUR HANDS. “I don’t like petting zoos for a lot of reasons, not just because of bird flu,” Dr. Landon says. “Would I lose sleep if I found out that my kid went to a petting zoo at camp? No, but I would have them wash their hands…a lot.”
What should I do if I find a dead bird?
First, call your local health department or wildlife agency because each state has different policies when it comes to these things. If you’re told to get rid of the bird, don’t touch it with your bare hands. The CDC says to use gloves or a plastic bag turned inside out to grab it and throw it out.
Luckily, common backyard birds, like robins, blue jays, sparrows, cardinals, and pigeons “don’t usually carry” bird flu viruses, the CDC says. But for the time being, don’t touch wild birds, as they often won’t look sick when they actually are. “If a bird runs into your window and falls on your balcony, don’t try to save it and document it on TikTok,” Dr. Landon says. “At least not right now.”
Related:
Is It Safe to Eat Runny Eggs, or Are You Risking Food Poisoning?
Here’s What to Do When You Encounter a Flock of Pissed Off Geese
Originally Appeared on SELF
