UF expert answers questions about local risk of bird flu
Consumers may have noticed the rising price of eggs and even some shortages at grocery stores lately due to H5N1 avian influenza, but as cases of human and animal infections continue to rise, how concerned should you be about the virus?
Benjamin Anderson, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions’ Department of Environmental and Global Health and lead for UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute bird flu response team answers some questions about the risk of infection to humans and animals from bird flu and how to protect yourself.
Who is at risk?
Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the risk to humans is low.
“That is correct on an overall level,” Anderson said.
There is no human-to-human transmission right now. Anderson said that while there have been an “alarming” number of human cases, the number of infections is still fewer than 100. Of those, most have resulted in mild illness and were in people who had direct exposure to infected animals.
So far, there has been only one death attributed to the current outbreak of H5N1, known more commonly as bird flu – a man in Louisiana who was infected by a backyard flock.
“We do have a lot of people who keep chickens,” Anderson said. “Because of the situation in Louisiana, this has, I think, piqued the concern even more so among folks who might have backyard poultry to recognize that is a potential pathway for transmission.”
If you see a dead chicken, do not touch it or try to investigate yourself. Instead, report it to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Report dead wildlife, including migratory birds, to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Anderson said while the risk to the public is currently low, the future risk, including human-to-human transmission that could result in a pandemic, is still uncertain.
Right now, he said, “Unless you’re handling poultry or working with or near dairy cattle, where bird flu outbreaks have been ongoing, your risk is relatively low.”