Bird Flu Takes Flight: In light of the recent avian influenza A case in Missouri, research continues to answer questions about the outbreak of bird flu

The 15th case of avian influenza A H5N1 — commonly known as bird flu —  was reported in Missouri on Aug. 22, sparking concern among health officials in the area. The patient received antiviral treatments and was discharged from the hospital, with no clear link to an infected animal yet, according to the Missouri Department of Health.

Bird flu can be spread from animals to humans through coming into contact with infected animals’ bodily fluids when touching your eyes, nose and mouth or breathing it in through dust particles.

In the past year, 15 people tested positive for H5N1 in the U.S. and nearly 5,000 have been monitored after being exposed to infected animals.

While fearmongering over recent outbreaks isn’t necessary, staying up-to-date and well-informed about recent viruses is very helpful, according to school nurse Stephanie Ptacek.

“Its important for people to pay attention to emerging diseases and get their information from reputable sources,” Ptacek said. “It’s not unusual for teenagers to have worries about their health that aren’t actual concerns.”

Currently, over 100 million poultry have been infected with a recent strain of bird flu and over 10,000 wild birds and 213 cows herds have also been impacted. While the virus runs rampant among cattle and poultry, it’s now occasionally transmitting from the animals to humans due to a mutation making the virus more susceptible to humans.

“This particular strain of bird flu, H5N1, has been known to infect humans as far back as 1997,” University of Kansas infectious disease doctor, Dana Hawkinson said.

The current outbreak of bird flu is being monitored closely by health officials to ensure that the virus won’t become more susceptible to humans. Right now, it’s relatively difficult for the virus to infect humans but a large mutation could change everything, as influenza viruses are known for their ability to mutate, according to Hawkinson. 

Another concern is whether or not the virus will adapt to increase human-to-human transmission. For instance, the recent bird flu case in Missouri raises some eyebrows, as the infected person wasn’t a livestock worker and isn’t known to have come directly into contact with an infected animal.

“Likely they have come in contact with the disease and just don’t remember,” said University of Kansas infectious disease doctor, Jessica Newman. 

In the Missouri case, a household contact of the patient reportedly had similar symptoms, but wasn’t tested before recovery, according to Missouri officials. 

The simultaneous symptoms do not necessary mean human-to-human transmission occurred, it could just mean that the source has not yet been traced, according to both Hawkinson and Newman.

However, if the outbreak continues to worsen, there is a national stockpile of H5N1 vaccines that were created in 2007. Hawkinson noted that tests are going on to see if they’ll still protect from the current strain of H5N1, and other trials are being carried out to produce a more current vaccine.

After the recent COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare systems throughout the country saw weaknesses in their programs — but they also saw things that worked. Hawkinson believes this might leave the country better-equipped to handle new outbreaks.

For the moment, those who aren’t directly working with or caring for poultry or cattle shouldn’t be too concerned about coming into contact with the virus, and those that do can use various preventative measures — staying away from infected animal, using hand hygiene and wearing protective equipment — to avoid being infected with bird flu.

Half of reported bird flu cases in humans result in death. While this is technically true, this accounts all tested bird flu cases since the very first one in 1997. Many different strains have been involved in this number, and often the milder cases go unnoticed, so their number doesn’t add to this statistic, according to Hawkinon.

“There is probably a higher risk of severe or poor outcomes with infection of avian influenza viruses,” Hawkinson said. “But our current antivirals do still have activity so we are able to treat patients.”

For now, Hawkinson believes there’s a low risk of the bird flu outbreak getting out of hand.

“There is always a low level concern that there may be a mutation in the virus that allows it to more readily infect humans, however we need to be vigilant and continue to monitor it,” Hawkinson said.

Newman adds that we also don’t have enough data to fully understand the current strain of H5N1 and the scope of this outbreak, but more data will be available after the winter flu season.

Ptacek recommends using reputable sources such as the CDC, the Johnson County Health Department or a health professional for any other concerns regarding bird flu.