Avian flu... in cows?!?

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A few years ago, I was walking through an exhibit about outbreaks at the Smithsonian Museum. Little did I know that my life (and the whole world) would drastically change because of SARS-CoV-2 (aka COVID-19). Aside from giving birth during the early part of the pandemic (and being indoors most of the time), my career shifted towards public health microbiology.

The Smithsonian exhibit about outbreaks featured influenza and how easily it can be transmitted from various animals to humans. A strain called H5N1 is known as avian flu because it is found typically in domestic poultry in Asia. According to the exhibit, this strain is not known to be spread from person to person. Instead, humans usually get it from exposure to sick or dead birds. Epidemiologists are most concerned about H5N1 (or any other strain of avian flu) infecting another animal AND a flu strain from a human infecting the same animal. The flu strains' genetic material may recombine and become a brand-new strain that can infect humans, who have NO IMMUNITY to this new strain. Imagine how fast it can spread; think COVID-19, in case it's been forgotten.

Currently, avian flu is found in cows and cats. The flu strain has jumped from birds to mammals. Virologists at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said earlier this year that it's only a matter of time before the virus reaches humans, and it has. As of yesterday, there are 26 known H5N1 human cases. The risk of human-to-human transmission is low. The risk of infection is higher for people interacting with dairy cows, poultry, or wildlife.

Flu typically causes fever, chills, cough, and body aches. Avian flu, however, has an additional (unusual) symptom in humans: conjunctivitis (eye swelling, itchiness). The CDPH closely monitors people with these symptoms AND exposure to cows or poultry on farms or slaughterhouses. The CDPH also assures us that pasteurised milk is safe to consume. Treatment is also available for people who have been infected by H5N1. Vaccines have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as well.

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