Weeks after the first serious case of bird flu was reported in Louisiana, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on high alert for pandemic “red flags” linked to the virus.
So far, 65 confirmed cases of H5N1 infection in humans have been reported in 2024, following a widespread outbreak on bird and livestock farms in the United States, with California declaring a state of emergency over the virus.
Scientists have warned that the virus may mutate and become more transmissible to humans.
These mutations are one of the “concerning” trends the CDC has observed and “a reminder that A(H5N1) viruses can evolve changes during the clinical course of human infection,” they shared. Newsweek.
While officials say the current level of risk to the American public is still low, they are monitoring certain signs that could indicate a new pandemic.
So far, they are still waiting for bird flu to become transmissible from person to person.
“Identifying epidemiologically linked clusters of human influenza A(H5N1) cases could indicate that the virus is more likely to spread between people,” a spokesperson for the center’s avian flu response team said.
They are also looking for a spike in the number of cases of humans catching the virus from animals, as a sign that it is “adapting to spread more easily from animals to humans.”
Weeks after the first serious case of bird flu was reported in Louisiana, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is on high alert for pandemic “red flags” linked to the virus. Pictured: A zookeeper collects a blood sample from a dairy calf that has been vaccinated against bird flu
So far, 65 confirmed cases of H5N1 infection in humans have been reported in 2024, following a widespread outbreak on bird and livestock farms in the United States, with California declaring a state of emergency over the virus
Seeing any of these indicators would “raise the CDC’s risk assessment for the public,” although human-to-human infections are rare in this part of the world.
“CDC is looking for genetic changes in circulating viruses that suggest the virus may be more transmissible between people,” the spokesperson said, as it has been noted that all U.S. cases have come from animals.
“Until now, these types of mutations have rarely been identified and have occurred in the context of long-term infection of individual patients, and not at the time of first exposure to the influenza A(H5N1) virus circulating in animals,” she added to it.
However, the spokesperson said the initial severe infection in Louisiana was considered a “red flag” by the CDC.
A total of 61 people have been diagnosed with H5N1 since April 2024, and the CDC has identified another seven as “probable” cases.
Thirty-seven of the 61 cases have been traced to interactions with infected livestock, with the remaining infections resulting from touching sick birds or of unknown origin.
Only one of these patients was seriously ill.
One of the most common symptoms of human bird flu in this outbreak was conjunctivitis, or pink eye.
These mutations are one of the “concerning” trends the CDC has observed and “a reminder that A(H5N1) viruses can evolve changes during the clinical course of human infection”
The above map shows the number of people infected with bird flu by state in the US this year. California and Washington state have recorded the most cases. Louisiana was added today (not colored on the map), after recording the first case
Two human cases reported in the US earlier this year showed only conjunctivitis. Those cases occurred in Texas and Michigan, both in farm workers who had come into contact with infected cows.
Other symptoms that have been reported include mild flu-like upper respiratory symptoms, pneumonia requiring hospitalization, and a high temperature of more than 100ºC.
Milder symptoms include coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headache, fatigue, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing.
Like Covid, avian flu virus infection in humans cannot be diagnosed based on clinical signs and symptoms alone; laboratory testing is necessary.
Swabs used to test for bird flu can be collected from the throat, nose or eye of the sick person.
The CDC emphasizes that testing is more accurate when the sample is collected during the first few days of illness.
In critically ill patients, collection and testing of lower respiratory tract samples can also lead to the diagnosis of avian influenza virus infection.
However, for some patients who are no longer very ill or who have fully recovered, it may be difficult to detect the bird flu virus in a specimen.
So far, 61 confirmed cases of H5N1 human infection have been reported in the US in 2024, following a widespread outbreak on bird and livestock farms in the United States
A The H5N1 vaccine has already been developed and contracts with manufacturers to make nearly 5 million doses, but is awaiting FDA approval.
A Louisiana resident was hospitalized for the first time with a serious case earlier this month. The H5N1 patient is in Louisiana, and researchers said they likely contracted the disease after handling sick and dead birds in a backyard poultry flock.
In California, officials declared a state of emergency due to the spread of bird flu, which is ravaging dairy cows in that state.
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasized again this week that the virus poses a low risk to the general public.