As Pandemic Experts, Here Is What Worries Us Most About Bird Flu.

At any moment of time or online search, bird flu has the power to grab everyone’s attention. H5N1, more commonly referred to as bird flu, has recently spread in multiple states across the nation and caused animals and farm workers to fall ill. Furthermore, bird flu bacteria was recently identified in raw milk; last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture ordered that both raw and unpasteurized milk must be tested for signs of bird flu. With these circumstances and potential threats at hand it’s understandably natural to worry; we enlisted experts’ thoughts. Below are the major societal and health concerns regarding bird flu at present:They’re particularly worried about farm workers, who account for most bird flu cases; according to experts consulted by HuffPost the average person doesn’t need to panic at this time. “Currently, my greatest fear involves those directly exposed to this virus – specifically farm workers,” noted Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo of Brown University School of Public Health in Rhode Island. Farmworkers working closely with poultry or cows may be at increased risk and 56 of the 58 reported bird flu cases this year can be linked back to them according to CDC statistics. “We know they’re getting infected and sickening, yet so far have not become severely ill or died from infection,” stated Nuzzo. “However, this mystery remains. No explanation as yet has been offered as why that might be happening.” “They are monitoring nonfarm worker cases as well. A Canadian teenager without preexisting conditions was also infected by bird flu and hospitalized; that illustrates just how unpredictable bird flu can be; no matter your predictions.” Do you fall under the category of farm workers suffering from serious cases of conjunctivitis and respiratory symptoms or do you fall in the teenage cohort from British Columbia? “No one really knows,” Nuzzo stressed, but wanted to emphasize she wasn’t speaking generally of “general public.” “I am talking about people we know that may have come in contact with this virus,” she stated. “Currently, this virus does not pose an imminent risk of transmitting directly between individuals; although I am seeing more cases occurring without known exposures – meaning we don’t know from where people acquired their infection – which concerns me significantly, these events remain relatively rare. “Experts fear H5N1 influenza could swap genes with seasonal flu viruses and spread more readily.” Influenza viruses have an ever-evolving history; H5N1 being an avian influenza strain may quickly adapt. “They can change over time, realign with each other, and make much larger shifts more quickly”, according to Meghan Davis, an associate professor in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Maryland. “This information is important because if someone becomes infected with both H5N1 and seasonal flu, this could trigger one of those larger reassortment events,” Davis explained. “Genetic modification could make H5N1 virus more virulent in people or spread more easily between individuals – something we want to prevent at any cost. Experts advise consumers not to drink raw milk in order to protect against bird flu and infection in household pets, which Davis finds “extraordinary”. He expressed concerns over an epidemic of disease being seen within animals that was “extraordinary.” “Millions of birds have perished from bird flu. And many dairy cows — more than 700 herds across the nation have now been affected — as well as cats have also fallen prey. Additionally, it can cause lethal infections for some marine mammal species we heard about previously.” “She also mentioned cats on farms drinking raw milk as sources of contamination are unknown, in addition to domestic cats who consume it,” according to Ms. Boddy. Cats could have come into contact with infected birds or raw milk products contaminated by this virus; Davis noted that “we’ve also noticed evidence suggesting the virus infiltrates mice”, creating further concern. “My goal here is to raise awareness regarding cats because I believe infections could happen easily,” she noted. “What worries me is the fact that having an infected pet in their own home presents a very different form of exposure than just drinking raw milk or working on farms. “These infections could occur among those who avoid sources of potential contamination such as raw milk or farms due to being immunocompromised or pregnant, according to Davis. Davis expressed concern over an exposure that she didn’t fully know would result in infection for both cats and other domesticated pets like dogs – including birds, mice and other potential infection sources – including raw milk consumption by human. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has openly supported drinking it alongside Gwyneth Paltrow to promote raw milk consumption as an option. However, raw milk has long been linked to harmful bacteria and provides no health advantages over pasteurized varieties. Furthermore, research indicates a correlation between raw milk consumption and bird flu. As someone who regularly consumes raw milk, I am deeply concerned: the Ebola virus has infiltrated more and more dairy farms and cattle are infected, increasing its level in milk products produced. We know from previous experience that when infected cattle give milk with high concentrations of Ebola. Animal studies demonstrate how H5N1 infected milk can make animals extremely sick with neurologic symptoms,” Nuzzo stated. When taken together, these indicators tell her she should never drink raw milk again. However, pasteurized milk does not pose any major threats. Commercial pasteurization — heating milk to an optimal temperature and pressure level over an appropriate duration to inactivate viruses such as bird flu — has proven highly successful at neutralizing this threat, according to Davis. She stressed the significance of USDA mandates ordering raw and unpasteurized milk be tested for bird flu so as to help detect infected farms more quickly; officials fear pandemic conditions are only worsening with each passing year. “I believe it is crucial for people to recognize that the conditions resulting in pandemics are becoming ever-worse,” Nuzzo noted, anticipating more pandemics to occur in the near future. “Our primary aim should be preventing disease outbreaks; sounding the alarm now about H5N1 is an effort toward this end.” She went on to explain that climate and environmental change play an instrumental role in spreading new pathogens. “Pathogens that infiltrate and spread among humans require something we lack immunity for; most often this comes from wildlife,” Nuzzo noted. Thus anything which alters human-wildlife interactions poses potential threats and needs to be managed carefully in order to keep us all safe. “These factors include things such as deforestation, reforestation and land use changes”, as well as “wild animals coming into direct or indirect contact with humans through domesticated animals like cows or pigs”, she noted. Nuzzo explained, it all comes down to creating more opportunities for people to come into contact with wildlife pathogens that become adaptable for infecting humans – creating more chances for disease transmission from wildlife into society, creating pandemics as a result, as society fails to prepare adequately. Many are discussing bird flu right now for good reason! “We want the government to do more to stay ahead of this virus so it won’t become an issue for members of the general public, because nobody wants another pandemic or farm workers being sacrificed just so milk can reach our refrigerators,” Nuzzo stated. “So we are making noise for policy and practice changes to improve safety for everyone,” stated We Need Your Support in response to other news outlets that have hidden behind paywalls in recent times. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be accessible and free for everyone. Will you help provide essential news coverage during these turbulent times by contributing? No contribution available yet? No worries; HuffPost readers still benefit greatly! Can’t afford it yet? Can’t afford anything extra? No need for worry: HuffPost still needs you! Support HuffPost by creating a free account and signing in while reading. 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Please support HuffPost today or continue making contributions by signing up here (even if already contributed! ): Support HuffPost Log in now to block these messages. Nuzzo noted that due to COVID-19 being so devastating, people often struggle with grasping that more pandemics might happen and hope never have to endure something so distressful again. Nuzzo noted how society tends to quickly dismiss disease emergencies – something she believed prevented us from planning more effectively against pandemics. “That kind of reactionary thinking prevents us from undertaking measures which would better prepare us for such events, said Nuzzo.” It may or may not come. But, she states, if we prepare ourselves ahead of time and don’t let ourselves become anxious over it,” then no need for panic to arise, like with COVID pandemic response of shutting everything down completely – Nuzzo states this response “is not what pandemic response should entail”. Nuzzo stressed that, to stave off an outbreak, or any pandemic for that matter, government efforts should focus on stopping it from infecting more farm workers or killing more people by getting ahead of it and stopping mutation; developing medications; improving indoor air quality. “That way when events like these arise they won’t just sweep over us unimpeded and upend our lives,” Nuzzo suggested.