While the risk of the H5N1 virus to humans remains low, it’s helpful to understand its origins, recognize the symptoms, and know how to protect yourself from infection.
Conversations around avian influenza A(H5), commonly referred to as H5N1 or bird flu, have frequently appeared in the news cycle in recent months. Today’s post will take a closer look at bird flu to understand what it is, how it differs from the regular flu, and what steps we can take to protect ourselves.
Note to public health departments and public health laboratories: scroll down to learn how Primary.Health H5N1 testing workflows can help you monitor the virus in your community.
H5N1 causes and symptoms
Bird flu is caused by the H5 influenza virus and has been infecting wild bird populations for many years. It periodically causes outbreaks in domestic bird populations like poultry farms. However, this year the virus crossed into cows and infected several dairy cattle. Cases were first detected in March 2024 and since then have sporadically shown up in humans. To date, 58 human cases have been reported across seven states, with the largest number of them from California. Most infections occurred in those coming into contact with infected poultry or cattle. However, two cases have no known contact with these animal populations.
Symptoms from this infection have included flu-like symptoms like fevers, runny nose, sore throat, cough and shortness of breath. This is in addition to unusual ones like redness in the eyes, diarrhea, and vomiting. Fortunately, no human deaths have been reported from the bird flu, and overall, the risk to the general public remains low.
Avoiding H5N1 risk
So what can you in the general public do to avoid getting the H5 bird flu? First, avoid consuming raw milk, which can be infected with the virus from cattle. Pasteurization of milk adequately reduces this risk and pasteurized milk is safe to consume. Second, stick to well cooked poultry products, which also help reduce risk of infection. Third, it is also advisable to avoid contact with dead wild birds, which can frequently carry the virus.
One question that frequently pops up is whether getting a flu shot will protect you from H5 bird flu. Unfortunately, the seasonal flu vaccine does not offer much protection against H5 bird flu because the two viruses are not sufficiently alike. That said, specific vaccines can be used in the event of an H5 bird flu outbreak. It is worth pointing out that at this point, you are much more likely to get seasonal flu than H5 bird flu. Consequently, getting the standard flu vaccine is still a good idea! It also reduces the chance that someone gets infected with both seasonal and bird flu. This combination can increase risk for new mutants that transfer more effectively between people.
Primary.Health H5N1 testing and laboratory support
In response to this emerging threat, Primary.Health technology supports public health departments and public health labs (PHLs) in the monitoring of H5N1 in two important ways:
- We provide a streamlined CLIA-waived H5N1 testing solution to dairy farms, poultry farms, and other vulnerable populations in collaboration with state or public health organizations.
- We enable ordering of H5N1 testing through Connect, our PHL portal. This enhancement allows H5N1 PCR test orders to seamlessly flow into connected PHLs for fast and efficient processing.
To learn more about Primary.Health’s solutions for H5N1 or other infectious illnesses, schedule a time to talk to Jack Hysell, Primary.Health Director of Integrations.
Disclaimer: This blog content and linked materials are not intended as individual medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and should not be considered as such. Any readers with medical concerns should contact a licensed healthcare provider. This blog is provided for informational purposes only.
