US Isn't Taking Prompt Action Against Bird Flu, Warn Health Experts

The COVID-19 pandemic had already brought way too many challenges in the United States, including a severe decrease in country's life expectancy rates. With challenges, it also brought a lessons of mitigating the treat of pathogens, though health experts feel that the US has not learned the lesson well.

Dr Deborah Birx, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator told CNN, "We kind of have our head in the sand about how widespread this is from the zoonotic standpoint, from the animal-to-human standpoint."

The doctor has called for a wider-spread testing of farm workers. This is because they make up the majority of identified Bird flu cases in the United States. This means the country is heading into an even higher-risk period as the seasonal flu begins to circulate. This also raises a question of whether a person be infected by both, the seasonal flu and the H5N1 or bird flu viruses. Does that also mean that the viruses could swap gene segments? Would that give the bird flu more tools to better infect humans? These are some questions which are raised by the health experts across the country.

The tests are not enough, a spokesperson for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the media outlet that the "comments about avian flu (H5N1) testing are out of date, misleading and inaccurate."

While the data indicates that asymptomatic infections are rare, CDC changed its recommendations back in November and widen the testing net that including asymptomatic people with high-risk exposure to avian flu. The results showed that more than 70,000 specimens have been tested, looking for novel flu viruses. More than 10,000 people were exposed to avian flu, they were also monitored for symptoms, and 540 people were tested specifically for H5N1.

CDC also confirmed the first severe case of bird flu in humans in the US, which showed the signs of mutation. The sample was taken from a patient in Louisiana, which showed mutations in the gene which is responsible for attaching to host's cells. This is a concern, as it raises the questions of whether the H5N1 virus can actually swap gene segment with other flu?

As of now, as per CDC, there are 66 human cases of bird flu across the United States, though the number is believed to be higher.

The Louisiana patient was infected with a strain of the bird flu virus called D1.1. The patient is 65 years old and also has underlying health problems. "It has been determined that the patient had exposure to sick and dead birds in backyard flocks," the CDC said. Another such case of mutation has also been reported in British Columbia, Canada.

Health is a major concern, however, the spread of bird flu in the United States, especially among poultry flocks has also causes egg prices to skyrocket. From $2.50 for a dozen Grade A large eggs at the beginning of the year, the prices have reached up to $3.65 in November.

READ MORE: How To Eat Eggs Safely?

Another growing concern is of the cat food. As this week, the Northwest Naturals recalled a line of its raw and frozen chow after health authorities linked the death of a cat to a batch of feed contaminated with bird flu. Does it means that house cats are carrying a deadly disease? Is it safe for humans to have cats amid the increasing cases of bird flu?

While these are important questions to ask and the answers are yet to be found, there are certain symptoms for you to look out for so you can protect your health: