BOISE — (Below is verbatim of story that aired)
Coronavirus may be somewhat in the rear view mirror, but could the next pandemic come from birds? I’m senior reporter Roland Beres it’s wellness Wednesday where we’re healthier together and bird flu is hitting humans so I ask the experts how worried should we be?
From birds to cattle to humans, the avian flu is here, but doctors say it’s nothing like Covid.
“it’s certainly something we’re watching but not panicking about or even markedly concerned about.” said Dr. Daniel Meltzer.
The bird flu has recently infected six people working on a chicken farm in Colorado and there have been 11 US cases in humans since 2022.
But while flocks of birds are dying off or being culled, humans in the us have fared much better.
“Like most viruses there can be a spectrum from mild to moderate to severe so things like coughs fevers body aches it can progress to shortness of breath and more severe fevers which would require med attention.” said Dr. Meltzer.
Worldwide, bird flu has killed close to 50 percent of the humans infected, which is high, but the CDC says it takes a large dose to be infected and the overall risk in the US is low.
But since viruses can mutate, a vaccine would be nice. Until that happens, at least there are effective treatments.
“Some of the antivirals we use for flu or Coronavirus have been effective in reducing severity of symptoms people get if they get bird flu.” said Dr. Meltzer.
By the way, pasteurization kills the virus so the FDA says our milk supply is safe and no one has gotten bird flu from eating properly cooked eggs. Just avoid doing the Rocky move and drinking raw eggs. And it’s advisable to avoid sunny side up or over easy eggs because they don’t reach the necessary 165 degrees to kill the pathogen. For wellness Wednesday where we’re healthier together, I’m Roland Beres Idaho news six.
