Pathfinder
Editor, Senior Moderator
How the Midwest's massive bird flu outbreak could threaten humans
Updated by Julia Belluz on May 7, 2015, 9:10 a.m. ET
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The CDC is very concerned about this outbreak from a human health perspective, Bresee said. "This is clearly a very large outbreak in poultry. For humans, that's important because both the size and geographic distribution of the outbreak, as that expands, represents a bigger and bigger threat to humans. More and more humans will be exposed to viruses, so from our standpoint, this is a very significant outbreak."
For now, however, the people who work on farms are at a greater risk than the general public. That's because even if bird flu did mutate in a way that made it susceptible to humans, those infected birds are unlikely to be shipped to market...
"We have production systems that are highly efficient, and they all have a bio-security program," said Rodrigo Gallardo, assistant professor in the poultry medicine program at the University of California, Davis. "We also have the best surveillance system in the world in terms of identifying outbreaks," he added.
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Even so, Gallardo warned about being too complacent. "This has been an extended outbreak. It started with different viruses in January than what we're seeing now," he said. "What we need to hope is that through the summer ? because of the dryness and the weather changes ? the virus will die."
So, for now, officials are taking a range of precautions. In addition to closely monitoring the circulating viruses, and tracking its mutations, people who work with poultry are being watched for signs of infection. The CDC has also advised them to wear the same protective outfits as Ebola workers, including respirators and goggles.
"The important message," the CDC's Bressee said, "is to make sure we protect humans because the chance is not zero, that's for sure."
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8564539/bird-flu-pandemic
Updated by Julia Belluz on May 7, 2015, 9:10 a.m. ET
...
The CDC is very concerned about this outbreak from a human health perspective, Bresee said. "This is clearly a very large outbreak in poultry. For humans, that's important because both the size and geographic distribution of the outbreak, as that expands, represents a bigger and bigger threat to humans. More and more humans will be exposed to viruses, so from our standpoint, this is a very significant outbreak."
For now, however, the people who work on farms are at a greater risk than the general public. That's because even if bird flu did mutate in a way that made it susceptible to humans, those infected birds are unlikely to be shipped to market...
"We have production systems that are highly efficient, and they all have a bio-security program," said Rodrigo Gallardo, assistant professor in the poultry medicine program at the University of California, Davis. "We also have the best surveillance system in the world in terms of identifying outbreaks," he added.
...
Even so, Gallardo warned about being too complacent. "This has been an extended outbreak. It started with different viruses in January than what we're seeing now," he said. "What we need to hope is that through the summer ? because of the dryness and the weather changes ? the virus will die."
So, for now, officials are taking a range of precautions. In addition to closely monitoring the circulating viruses, and tracking its mutations, people who work with poultry are being watched for signs of infection. The CDC has also advised them to wear the same protective outfits as Ebola workers, including respirators and goggles.
"The important message," the CDC's Bressee said, "is to make sure we protect humans because the chance is not zero, that's for sure."
http://www.vox.com/2015/5/7/8564539/bird-flu-pandemic