Commonground
Senior Moderator
[bolding is mine]
February 6, 2025
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When it comes to bird flu and people, there's a number of things that health care officials know, Dr. Jeffrey A. Jahre said Wednesday.
However, certain things remain unanswered, such as whether the virus spreads more or faster through the respiratory system or through direct contact.
-snip-
However, health care officials at the Lehigh Valley’s two major health networks say they are preparing for an increase in cases in people, and keeping residents informed along the way.
“One of the main things that concerns us is that there is some reason to suspect that our general area is an epicenter, or a focus, right now for what's going on with wild birds,” said Jahre, an infectious disease specialist at St. Luke’s University Health Network.
“And, therefore, if this does become an issue in humans that's more of an issue than what it is, and particularly if there ends up being human-to-human transfer, which there is not right now, then there's every reason to suspect that the Greater Lehigh Valley will be largely affected.”
'Extremely important to us'
An influenza type A virus, bird flu is highly contagious and often fatal in birds.
-snip-
"There has been an absolute uptick very recently in a number of wild birds that have been infected, and that has been very evident in our area.
"That's what makes this extremely important to us.”
Bird flu, also called HPAI, or highly pathogenic avian influenza or H5N1, has recently infected thousands of birds in the Valley, including about 5,000 migratory snow geese and a 50,000-bird egg-laying chicken flock on a commercial farm
-snip-
Influenza A cases in the area have increased over the past four weeks, he said.
“We don't know what's going to happen with this increased testing strategy that we have for looking for avian flu,” he said. “It may be that we find more and more cases."
“We have to be prepared for that. It could also burn out.”
-snip-
“We have no idea if those mild cases are lurking out there and just don't get to the attention of your primary care doctor's office, the ERs, the hospital system in general,” Benjamin said.
He noted the guidance from the CDC focused on ICU patients.
“But that's the tip of the iceberg, and an iceberg that we have no information about — we can't see into the water to see how big this is," he said.
“This may be very limited. If it's not spread well between human-to-human, it's possible to say that there may be a low burden of disease.
"But from an emergency preparedness standpoint, we want to think about worst-case scenarios and be prepared for those situations.”
https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/he...officials-prepare-for-human-cases-of-bird-flu
February 6, 2025
BETHLEHEM, Pa. — When it comes to bird flu and people, there's a number of things that health care officials know, Dr. Jeffrey A. Jahre said Wednesday.
However, certain things remain unanswered, such as whether the virus spreads more or faster through the respiratory system or through direct contact.
-snip-
However, health care officials at the Lehigh Valley’s two major health networks say they are preparing for an increase in cases in people, and keeping residents informed along the way.
“One of the main things that concerns us is that there is some reason to suspect that our general area is an epicenter, or a focus, right now for what's going on with wild birds,” said Jahre, an infectious disease specialist at St. Luke’s University Health Network.
“And, therefore, if this does become an issue in humans that's more of an issue than what it is, and particularly if there ends up being human-to-human transfer, which there is not right now, then there's every reason to suspect that the Greater Lehigh Valley will be largely affected.”
'Extremely important to us'
An influenza type A virus, bird flu is highly contagious and often fatal in birds.
-snip-
"There has been an absolute uptick very recently in a number of wild birds that have been infected, and that has been very evident in our area.
"That's what makes this extremely important to us.”
Bird flu, also called HPAI, or highly pathogenic avian influenza or H5N1, has recently infected thousands of birds in the Valley, including about 5,000 migratory snow geese and a 50,000-bird egg-laying chicken flock on a commercial farm
-snip-
Influenza A cases in the area have increased over the past four weeks, he said.
“We don't know what's going to happen with this increased testing strategy that we have for looking for avian flu,” he said. “It may be that we find more and more cases."
“We have to be prepared for that. It could also burn out.”
-snip-
“We have no idea if those mild cases are lurking out there and just don't get to the attention of your primary care doctor's office, the ERs, the hospital system in general,” Benjamin said.
He noted the guidance from the CDC focused on ICU patients.
“But that's the tip of the iceberg, and an iceberg that we have no information about — we can't see into the water to see how big this is," he said.
“This may be very limited. If it's not spread well between human-to-human, it's possible to say that there may be a low burden of disease.
"But from an emergency preparedness standpoint, we want to think about worst-case scenarios and be prepared for those situations.”
https://www.lehighvalleynews.com/he...officials-prepare-for-human-cases-of-bird-flu