Commonground
Senior Moderator
St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a non-profit, regional, fully integrated, nationally recognized network providing services at 15 campuses and more than 300 sites in Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks, Monroe and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey.
[bolding is mine]
Taking Steps to Identify Bird Flu Cases and Prepare for Future Developments
February 07, 2025
In response to avian influenza (a.k.a. “avian flu” or “bird flu”), St. Luke’s is preparing its lab for surveillance and opened an email “helpline” to answer basic questions from the public.
“While we have not had any known human cases of avian influenza in our local area, Pennsylvania or New Jersey, we have learned from past novel infectious diseases that it is prudent to be proactive in our approach,” said Jeffrey Jahre, MD, St. Luke’s Senior Vice President of Medical & Academic Affairs and Section Chief Emeritus of Infectious Diseases.
During the height of the Covid crisis, St. Luke’s emerged as the leading source of information and guidance locally as well as a most trusted resource statewide and nationally. “We are proud of our leadership role and continue to take our responsibility to our community very seriously,” Jahre said. “We learned during Covid that we cannot wait for government agencies to ride in and save the day.”
St. Luke’s is working closely with the Network’s lab and clinical providers to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment should there be local cases of human infection of avian influenza.
In addition, the Network’s Occupational Medicine department has proactively shared information with and offered assistance to the region’s extensive poultry industry.
To educate the public – always a critical step in fighting infectious diseases – the Network is sharing the FAQs below. It has also established an email “helpline” to which Lehigh Valley-area residents can direct questions: birdfluquestions@sluhn.org.
“At this point, there is no cause for alarm,” Jahre said. “But taking some preliminary steps now will help us to assess our current situation and prepare for possible future developments.”
Avian Influenza FAQs...
continued: https://www.slhn.org/blog/2025/taki...flu-cases-and-prepare-for-future-developments
[bolding is mine]
Taking Steps to Identify Bird Flu Cases and Prepare for Future Developments
February 07, 2025
In response to avian influenza (a.k.a. “avian flu” or “bird flu”), St. Luke’s is preparing its lab for surveillance and opened an email “helpline” to answer basic questions from the public.
“While we have not had any known human cases of avian influenza in our local area, Pennsylvania or New Jersey, we have learned from past novel infectious diseases that it is prudent to be proactive in our approach,” said Jeffrey Jahre, MD, St. Luke’s Senior Vice President of Medical & Academic Affairs and Section Chief Emeritus of Infectious Diseases.
During the height of the Covid crisis, St. Luke’s emerged as the leading source of information and guidance locally as well as a most trusted resource statewide and nationally. “We are proud of our leadership role and continue to take our responsibility to our community very seriously,” Jahre said. “We learned during Covid that we cannot wait for government agencies to ride in and save the day.”
St. Luke’s is working closely with the Network’s lab and clinical providers to ensure prompt diagnosis and treatment should there be local cases of human infection of avian influenza.
In addition, the Network’s Occupational Medicine department has proactively shared information with and offered assistance to the region’s extensive poultry industry.
To educate the public – always a critical step in fighting infectious diseases – the Network is sharing the FAQs below. It has also established an email “helpline” to which Lehigh Valley-area residents can direct questions: birdfluquestions@sluhn.org.
“At this point, there is no cause for alarm,” Jahre said. “But taking some preliminary steps now will help us to assess our current situation and prepare for possible future developments.”
Avian Influenza FAQs...
continued: https://www.slhn.org/blog/2025/taki...flu-cases-and-prepare-for-future-developments