Last month, a flock of birds in southern Rhode Island was euthanized after they were found to be infected with H5N1 avian influenza. While the threat to public health is considered to be low, Dr. Suzanne Bornschein, medical director and state epidemiologist at the Rhode Island Department of Health, says you should take some necessary precautions to protect yourself and your pets.
Interview highlights:
How common is it for humans to be infected by avian flu?
Suzanne Bornschein: There’s still a lot we don’t know, but one thing we know for sure: No human to human spread at this time. So the public health risk for the general public is low. But if you’re somebody that works in a dairy farm or you work with an infected poultry flock, that would put you at higher risk. And then, of course, there’s always the hunters.
On the severity of avian flu infections in humans
Bornschein: What we’ve seen in the U. S. … whether it was the dairy cattle worker or the poultry workers, is that we have seen, by and large, mild illness. We have had an individual who did pass, but again, they were not a farm worker and we still don’t necessarily know exactly what that reason was and why they were so ill, other than that they were older and had some underlying illness. So people should be aware of avian influenza, but not afraid.
Should you stop eating eggs, chicken or dairy?
Bornschein: Absolutely not. So you probably are aware that in Rhode Island, there is no sale of raw milk, and that is not just because [of] H5N1, but there are many other not-so-great bacteria and things that can be in raw milk. That’s not something that we have for sale here in Rhode Island. Whether it’s eggs or chicken, as long as those are cooked to 165 [degrees], that is the safe way to eat them. In terms of our milk, pasteurized milk is safe milk. One of the things that happened early on is that there were many tests of milk throughout the country that’s pasteurized as well as milk products, showing again and again that that process of pasteurization or heating it up is what will kill any kind of virus.
Bornschein on how epidemiologists are monitoring the situation
Bornschein: We do have a national milk testing program. Currently there are several states involved. Basically, we do testing in our milk silos to look for H5N1. You’re probably aware that there’s no interstate movements of any cows that are infected. We also test for H5N1 if we have a positive influenza A person who’s hospitalized. So all of our health care providers know we are very much interested in them sending us any samples – respiratory specimens – samples from somebody who’s hospitalized who tests positive for flu A. Then we’ll do the further testing and so we’re keeping a very tight, close eye on this. Obviously DEM, if they get a report of a sick animal or a vet has a sick animal, they would then call our state vet and then that animal would be tested.
What you can do to protect yourself and your pets
Bornschein: If you see a dead bird or a bird that’s sick or just doesn’t look right, the DEM, our Department of Environmental Management, has two forms. Those two forms are ways the public can report those birds. But most important is don’t touch those birds. Don’t touch carcasses. Stay away from them and keep your dog from doing anything with that carcass. … Keep your dogs on leashes. Felines, even the big ones, as well as the house cats are really, really sensitive to H5N1. So keeping them indoors is probably a good idea.
