After the first reported bird flu-related fatality in the United States, local experts are urging officials and healthcare providers to take a closer look at preparations related to the virus.
That death occurred when an individual in Louisiana was reportedly sickened after exposure to a backyard flock of chickens, the first such case reported in the United States.
Dr. Robert Murphy, interim chief of Northwestern University’s Infectious Disease department, is urging federal and state officials to keep a wary eye on bird flu, and the implications of its spread.
“There seems to be more and more herds of cattle being infected, and more and more birds being diagnosed,” he said.
Murphy warns that while the virus currently is not capable of human-to-human transmission, things can change quickly.
“These things mutate, and when they mutate, things can change,” he said. “The disease can get more dangerous or it can get more infectious.”
More than five-dozen cases have been reported across the United States, primarily in the state of California. While the virus cannot spread between humans, people can get ill if they are in close proximity to birds or bird droppings, according to the CDC.
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Murphy does say there is a stockpile of vaccines that could help provide protection against the virus in the event it mutates into an illness that can transmit between humans, but cautioned that there isn’t enough supply to inoculate everyone that could need it.
“We need more, better and faster because this thing can get out of hand quickly,” he said.
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The Department of Health and Human Services recently authorized more than $300 million in new funding to improve monitoring and testing for bird flu.
In Illinois, there have been no reports of human cases, but there have been infected birds and livestock in the state. That includes a high-profile story in suburban DuPage County, where a bald eagle was euthanized after showing symptoms of the illness.
That eagle is far from alone, according to Annette Prince of the Chicago Bird Collision Monitors.
“We are getting constant phone calls about people birds exhibiting these symptoms,” she said. “The bird was showing a lot of symptoms that are suspect of avian flu. It had tremors, was having trouble standing, it was off-balance.”
Illinois health officials say the risk of humans contracting bird flu, but warned against handling dead birds without gloves.
