First serious case of bird flu reported in the US

Doctors across the country are increasingly concerned about the spread of bird flu. “The concern comes today because we have ticked one of those boxes, which is the severity of the disease, and that was something we had not seen in the previous cases this year,” said Dr. Jeremy Faust, a Harvard professor of emergency medicine. A patient in Louisiana is hospitalized in critical condition with the nation’s first known serious illness from avian influenza. Health officials report that the patient is over 65 years old, has underlying medical problems and was exposed to a flock of sick backyard birds. So far, more than 60 people in eight states have fallen ill with mild illness related to the virus Called “bird flu,” it actually affects dairy cows and has infected at least 866 herds in 16 states since March. More than half of those cases occurred in California, where the governor declared a state of emergency exclaimed. “We have many ways to monitor this. We hope the emergency declaration will streamline some of these options,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, deputy health officer for Solano County, California. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who come into contact with dairy cows, commercial poultry or backyard birds are at higher risk. No person-to-person transmission has been detected. The virus can also spread in raw milk. “I think given this situation it makes sense to examine these products more closely and be cautious,” said Dr. Jeremy Faust. The Food and Drug Administration says pasteurized milk is safe because the heat treatment kills the virus. Just this week, the United States Department of Agriculture began testing raw milk in 13 states to detect and contain bird flu.