According to a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three out of 150 veterinarians working with large animals unknowingly contracted bird flu.
The discovery was made when these veterinarians participated in a study to detect bird flu antibodies in their blood, indicating they had been infected despite showing no symptoms.
While there is no evidence of the virus spreading from person to person, it can spread from animals to humans. The bird flu virus, which has been causing the cost of eggs to rise, is now being studied for its transmission from sick birds to cattle and potentially to humans.
Dr. Michael Koren, director of the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research, noted that while it is unusual for flu viruses to move between species, mutations can allow this to happen.
“It’s unusual for flu viruses to move from one species to another, but it does happen. The reason for that is each flu virus has specific characteristics that allow it to infect certain cells,” Koren said.
He expressed concern about the potential for the virus to become highly infectious to humans if current trends continue or if further mutations occur.
The CDC’s findings showed that two of the three veterinarians had no known exposure to animals testing positive for bird flu, and one was working in a state with no reported bird flu activity.
“Although there wasn’t a record, you have to assume that either there was a problem in the history of these three. Were they in a different state and they didn’t remember, or in fact, you had this problem in that state?”
Koren suggested that their infections went undetected due to either being asymptomatic or having minor symptoms that were overlooked.
This information was released shortly after Ohio health officials reported the first human bird flu infection in the state, involving a farm worker who had contact with a sick bird and suffered severe respiratory issues.
In Florida, there have been multiple cases of bird flu in poultry, but no human infections have been reported. Dr. Sonya Rashid, an emergency room doctor at UF Health, explained that bird flu symptoms mimic those of the seasonal flu, and a full viral panel is required to confirm infection.
She emphasized the importance of isolating infected patients to prevent the spread of the virus.
“If we had a patient that had bird flu, they would be placed away from other patients in an isolation setting,” Rashid said.
Currently, there is no FDA-approved vaccine for bird flu in humans, so treatment focuses on managing symptoms.
