CHICAGO (CBS) — After the first human bird flu death in the U.S. was reported Monday, and also reports of pet deaths, Chicago local experts addressed concerns about the virus.
A Louisiana resident over the age of 65 with underlying medical conditions tested positive for bird flu, or H5N1, and developed severe illness after being exposed to wild birds and a personal backyard poultry flock that was infected with the virus, according to the state’s health department. No other people were found to have been sickened by the virus in Louisiana.
H5N1 has been linked to at least seven other deaths from other countries in recent years. Since 2003, the World Health Organization has counted more than 400 deaths from the virus.
According to the CDC, at least 66 people have been infected with bird flu since last year. Most have had direct contact with sick birds.
It is important to note that so far, there has been no person-to-person transmission of bird flu—and that gives the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reason to believe that the risk to the general public remains low at this point.
“Bird flu is transited through the migratory bird population,” Dr. Dean Blumberg, an infectious disease expert at eh University of California Davis. “It’s spread through the bird’s saliva, the feces, the urine.”
But it is not just human bird flu cases that are drawing concern. The pet food brand Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall for a batch of its product in December after a cat died of bird flu in Oregon, and this past weekend, a Southern California man said two of his four cats died after they drank a batch of raw milk that was contaminated with the bird flu virus.
Big cats are also impacted. A total of 20 big cats—including a Eurasian lynx, a Bengal tiger, and several other animals—died after being infected in a bird flu outbreak last month at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center of Washington, an animal sanctuary in Washington state.
“For whatever reason, cats seem especially susceptible,” said Seth Magle, director of the Urban Wildlife Institute at the Lincoln Park Zoo.
Magle said his staff is closely monitoring its bird and cat populations for avian flu.
“[Big cats] are very susceptible, and there is a possibility that birds could get into those enclosures—you know, something like a pigeon, a seagull, a starling—so absolutely,” said Magle. “There’s a real need to watch there too.”
Magle had some advice for anyone with cats at home. In addition to warnings about raw food diets and raw milk, experts have also warned that cats going outside and interacting with birds could be at risk.
“If you have cats that you let outside, it’s a good idea to keep them inside—and certainly, if you let them outside and they bring in a dead bird, not only should you not touch that, but you might want to have your cat checked out,” he said. “I do worry. Is there a pathway there that could lead to more pet fatalities, or even, worst-case scenario, human infections?”
Experts said bird flu is deadly to cats 75% to 100% of the time. Symptoms to watch out for in cats include lethargy, breathing issues, and nasal and eye discharge, as well as neurological symptoms such as drooling, inability to walk or circle-walking, and seizures.
“I don’t think a lot of people in the area maybe understand the true implications of this disease and what it can do to our animals, our livestock, our companion animals that we have ourselves,” veterinary assistant Lily Hilgenfeld said late last month.
Another piece of advice shared by the Lincoln Park Zoo is to take down bird feeders during the bird flu outbreak—because that, of course, is a place where birds congregate and disease is easily transmitted.
