Are humans & pets at risk of contracting bird flu in Illinois? How to avoid the virus
As H5N1, also known as avian influenza or bird flu, surges in birds across the world, public health experts in Illinois and nationwide are closely monitoring cases and recommend residents take precautions.
Like many influenza viruses, bird flu is the ability to change each year to become more or less transmissible, Joy O’Keefe, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign assistant professor and wildlife extension specialist, said in a March 7 interview with the News-Democrat.
Bird flu spreads not only among wild birds, but also occasionally to domestic birds and is very rarely picked up by humans. Avian influenza outbreaks have been reported in poultry, dairy cows and occasionally other mammals, the Illinois Department of Public Health reports.
The first severe case of bird flu in a human in the U.S. was reported in December, when a Louisiana patient was hospitalized due to contracting the virus and later died.
From April 2024 to Dec. 18, 2024, 61 cases of bird flu in humans were reported in the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here are the latest available national bird flu numbers, from the CDC:
70 cases in humans
One death of a human
17 states with outbreaks in dairy cows
More than 166 million poultry affected
What’s the bird flu risk level in Illinois?
Illinois residents who don’t regularly spend lots of time with confined chickens or migratory waterfowl should not be at a high risk of contracting bird flu at this time.
“I would say that the risk is pretty low for the average person,” O’Keefe said.
The greatest risk factor for bird flu is having contact with wild birds, particularly migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese. Those birds are most likely to carry and transmit the virus, O’Keefe said.
People who come into contact with large numbers of domestic birds, such as confined poultry, are also at an increased risk. O’Keefe recommended people who have backyard chickens take precautions.
“It’s very unlikely that the birds that visit bird feeders would be afflicted by bird flu, but better to be safe than sorry just by keeping wild birds away from our domestic birds,” O’Keefe said.
How to mitigate bird flu risk
It’s a good idea to keep your pets away from wild birds, as well. Keep your dog on a leash and don’t let them dig or root around anywhere where wild birds may have defecated, O’Keefe said.
Federal health officials recommend people avoid drinking raw milk, as it can be contaminated with bacteria that poses health risks such as bird flu, E.coli, salmonella and more. Drinking contaminated raw milk can result in serious illness, hospitalization and death, the CDC reports.
“Pasteurization is a proven process with a long history of protecting public health and is highly effective at eliminating the dangers associated with consuming raw milk,” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports.
In addition to taking precautions with your pets and not drinking raw milk, the University of Chicago school of medicine advises people to refrigerate and properly cook eggs, meat and poultry, avoid contact with wild, sick or dead birds and livestock, wash your hands thoroughly and often and follow public health recommendations.
Common symptoms of bird flu in humans include pink eye, cough, fever, muscle aches and sore throat, UChicago reports.
“While humans can catch bird flu from infected animals, it doesn’t spread well between humans. This could change over time as the virus mutates and evolves. The higher the number of infections overall, the faster the virus changes and adapts. This is why controlling the spread of bird flu is important even though the virus is currently unlikely to cause widespread disease in people,” the UChicago website says.
In early February, the CDC posted then quickly deleted data showing a cat infected with bird flu may have spread it to another cat and to a human in the same home, USA Today reported Feb. 7. The data table was obtained by The New York Times.
“These kinds of diseases are going to continue to pop up in our wild animal populations, and it’s very important that we maintain funding for agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and USDA so that we can monitor the health of our wild animal populations and keep our domestic animals safe and keep humans safe too,” O’Keefe said.
Federal health agencies, including the CDC, National Institutes of Health and FDA have experienced staffing cuts recently under the Trump administration.
Illinois residents who see sick or dead domestic poultry are encouraged to make a report to the Illinois Department of Agriculture at 217-782-4944 or the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service veterinary services at 1-866-536-7593.
If you see five or more sick or dead wild birds, officials ask you to report the sighting to your local Illinois Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist or USDA Wildlife Services at 1-866-487-3297.
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