Bird Flu Claims First Human Fatality: What Does This Mean for New York?

The first American has died from avian flu, which has killed more than 300 million birds worldwide.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the fatality on Monday, January 6.

The CDC said the person was over the age of 65 and had underlying medical conditions. They had been hospitalized in Louisiana after developing severe complications from the H5N1 virus that causes avian flu.

State health officials there the person contracted the illness through exposure to a non-commercial backyard chicken flock and wild birds.

Since bird flu began infecting humans in mid 2024, the CDC has confirmed 66 human cases. A majority of these cases resulted in mild infections

Worldwide, more than 950 people have contracted avian influenza and roughly half of them resulted in death.

What Does This Mean for New York?

The good news is, so far there have been no human cases of bird flu in the Empire State. However, the virus has been found in domestic poultry, wild birds, and even some wild mammals.

Read More: Deadly Avian Flu Spreading to Foxes in Central New York

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said mammals contract the illness if they eat an infected bird.

A domestic cat in Oregon died of bird flu after eating raw frozen pet food that was contaminated with the H5N1 virus.  This has since sparked calls for pet owners to stop feeding their animals raw meat.

Other mammals, like dairy cows, have contracted the illness and scientists believe it was passed through another infected animals' saliva, mucous, and feces.

Virologists say that the threat avian flu poses to Americans remains low, as human-to-human transmission has not yet been established.

CDC Says Bird Flu Threat Remains Low to Humans

Because the virus has yet to evolve to spread among humans, health experts are calling for more action to keep the situation under control.

Part of the plan includes a protection plan for those who work in fields that would expose them to potentially infected birds. A portion of the new protocol includes wearing personal protective equipment, or PPE.

People rarely get avian influenza A virus infection; however, human infections with avian influenza viruses can happen when enough virus gets into a person's eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled.

While this is an unfortunate development, the CDC and other health experts say Americans should not be alarmed or panic.

Those that are worried about potentially contracting the illness should avoid interacting with wild or domestic birds, observe dead birds from afar and don't handle with bare hands, and not consume raw products like dairy milk.

Is Bird Flu Causing Egg Prices to Skyrocket?

The short answer is: partially. Over 128 million birds have died from avian influenza, which has forced the culling of many egg-laying chickens and ducks.

However, there are other factors causing egg prices to jump past the $8 mark.

WIth more states calling for eggs to be farmed from cage-free production, that's increasing the price of eggs because that practice is far more expensive.

Read More: Why Are Eggs Skyrocketing in Price All of a Sudden in New York?

Also, the cost of bird feed has skyrocketed and that is causing production costs to rise. Farms are working to make ends meet with the increased prices on chicken feed.

Pair all that with bird flu decimating poultry farms, that's a big reason why eggs are giving everyone sticker shock.

This is also causing egg shortages, which is increasing demand - and, therefore, the price of eggs.

When WIll Bird Flu End?

The CDC says bird flu is currently widespread among wild birds across the United States and behind several outbreaks

The CDC is tracking a multi-state outbreak among dairy cattle, as well as sporadic outbreaks among poultry flocks and mammals.

None of these outbreaks have originated in New York and the majority of these cases are from the West.

The state closest to New York that has active outbreaks are Michigan, with 2 dairy herds reporting an infection. No other animals have reportedly contracted the bird flu.

There is also a probable case of exposure in Delaware, but has yet to be confirmed.

At this time, the CDC has no timeline on when bird flu will be fully under control.

Currently, the best way to eliminate the spread of avian flu is to cull entire flocks of chickens and turkeys once the virus has been detected.

This has renewed calls for vaccination efforts among humans and birds alike, but studies from countries that do inoculate flocks have reportedly shown mixed success at best.

It seems bird flu will be with us for awhile, which is why the CDC is rolling out prevention plans to ensure the virus doesn't evolve into a tangible threat against humans.

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