The avian flu, more commonly known as the bird flu or H5N1, has been around for over a century. It’s caused outbreaks in birds, namely poultry livestock and some bird wildlife, and hasn’t posted much of a threat to humans… until now.
A few weeks ago, on May 23, 2024, a 59 year old Mexican man died from bird flu. There have been many other human deaths and infections found in Cambodia, India, and China. With the increased reliance that the west has on Asia for production and manufacturing, it was only a matter of time before the avian flu found its way into North America and began infecting bird livestock here as well. But this has been happening for a while.
Recently however, scientists have found strains of avian flu in dairy farms. Although most infections do not result in death, the cows have a lower milk yield. The milk they do yield has strains of H5N1, and many who have drank the unpasteurized milk have become infected.
Some farmers choose to slaughter cows that do not heal quickly from H5N1, and burn the animal carcass. Despite these precautions, many farmers have also become infected from being around the sick animals for so long.
There is no known cure for avian flu.
Symptoms of H5N1
Symptoms of H5N1 in humans include:
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- runny nose
- diarrhea
- sore throat
- fever
- chills
- vomiting
- red eyes
- headaches
- difficulty breathing.
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It’s very similar to seasonal influenza. Sound familiar?
Why You Haven’t Heard of H5N1
1. It sounds like COVID.
The truth is, breakouts of H5N1 sound a lot like breakouts of COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions that were imposed for global health and safety were devastating to general mental health, physical health, the global economy, and many other aspects of life. We have just regained these freedoms, and many people have still not healed from the pandemic.
It’s no wonder that people don’t want to even think about going through it again. We all want to just hope that H5N1 just solves itself and stops spreading so we don’t have another COVID-19 lockdown.
But it’s still important to know about the avian flu and the threats that it poses to human health. Just because we can pretend it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean that it automatically disappears. Denial is getting us nowhere, and it is certainly not getting anybody closer to finding a cure before H5N1 becomes a global crisis.
2. The dairy industry doesn’t want to lose a profit
An increasing amount of dairy farmers are declining to test their cows for H5N1, despite federal precautions. Many are simply denying the idea that avian flu has infected their farms, regardless of whether or not their livestock has been tested. Farmers fear that an outbreak of bird flu will mean that they will need to stop selling, and they will lose their income.
What Can You Do?
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- help spread awareness about H5N1
- stop consuming unpasteurized dairy products
- reduce meat consumption
- buy local meat
- don’t touch or feed bird wildlife
- remove backyard bird feeders
- donate to a fundraiser, such as this one