NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Recent bird flu outbreaks across the country are catching the attention of local doctors. So far, there have been no confirmed cases in Louisiana.
In the past few months, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recorded a few cases of people becoming ill with the bird flu.
In April, one man in Mexico died after becoming infected with a different strain of bird flu not seen in the United States.
According to Dr. Mark Kline, the chief medical officer and physician in chief at Children’s Hospital New Orleans, there is no evidence a human has contracted the bird flu from another human.
“We haven’t seen that yet, either with the H5N1 virus, which is circulating in dairy cows now in the U.S. or this new strain,” explained Kline. “This gentleman in Mexico who fell ill with the H5N2 virus, he had a number of other human contacts, and none of them have tested positive for the virus.”
The U.S. strain, H5N1, has infected people who have had contact with a sick cow.
“They’ve had conjunctivitis with redness of the eyes, and one did have some respiratory, one individual had some respiratory symptoms, but those were mild, and all of those individuals have recovered uneventfully,” said Kline.
The top doctor says the bird flu shouldn’t be a huge concern for people who don’t work in the dairy industry or with birds.
“If you do have contact with birds or with dairy cows, you want to wash your hands very carefully, and you want to take other protective measures, like goggles or masking, if you’re going to be around those animals for any prolonged period of time,” said Kline.
Stay up to date with the latest news, weather and sports by downloading the WGNO app on the Apple or Google Play stores and by subscribing to the WGNO newsletter.