U.S. health officials are monitoring and preparing to combat bird flu in humans, even as they emphasize that the risk to the general public remains low.
U.S. health officials have been monitoring and responding to bird flu in humans, even as they emphasize that the risk to the general public remains low.
There is currently no evidence that H5N1 is spreading from person to person. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also said the risk of infection isnew and emerging infections among humans and animals. Federal agencies in the U.S. and elsewhere have also tracked the H5N1 virus for years to monitor its evolution.The U.S. government has long stockpiled vaccines and drugs to be used in a possible bird flu pandemic.
Pekosz called those doses a"first line of defense in case we do see some human-to-human transmission." He said that number is enough to stem an outbreak in its early stages, which could include vaccinating farm workers and some health-care workers. "It's either too little or too much. For example, if you make too much food, then a lot of food goes to waste," said Dr., an infectious disease physician at UCSF Health."That's really the whole big conundrum now with a vaccine whenever you have a potential threat. It's the high cost and high-risk aspects."
Chin-Hong said mRNA vaccines could be updated more quickly to match the currently circulating strains of the bird flu. But he said those vaccines have their own challenges, such as needing to be stored at extremely cold temperatures. While there is robust testing on the federal, state and local levels, it is far more difficult for an average person to self-screen and get diagnosed for bird flu like they can for Covid, Chin-Hong said. That's"the big barrier, particularly in the populations that are getting affected now," he said.
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