Focus at Four: State official on real risk of bird flu

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The nations largest producer and distributor of fresh eggs is experiencing a bird flu outbreak.

Cal-Maine Foods has temporarily stopped production at a facility here in Texas.

Earlier in the week, authorities say a person who worked on a farm in the panhandle and had direct contact with a dairy cow came down with the bird flu.

Chris Van Deusen from the Texas Department of State Health Services joined First News at Four on Wednesday and said that the flu is usually an animal-to-animal virus spread.

“It’s a type of flu and it’s an influenza virus, Influenza A. And there are many different kinds of flu, and this particular one that we call H5N1, is kind of native to birds. It’s adapted to spread within bird colonies and can have a very serious impact on them,” said Deusen.

But now, the virus has spread to a human, the first time globally that it has transferred from a mammal to a human, according to federal health officials.

He said bird flu could adapt to continue to do that, but the risk of it passing from human to human is low.

“We got the results of the genetic sequencing of this particular sample back from the CDC just this morning, so we know a little bit more about it. It is very closely related to the viruses that were detected in cattle in Texas over the last couple of weeks. That’s not a surprise. And in looking more specifically at what the virus looks like, there have not been any changes within it that would make it easier to spread from one person to another person,” Deusen said.

And ultimately, he said the risk to the public at the moment is minimal, but to stay vigilant if you work with livestock.

“Everything we know right now is that the threat to the general public remains low. That said, we do want to make sure people who are working around animals, particularly on dairies and the Panhandle where we have seen this in cattle, are aware of this. We want them to be able to take precautions,” Deusen said.