Threat to humans?
New Jersey State Epidemiologist Dr. Tina Tan said authorities were closely monitoring the situation, but “the risk to people right now, to people, the overall risk is very low.”
She said people infected with H5N1 have typical flu-like respiratory symptoms. Some people may also develop conjunctivitis.
Who is most likely to be affected?
Wengryn said bird flu could pose a potential threat to “people who work with livestock, poultry, turkeys or chickens. Those most at risk are people with home or backyard poultry, and especially production workers who work with free-range poultry.”
“It’s a matter of vigilance”
A farmworker in Colorado was diagnosed with bird flu in 2022, and three others in Texas and Michigan tested positive for the virus earlier this year.
Earlier this summer, health officials in Pennsylvania urged medical personnel, health departments and hospitals to test for flu.
In total, the virus has been detected in dairy animals and humans in 13 states.
Wengryn said monitoring the H5N1 virus is especially important now because migratory birds will be heading south on the western, central and eastern flyways in the coming weeks. They have all congregated in a Canadian nesting area, from where the virus may have spread.
What can New Jersey residents do?
State authorities are asking citizens to contact state fisheries and wildlife authorities immediately if they find more than one dead bird in the wild. Pasteurization kills the virus, and authorities are advising citizens against consuming raw milk products until the danger has passed.
