CDC confirms first human death in US tied to bird flu
OAKLAND, Calif. - A patient's death in Louisiana has become the first in the nation to be linked to the highly contagious bird flu, which has been spreading among wild birds across the country.
"People should not be alarmed," said UCSF infectious disease expert, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong. "It’s a different mutation. Most people have not been seriously ill."
The patient, who had been hospitalized in Louisiana after being diagnosed with the bird flu, was over 65 and reported to have an underlying medical condition.
Still Dr. Chin-Hong says there are steps people can take to better protect themselves, including getting a flu shot, and not drinking unpasteurized milk products, because cases of bird flu have recently been diagnosed in cattle. In addition, Dr. Chin-Hong says if you have backyard chickens or a cat, you should monitor their health, and if they appear ill, wear PPE if you need to bring them to the vet.
"And I think above all, if you have symptoms, and you have one of these risks, seek medical attention as soon as possible," said Dr. Chin-Hong.
So far, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 66 cases of bird flu nationwide, with 37 of them in California.
Meantime, the bird flu has also continued to wreak havoc on chicken farms, causing a widespread egg shortage across the country and in the Bay Area.
"I was at Safeway this morning, and they had signs, "no eggs," and no update on when they’ll get eggs, so I thought maybe a local grocer would have eggs," said Levon Stepanian, who also discovered Dean’s Produce in Millbrae was sold out of eggs.
"Real fast," said Dean's Produce owner Vasilious, who added. "The delivery came in at 10 o'clock. It’s now…5:30, it’s gone."
Normally, Vasilios says his store receives 25 cases of eggs a week from a farm in Petaluma, but now, because of the bird flu, they only get 15 cases a week. Thankfully, he said that so far his customers have been understanding.
"People they know. Pretty much everyone knows now," said Vasilios.
The shortage has also driven up egg prices at many stores. One dozen eggs, if you can find them, can cost more than $10 dollars a box in some places, according to analysts, who added that prices might not recover until this summer.
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