Texas confirms first human case of bird flu

FOX 7 Focus: Texas bird flu case

Texas has confirmed its first human case of bird flu, or avian influenza, in the Texas Panhandle. Austin physician Dr. Mason Mileur joins John Krinjak to discuss in this FOX 7 Focus.

AUSTIN, Texas - Texas health officials have recently confirmed the state's first human case of bird flu.

The case was confirmed in the Texas Panhandle, where the virus was also found in dairy cattle last week.

Health officials said the person had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low.

Nationwide, this marks the second human case of bird flu, and the first connected to cows. The virus usually infects wild birds, but can spread to domestic birds and other animals, and occasionally humans.

Human case of bird flu reported in Texas

The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the state’s first human case of avian influenza, or bird flu, on Monday. This comes after the virus was found in dairy cattle in the Texas panhandle last week.

FOX 7 Austin's John Krinjak spoke with Dr. Mason Mileur with Austin Medical Associates about how much of a danger bird flu poses to humans and what people should be on the lookout for.

JOHN KRINJAK: So first of all, what is avian influenza and how is it different than just regular flu that we're used to?

MASON MILEUR: You know, what's interesting about influenza is that it all starts actually as avian and as just three different kinds that we as humans can get. But this latest little outbreak here with H5N1 is something that doesn't affect humans very often.

JOHN KRINJAK: And so how is bird flu usually spread to people? And who among us is most at risk?

MASON MILEUR: So, for this exact one, H5N1 that we're hearing about, most of the time, you really have to be around poultry, dead birds, something like that. And then you'll end up having symptoms within ten days of exposure, typically. It's been a fairly new thing here in the US. I mean, I think it was something like 20 in the early 2000's when it even started appearing here. And so but across the world is pretty common in places like China and Taiwan.

JOHN KRINJAK: And so you mentioned symptoms. What are sort of the big symptoms that people might want to look out for?

MASON MILEUR: Yeah. So think of the normal flu-type symptoms. So the big one being coughing, feeling like it's difficulty, difficult to breathe. You may be sneezing a little bit, but what can set this apart? Not always is the fact that your eyes will start to turn a little bit red, what we call conjunctivitis.

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JOHN KRINJAK: And what should you do if you have these symptoms? I guess especially if you do come into contact with birds or cattle.

MASON MILEUR: Well, I think the biggest thing is if you are working in something like the poultry industry or something, you take precautions. That's the number one way to prevent yourself from getting the H5N1. Also, it's your loved ones. So it takes…transmission from human to human can happen, but it's more difficult than by direct exposure to the poultry themselves. So if you have a family member who works in the poultry or bird industries, just to be sure if they're looking a little bit sick to get them tested.

JOHN KRINJAK: What does treatment look like? And you know, how serious can this be if it's left untreated?

MASON MILEUR: Well, generally it's not considered to be very life-threatening. The treatment is the same as we would treat regular old flu with. So that would be like Tamiflu. You know, typically if you're a teenager on up till about 30, that's the age bracket that we see more severe illness sometimes. And then, of course, you worry about people that may have compromised immune systems, or are pregnant.

JOHN KRINJAK: All right. Dr. Mason Mileur, with Austin Medical Associates. Doctor, thanks so much for being here. We appreciate your expertise.

MASON MILEUR: Thank you very much, John.