The Ohio Department of Health has reported the first human case of influenza A(H5), commonly known as bird flu.
Bird flu, or HPAI, is highly contagious between birds and often causes illness and death in those animals infected.
The adult man who has contracted the illness is a farm worker in Mercer County who was in contact with deceased, commercial poultry.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention consider the current public risk of contracting bird flu to be low but suggest that anyone who is working in close or prolonged, unprotected contact with infected birds take certain precautions.
Currently, there are no known cases of human-to-human transmission.
“While the risk to Ohioans is low, the best way to prevent bird flu is to avoid unprotected exposures to sick or dead birds or to their environment,” Ohio Department of Health Director, Bruce Vanderhoff said in a statement. “People should avoid direct contact with poultry or wild birds and take proper precautions, including reaching out for guidance regarding personal protection and safe handling, if you must be around sick or dead birds.”
Commercial poultry owners should practice proper biosecurity and prevent any contact between their product and wild birds, specifically migratory waterfowl.
The best biosecurity practices according to the Ohio Department of Agriculture include preventing contact with wild birds, keeping visitors to a minimum, washing hands well before and after contact with live poultry, providing disposable boot covers and disinfectant foot-baths for those in contact with a flock and establishing a rodent or pest control program.
They also suggest using drinking water from a clean, contained supply, cleaning tools and equipment before moving them to a new facility and keeping an eye out for signs of illness in their flock.
Handling sick birds can also put them at risk. The CDC suggests anyone who sees evidence of disease or unexpected poultry deaths report them to the Ohio Poultry Association or the ODA.
Nationally, 11 states have reported 68 confirmed cases of human HPAI since the start of 2024. One death from the illness has been reported in Louisiana.
According to the CDC all but three of these cases involved exposures within commercial agriculture, related operations or wild birds. In Ohio alone, one dairy herd and numerous poultry flocks have been infected since 2022.
The CDC said it is safe for the public to eat poultry if it is properly cooked and they can still enjoy pasteurized dairy products without risk of getting sick.
The organizations said that generally, if people follow food safety practices such as cooking any poultry, eggs and beef to safe internal temperatures, any bacteria or viruses should be killed.
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More information is available through the ODA and ODH websites.
