{"id":65154,"date":"2024-06-03T14:01:04","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T21:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=65154"},"modified":"2024-06-03T14:01:04","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T21:01:04","slug":"the-next-human-pandemic-could-be-bird-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/?p=65154","title":{"rendered":"The Next Human Pandemic Could Be Bird Flu"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_author tdi_59 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_59\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-author-name-wrap\"><span class=\"tdb-author-by\">By<\/span><a class=\"tdb-author-name\" href=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/author\/sunita\/\">Sunita Sohrabji<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_date tdi_60 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 tdb-post-meta\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_60\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><i class=\"tdb-date-icon tdc-font-fa tdc-font-fa-calendar\"><\/i><time class=\"entry-date updated td-module-date\" datetime=\"2024-05-30T08:00:53-07:00\">May 30, 2024<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_subtitle tdi_61 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_61\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>Immigrants who work in the poultry and dairy industry are especially vulnerable to an avian flu infection. Experts believe there has been an under-reporting of cases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_featured_image tdi_62 tdb-content-horiz-left td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_62\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\" style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"entry-thumb td-animation-stack-type0-2\" title=\"avian flu\" src=\"https:\/\/ethnicmediaservices.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/avian-flu-e1717080291965.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1250\" height=\"703\" \/><figcaption class=\"tdb-caption-text\"><em>UC Davis poultry veterinarian Rodrigo Gallardo examines a chicken. (UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"td_block_wrap tdb_single_content tdi_63 td-pb-border-top td_block_template_1 td-post-content tagdiv-type\" data-td-block-uid=\"tdi_63\">\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<p>The next major pandemic of Covid-like proportions will likely be avian flu, a respiratory disease already killing millions of poultry and waterfowl, and infecting thousands of cattle.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, there is a version of H5N1 \u2014\u00a0the avian flu virus \u2014\u00a0on six continents, an unprecedented event, said Dr. Maurice Pitesky, associate professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, who focuses on highly pathogenic avian influenza disease modeling.<\/p>\n<p>The virus spreads via an infected waterfowl\u2019s fecal material, said Pitesky, noting that many dairy and poultry farms have lagoons and other large bodies of water nearby. Feral cats that roam around dairies are also conduits for spreading the virus, as are infected farm and factory equipment.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Immigrant Workers at High Risk<\/h2>\n<p>Workers in poultry and dairy industries are at a unique risk for catching an infection: humans who have close contact with sick birds can catch the virus when it gets into a person\u2019s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled. Wearing Tyvek suits, gloves, masks and other personal protective equipment can be extremely challenging in the immense heat, said Pitesky.<\/p>\n<p>Vaccinating chickens is a Herculean task: the US currently breeds about 8 billion chickens per year. Containing spread to particular regions is also difficult: animals are only tested when they cross state lines.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAvian flu is a risk to all of us at some level; there\u2019s so much virus floating around. There\u2019s a lot of new research that\u2019s focusing on virus in wastewater from human wastewater treatment facilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"td-video-replacer\" data-id=\"undefined\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget2\" title=\"Avian Flu an \u2018Existential Issue\u2019 for Global Poultry Industry, Threatens Food Security\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H51YsY2Q4ks?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Dr. Maurice Pitesky, UC Davis. All videos by Nina Mohan.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Extremely Deadly<\/h2>\n<p>Bird flu is extremely deadly in humans, said\u00a0Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of Medicine and director of the immuno-compromised host infectious diseases program at the University of California, San Francisco.<\/p>\n<p>It appears like a very bad flu, but the fatality rate is much higher, he said.<\/p>\n<p>Both researchers were speaking at a May 24 Ethnic Media Services news briefing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason why it\u2019s so deadly initially in humans is because we\u2019re not used to seeing this kind of infection. It\u2019s almost like the early days of COVID. So we don\u2019t have the necessary immune system to target it,\u201d said Chin-Hong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is possible that we can have a pandemic at some point in the medium term,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Spanish Flu<\/h2>\n<p>The 1918 \u201cSpanish flu,\u201d which killed more than 50 million people worldwide, was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin, noted Hong. He added however, that better detection and therapeutics today could decrease the number of human fatalities.<\/p>\n<p>Only three cases of humans infected in the US have been reported thus far. In each of those cases, the infection presented with conjunctivitis \u2014 pink eye \u2014 and symptoms were relatively mild.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"td-video-replacer\" data-id=\"undefined\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"widget4\" title=\"Income Loss, Fear of Deportation Among Reasons Immigrant Farmworkers Hesitate to Report Avian Flu\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/g_1GSgJ-79E?feature=oembed\" width=\"100%\" height=\"392\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, UCSF.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Chin-Hong and Pitesky believe there is a vast under-reporting of avian flu infections in humans. Immigrants make up 56% of workers in the meatpacking industry and 28% of workers in the poultry industry, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Federal Interventions<\/h2>\n<p>Employees work in tight quarters, with little or no protective equipment to ward off exposure to the virus. Immigration status, as well as losing out on pay during a sick day, might discourage workers from reporting, said Chin-Hong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThose three cases we know about are just the tip of the iceberg. We don\u2019t even know how many people have asymptomatic infections,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a fear of deportation. So if there was some regulation around immigration amnesty, I think it will help all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Income assurance for those who get sick and for farms who must shut down during an outbreak could also potentially lead to better reporting, he said. The federal government does provide $50,000 per day to temporarily-shuttered farms.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Raw Milk<\/h2>\n<p>Humans could potentially get the virus from drinking unpasteurized milk or eating unpasteurized cheese, said Chin-Hong. He referred to a recent study in which mice were given milk from infected cows with H5N1. \u201cIt left the gut and actually went to the lungs and caused them to be very sick.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pitesky said he was also concerned about avian flu from a food security perspective. \u201cPoultry is the number one consumed animal protein on the planet. It\u2019s relatively inexpensive and healthy. What we\u2019re dealing with right now is an existential crisis to the poultry industry globally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf we\u2019re going to feed 2 billion more people in the next few decades, poultry is probably part of that solution. And if we can\u2019t get a good handle on this, I\u2019m afraid that that\u2019s gonna be a real challenge for us. Food security is really important for global stability,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BySunita Sohrabji May 30, 2024 Immigrants&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65155,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65154\/revisions\/65155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lapost.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}