HEALTH
What are the main differences between bird flu and regular flu?
A look at the main differences between the bird flu and the traditonal flu, as explained by the CDC.
The first recorded human death from the “bird flu” was reported in Mexico earlier this week. The H5N1 virus, or “bird flu,” can be transmitted from birds or marine mammals to humans, but there are no known cases of human-to-human transmission.
The CDC has reported four cases of H5N1 since 2022, with three people having contracted the virus after coming into contact with dairy cows. While the news out of Mexico is deeply unsettling as many are reminded of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that the risk to public health remains low and that the agency “is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures.”
How does the bird flu differ from the regular flu?
Unlike the traditional flu, which can cause up to 41 million infections a year, the CDC says that “cases of human infection” are “rare.” Though obvious, the low number of infected humans stems from the fact that the H5N1 virus primarily impacts birds, exemplified best by its name. Additionally, how the H5N1 virus affects the human immune system is difficult to understand, as some infected report no symptoms. At the same time, it can be fatal in other cases.
What are the symptoms of the bird flu in humans?
- Cough
- Diarrhea
- Difficulty breathing
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle pains
- Runny nose
- Sore throat
The flu that most of us have had at some point in our lives is contracted through exposure to an infected person through droplets in the air or touching an infected surface. The bird flu can be contracted “through an intermediary animal,” reports the CDC, but the most common way people contract the virus is through “close or lengthy unprotected contact (i.e., not wearing gloves or respiratory protection or eye protection) with infected birds or places that sick birds or their saliva, mucous and feces have touched.”
Finally, unlike the regular flu, there is no vaccine for bird flu. The flu season in the United States typically lasts from October to May. If you want to reduce the chance of getting sick during this period, you can get a flu shot.