By: John Clark
OGLE COUNTY, Ill. (WTVO) — The Ogle County Health Department has confirmed a bird found in Rochelle has tested positive for H5N1 or bird flu.
Bird flu can infect poultry and
other domestic animals, but does not normally infect humans.
More than 60 people in eight states have been infected, with mostly mild illnesses, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Louisiana Department of Health said a resident from the southwestern portion of the state had been hospitalized after exposure to sick and dead birds suspected of having the virus.
H5N1 is a virus that causes respiratory illness in birds.
The outbreak has resulted in 60 cases of the flu in humans. 37 of those cases were transmitted from infected cattle.
University of Illinois Professor of Animal Sciences Dr. Jim Drackley said those infections are primarily from raw milk consumption.
“I would say the risk to humans is incredibly small, at this time, from the dairy products that we’ve consumed from stores,” Drackley said. “I would always recommend that people don’t consume raw milk, in which case the virus could still be there.”
This week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) began mandatory testing of the nation’s milk supply for traces of H5N1, after bird flu was first detected in U.S. dairy cows in March.
Since then, it has been found in 832 dairy herds across 16 states, including Iowa, Minnesota, and Michigan.
No human-to-human transmission has occurred in the U.S.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stressed that the virus poses low risk to the general public.
The Ogle County Health Department reminds the public not to handle wild birds that are sick or found dead, and say the public should call 815-562-6976 if a dead bird is found on their property.
