Cases of avian flu have been decimating bird populations and for years, more recently making the jump to sea mammals. This year cases were detected amongst farm animals and even human workers at those farms and while they were contained, experts now say that the number of cases is likely much higher, with countless cases going undetected. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
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00:00Cases of avian flu have been decimating bird populations for years, more recently making the
00:05jump to sea mammals. This year, cases were detected amongst farm animals and even human
00:09workers at those farms. And while they were contained, experts now say that the number
00:13of cases is likely much higher, with countless incidents going undetected.
00:18According to a recent investigation by the CDC, blood samples from some 115 dairy workers in
00:23Michigan and Colorado showed many more of them had bird flu antibodies than those who were
00:28diagnosed with avian flu. In fact, they found that 7% of all of those tested had H5N1 antibodies.
00:34This is a good news-bad news situation. The good news is that most of those who have contracted
00:39the virus seemingly have little to no symptoms. The bad news is that when a virus strain like
00:43this one spreads, it has more chances to mutate within its human hosts, possibly leading to more
00:48severe symptoms and contagion potential. This is something that has already occurred in Cambodia,
00:52with a new strain of the virus having claimed at least three lives so far.
00:56The CDC, along with healthcare workers around the globe, have reiterated the need for close
01:01monitoring and precautionary measures related to the spread of H5N1, with both groups urging
01:06those who work closely with possibly infected animals to maintain good hygiene practices.