Bird flu Q&A: What to know to help protect yourself and your pets
Bird flu Q&A: What to know to help protect yourself and your pets toggle caption Anadolu/via Getty Images Avian influenza has a grip on dairy herds in California, a few people have fallen seriously ill in North America and researchers have found that a single mutation could give the virus a better foothold in a person's upper airways. Despite its wide reach, the strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza — so named because of its lethality in poultry — driving the current outbreak has not adapted to easily infect humans, meaning it's still "essentially a bird virus," says Webby. The same is true for pasteurized eggs products, and if eggs are cooked to 165 degrees There's now "strong" evidence that contact with raw milk, laden with high concentrations of virus, is how roughly 40 dairy workers have become infected, says Anderson. While the exact risk is unknown, Lakdawala considers consuming raw milk a "high risk activity," especially in states like California where bird flu has been found in some of these products.
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