Drastic changes in the global climate are not the only things about which we must be concerned. An increasingly and aggressively changing climate has brought with it the rise of infectious diseases and nations’ ability to combat them, such that the time between global pandemics may not be one hundred years or “once in a lifetime.”

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Empty shelves for eggs are seen during an egg shortage at a Sprouts Farmer’s Market grocery store in Redondo Beach, California, on January 2, 2025. Bird flu and other factors have contributed to an egg shortage in California. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jade Lopez, CRDN
January 22, 2025

The first person in the United States to have reported a severe case of avian influenza A H5N1, also known as “bird flu,” in Louisiana has died after being hospitalized after an exposure to a flock of wild and domesticated birds. The person, who was over 65 years of age and was living with various underlying medical conditions, is currently the only known case to have caused death so far.

As of January 6, 2025, there have been 66 confirmed human cases of the disease in the United States since 2024 and 67 since 2022. While this is the first confirmed case resulting in death in America, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) reported 950 cases worldwide since 2003, half of those being fatal. According to those statistics, it would be classified as an extremely deadly pathogen. This may be the first time you’ve heard about the avian virus, but it was first identified in Geese in China in 1996.

Scientists have been closely tracking it since then, with a closer look in 2021 when it reappeared in North America and began spreading from birds to other mammals. This includes various domesticated pets like dogs, cats, and goats, wild animals such as foxes and raccoons,

marine-life creatures such as thousands of sea lions, and single cases of pigs, polar bears, and alpacas. Since 2022, more than 130 million birds, both farmed and wild, have been affected in all 50 states across America.

Some symptoms to look out for are:

• Pink eye (conjunctivitis)
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Cough
• Muscle aches
• Sore throat
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Stuffy or runny nose
• Shortness of breath (dyspnea)

In nearly 100% of reported cases in humans, pink eye was present. Scientists believe the disease impacts the eyes because flu viruses “enter cells through sugars on their surface called sialic acids. Birds – and human eyes – primarily have alpha 2,3 sialic acid receptors on their cells.

However, a different kind of sialic acid receptor, alpha 2,6, is more prevalent in the human respiratory tract. Human flu viruses, including those that cause seasonal influenza, have evolved to infect cells through alpha 2,6 receptors.”

In one-third of cases, this was the only symptom to appear. These range from mild to severe, with most cases being mild to moderate. However, in cases more serious, the disease can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure or distress, bacterial infections, sepsis, brain swelling, and death. Surveillance testing for avian influenza A H5N1 includes collecting and analyzing samples from birds, including wild and domestic, in attempts to identify the virus in the early stages to prevent spreading to humans and other mammals.

The process begins with active surveillance, which is the process of catching/hunting birds in flocks with a higher risk of exposure/infection. Passive surveillance is collecting reports from various healthcare facilities, and environmental surveillance is collecting samples from waste, soil, water, and any other possibly infected materials.

Many people report having flashbacks to March 2020 when COVID-19 struck the nation, reshaping the world as we know it. What was supposed to be a two-week lockdown turned into years of global shutdowns. Major travel bans were enacted, and thousands of businesses had to permanently close their doors, gyms, restaurants, bars, workspaces, schools, and any place holding more than ten people were banned for months on end. Masks were mandatory if you stepped outside the house. Gatherings were prohibited. Millions of hospitalizations and deaths were all you saw on the news.

Scientists studying the disease say for there to be another pandemic, it would need to evolve. In most cases where a virus infects a cell and copies itself, it is benign or harmless. There are only limited instances that cause a genetic change and allow the virus to survive and out-compete the others, which in turn allows it to infect new hosts.

To prevent further spreading of the virus, some key steps to take are early intervention, something that was not conducted before the 2020 pandemic. Underestimating the number and severity of cases was something we saw in the very early stages of COVID-19. It led to hospitals running out of bed spaces and deciding which patients deserve the most attention and treatment. With less than 70 confirmed cases reported so far, it is not held to a serious standard. Many farmers, bird experts, and other possibly infected people may be more hesitant to get tested and receive treatment for fear of losing customers and revenue. Other steps include investing in research, tracking and ending misinformation, and erasing the stigma of seeking medical help if you feel something is wrong.

Protocols for bird flu are similar in a sense to those of COVID, which include wearing protective gear, washing your hands more than usual, and avoiding contact with infected (animals). If that is not possible, be cautious of early symptoms, and get checked by a medical professional if you feel you may be infected.

If you work with or own birds of any kind, ensure that you have long sleeves with disposable or washable gloves when handling the animals. Wear disposable shoe covers and pants, showing the least amount of skin possible. You should also wear protective gloves, a hair cover, and an N95 mask to reduce the risk of any infection.

However, in the U.S. with a Presidential Administration leery of infectious diseases and under the belief that the COVID-19 Global Pandemic, more than anything, derailed the First Trump Presidency, the current Trump Administration includes an agenda not to combat the rise of infectious diseases, but to combat the adverse political fallout from allowing the spread of information and science in furtherance of combatting infectious diseases. Therefore, the current Trump Administration has withdrawn the U.S. form the WHO, and introduced a controversial figure in Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to combat the rise of infectious disease, politically, not scientifically.

We always hear that history repeats itself, and in this case, we can only hope that is the furthest thing from the truth.