Strains of the influenza virus that primarily infect birds, but can also infect humans.
This type of flu is most often contracted by contact with sick birds. It can also be passed from person to person.
Symptoms begin within two to eight days, and can seem like the common flu. Cough, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, headache, and shortness of breath may occur.
The commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said at a congressional hearing Wednesday the agency is preparing for the possibility the strain of avian influenza affecting dairy cattle could jump to humans, though he cautioned the probability is low.
Robert Califf told senators on the panel in charge of his agency’s funding that top officials from the FDA, Agriculture Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are speaking daily to keep a handle on the situation.
He also stressed that pasteurized milk is safe.
“This virus, like all viruses, is mutating,” Califf said. “We need to continue to prepare for the possibility that it might jump to humans.”
Califf told senators that the “real worry is that it will jump to the human lungs where, when that has happened in other parts of the world for brief outbreaks, the mortality rate has been 25%.”
Some 70 people in Colorado are being monitored for bird flu due to potential exposure, and will be tested for the virus if they show any symptoms, the Colorado Department of Public Health told Forbes—it was not immediately clear how or when the people were potentially exposed.
The CDC warns against eating raw meat or eggs infected with bird flu because of the possibility of transmission.
However, no human has ever been infected with bird flu from eating properly prepared and cooked meat, according to the agency.
The possibility of infected meat entering the food supply is “extremely low” due to rigorous inspection, so properly handled and cooked meat is safe to eat, according to the USDA.
To know when meat is properly cooked, whole beef cuts must be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, ground meat must be 160 degrees and poultry must be cooked to 165 degrees.
Rare and medium rare steaks fall below this temperature.
