Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, medical director for UK HealthCare's Infection Prevention and Control, is keeping a close watch on avian flu, even if the risk currently appears limited for the time being.
"Fortunately, most of the cases of avian influenza to date, I believe they're about 67, have been in association with exposure to animals and have been mild," he says. "Many of us heard about the patient in Louisiana who was very sick with avian influenza and unfortunately passed away, but that is a rare situation. And right now, we have not at all seen sustained human to human spread of avian influenza. That being said, as public health institution... that work with public health departments, we're going to do everything we can to support our public health measures."
The CDC is urging health care workers to accelerate bird flu testing for patients hospitalized with flu. Van Sickel says UK is tracking the developments in accordance with the agency's recommendations.
The outbreak is also known to have affected cats — with the American Veterinary Medical Association pointing to raw diets containing poultry such as duck, turkey, or chicken that were contaminated with the virus.
