The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week advised a need for faster flu testing to help identify possible bird flu cases hiding in the flock of rising flu diagnoses around the country.
The new guidance to hospitals and labs to test for flu subtypes within 24 hours, especially for patients in intensive care. Most physicians and hospitals do not have the specific test required to identify bird flu, referred to by medical experts as influenza A(H5). Instead, they look for other subtypes they can check for.
“If a patient with ‘influenza A’ is in our care, but the H1 or the H3 subtype tests come in negative, that would suggest that there could be a different subtype, and that needs to be checked out,” said Dr. Vincent Hsu, an infectious disease expert at AdventHealth.
The CDC guidance, released Jan. 16, was issued as a way of weeding out possible bird flu cases. In the last year, the CDC has reported 66 cases of bird flu, including one fatality: a man from Louisiana who died this month.
Currently, no bird flu cases have been identified in Florida residents, birds or dairy animals.
Adding to the CDC’s concern is the growing number of flu cases around the country. While Florida has been spared by bird flu, it is part of the growing list of states with rising emergency department visits associated with flu patients.
According to the Department of Health, Florida’s flu-related emergency department visits rose to 6%, which is 2% higher than last year and about 5% higher than in 2021.
Hsu said AdventHealth is complying with CDC guidance, and while it can’t test for bird flu, it can help weed out results by talking to patients about their daily routines - and possible exposures.
“The main thing that we also do is really ask about exposure to birds, wild birds, chicken farms or dairy herds because those are clues,” he said.
As for residents, Hsu, with an abundance of caution, recommends that residents stay away from wild animals, not touch dead birds, and refrain from drinking raw milk. All of that is in addition to the normal preventative flu advice he gives: wash your hands, cover your mouth to cough, and try to avoid contact with people if you have symptoms.
“Obviously the everyday things that we do on a daily basis can also help to prevent the spread of not just regular flu or other viruses, but then of course, of H5 should it be here,” he said.
Central Florida Public Media reached out to Orlando Health to ask if it was following CDC guidelines related to bird flu testing, but it did not respond to comment.
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