Health
In a potential outbreak, is bird flu testing available for humans? What to know
Several people have tested positive for bird flu in the U.S., raising questions about the availability of tests in the event of a potential outbreak.
As of July 11, the H5N1 virus has affected more than 99 million poultry (in all 50 states), more than 9,500 wild birds (in 48 states) and more than 145 dairy herds (in 12 states), according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Five human cases have been reported since 2022, including a farm worker infected in Colorado and dairy workers ill in Texas and Michigan.
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As of June 28, only 53 people have been tested for the virus associated with the dairy cow outbreak, according to the CDC.
Here is more information.
Several humans have tested positive for bird flu in the U.S., raising questions about the availability of tests in the event of a potential outbreak. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
How do people get tested for bird flu?
At this point, only governmental health departments are providing H5N1 avian influenza testing, according to Edward Liu, M.D., chief of infectious diseases at Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
“However, the CDC is taking steps to ramp up the nation’s capacity to test for the flu virus, asking private companies to develop and increase the number and types of tests that can effectively detect H5N1 infections in people,” Liu told Fox News Digital via email.
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“A recent announcement from the CDC seemed to indicate that multiple private organizations are working on developing tests.”
Private companies, however, will likely not ramp up production unless there is a clear demand for avian flu tests due to increasing numbers, Liu added.
As of July 11, the H5N1 virus has affected more than 99 million poultry, more than 9,500 wild birds and more than 145 dairy herds, according to the CDC. (iStock)
Neal Barnard, M.D., an adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, confirmed there are currently no consumer-level tests for bird flu.
“The home tests for flu (which can be bought on Amazon, for example) are not sensitive to bird flu,” he told Fox News Digital in an email.
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“If a person has symptoms and an exposure history suggestive of bird flu, a doctor can send a swab sample to the state health department, which can arrange appropriate testing, but this is rarely done.”
CDC’s warning of limited availability of testing
In a June 10 memo, the CDC issued a public statement warning of a lack of testing availability.
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified this virus as a major public health concern, as it has the potential to cause a global pandemic,” the statement read.
“The home tests for flu are not sensitive to bird flu.”
“The current testing capabilities for influenza A(H5) are limited, which could hinder efforts to contain and control the virus in the event of an outbreak.”
Currently, only the CDC and certain jurisdictional public health laboratories are equipped to test for and diagnose bird flu, according to the agency.
In a June 10 memo, the CDC issued a public statement warning of lack of testing availability for the H5N1 virus. (Getty Images)
“This poses a significant problem, as these laboratories may not have the capacity to handle a large number of cases in the event of an H5 epidemic or pandemic,” the statement said.
“This could result in delays in diagnosing and treating individuals, leading to the further spread of the virus.”
It also noted, “The amount of testing required in the event of an emergency may quickly exceed the capacity to test at public health laboratories, both domestically and internationally.”
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To address the situation, the CDC called for private companies to design a lab developed test (LDT) to gain regulatory approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The different types of flu tests
The tests currently available to individuals will alert that a person has the flu — but may not be able to determine if it is avian flu (which is a flu A variant) versus other circulating strains of flu, the expert said.
“However, at the least, that broad detection will give enough information for a clinician to start the patient on antiviral medication, like Tamiflu, which currently will treat avian flu,” Liu noted.
A number of tests are available to detect flu viruses, the doctor said.
The most common are rapid influenza diagnostic tests (RIDTs), which detect parts of the virus that stimulate an immune response.
Advanced tests — reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), viral culture and immunofluorescence assays — will be able to differentiate avian flu from other strains of flu, a doctor said. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)
“These tests can provide results within approximately 10 to 15 minutes, but may not be as accurate as other flu tests,” Liu said.
Other flu tests, called rapid molecular assays, detect the genetic material of the flu virus.
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“Rapid molecular assays produce results in 15 to 20 minutes and are more accurate than RIDTs,” Liu said.
The CDC has recommended molecular tests due to their greater sensitivity.
There have been a total of five human cases reported since 2022, including the case of a farm worker in Colorado and that of dairy workers in Texas and Michigan. (iStock)
“There are several other, more accurate flu tests available that must be performed in specialized laboratories, such as hospitals and public health laboratories,” Liu said.
These advanced tests — reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), viral culture and immunofluorescence assays — will be able to differentiate avian flu from other strains of flu, the doctor said.
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“These tests require a health care provider to swipe the inside of the nose or the back of the throat with a swab and then send it for testing,” he said. “Results may take one to several hours.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the CDC requesting comment.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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