notes that it’s rare for bird flu to infect humans. But when it does happen, it’s because someone has been in close quarters with birds on a farm, or they work with animals. “Sometimes, if you live or work closely with birds, the virus manages to get into you and cause illness—but it rarely spreads to others,”, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells SELF.
Why doesn’t bird flu spread easily from person to person? It could be because bird viruses have a hard time latching on to cells in our nose and throat in the first place, according to an older study published in the journalThis means that the virus can’t get into our cells efficiently enough to cause an infection. Since bird flu doesn’t spread easily from bird to human, it doesn’t readily transmit from person to person either.
, and they can range from mild to severe, according to the CDC. In some cases, “You can get very sick,” Dr. Schaffner notes. Other less common symptoms may include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, or seizures, per the CDC.Again, the chances of you contracting bird flu are super low, unless you work with birds. If you do, thehas a list of tips for minimizing your risk.
Worried about touching and eating store-bought eggs and poultry? Don’t be. As long as you handle them properly—which means washing your hands after handling eggs and chicken and cooking them to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills bacteria and viruses, including the bird variety—you don’t have to be concerned.The bottom line: At this point, there’s no need to panic.to cause human-to-human transmission if the virus ends up mutating.
“These strains are being checked to see whether they have developed the capacity to spread from person to person,” he says. “It’s an absolutely fascinating global and biological phenomenon, but of no immediate concern to the average person right now.”