Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Bird flu is in the news every day. What exactly is it and do you need to protect you and your family from it? Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care Physician, Dr. Anirudh Rai and fan favorite is here to give us the answers. Welcome to It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole and Dr. Rai, what is Bird Flu? 

Anirudh Rai, MD: So bird flu is pretty much a derivative or in the family of the common cold influenza. And the way we essentially categorize it is basically the proteins we see on the virus. It's similar to what we see in influenza, except some of the proteins are a bit different. So we categorize it as basically H5N1, and there's another strain out there as well. So that's the best way to describe it. It's basically a family of the influenza or the flu family. 

Host: It is the flu family. So that was something I was curious about. How does it differ from influenza, what we think of H1N1 and all those ones that were out for a while? 

Anirudh Rai, MD: The way that we essentially differentiate it is the proteins, as you described, the H protein and the N protein. The neuraminidase is one of the proteins there, and they have categorized it as a bit different. And the reason why it's a bit different or a bit odd, is essentially the way it's been transmitted.

Typically, the flu is human to human. When humans get it, they transmit to another person and they get sick and thankfully we have the vaccine for it. The reason why this one is a bit different is essentially the vector or the place where you found it was in the way you described it as bird flu is in birds. And the one birds we described, it is in the cattle birds, essentially birds that are roaming in our farms, the chickens, and more often than not, it's actually in the what they call backyard fowls.

Basically the crows and the common birds, the rock doves that we see. So the backyard fowl such as rock doves and crows. And the reason why this has become more of a concern is usually these kind of viruses don't transmit between species, meaning that if birds have it, it sticks to birds. And now we found out that actually instead of just staying in the birds, we found out it has actually gone to cows.

And that's where more of a concern has occurred, because with cows, and also with chickens, we as humans do ingest the milk and, and some of the products of those cattle animals, so to speak. So it is something that has become more of a concern. Thankfully, the government and the CDC and, and the proper authorities have actually found it and are keeping a very close eye on it.

So it's something that is actually gotten into control pretty well. But it is something that's very interesting and something that is a bit odd too from a microscopic point of view. 

Host: Okay, so first of all, we heard that they were having to unalive a bunch of chickens and whole herds of them. And then I heard even that it was in the milk of some of those cows. Should we be concerned? How do we know? 

Anirudh Rai, MD: See, that's a good question. So, the particular cases that I think you're referring to are the ones that were last year, I believe. So they found out, particularly in the milk, the farmers that have had it, it was essentially the milk itself had some of the virus that was shedding. So the way they received it is essentially the milk splashed into their eyes.

And I believe when I read one of the cases last year, it was essentially had red eyes and had conjunctivitis, which is one of the symptoms of this virus. And because of that, they were more cautious about it because this virus typically is not seen in cows. So that's why it was a bit of a concern. And that's why when it comes to chickens, we do know that when we ingest any of these products, as we saw with, with some of the farmers, we tend to take a more cautious side.

Right now, I haven't seen any cases of people ingesting it and getting it via either drinking the milk. Right now, this contact was essentially the milk just splashing into their eyes, or they're having contact with the milk. So that's why we're taking a more of a cautious approach that if an animal has it, they tend to have a cautionary sort of, I believe the, the term they use is culling, where they have, if a certain chicken has it, they would essentially take care of a, a large number of flock around it so that they would take care of the virus.

So, essentially, they would kill the flock and, essentially take care of the virus. Same thing with cows. They tend to be, take a more cautious approach in that regard as well. So it is a concern because it is something that we're seeing that is possibly crossing over to humans, and that is something to be cautious about. 

Host: What are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to trust that the government is taking care of it? Are we supposed to not eat chicken for a little while? What are we supposed to do?

Anirudh Rai, MD: I mean, right now, politics is pretty hot these days, but I would say when it comes to trusting the government, I would say, trust the data. So every data they put up is going to be up, look at it, read it thoroughly investigate it. And so far from, my investigation, they're doing a pretty good job of making sure that these incidents are isolated.

They're doing a good job of making sure that none of the product that's coming from either the milk or the chickens are reaching humans. So, so far we haven't seen a big, what they call a endemic, a region where we have this occurring. And from the last count I noted, it is something that's being well controlled, but nonetheless we are keeping a good eye on it.

I think recently in March they did have some cases in Canada as well. So it is something that we are becoming more aware of, we are tackling ahead of time, and it's something that I do not believe will become something like an endemic. So the government is doing a good job, but more often than not, do your own homework. Read the data, talk to your doctor if you have any questions about it too more often than not, they should be informed as well. 

Host: Are there any symptoms, things we should watch out for? Is this deadly? What do we know about it? 

Anirudh Rai, MD: So what we know is there are particularly two strains. They call it the highly pathogenic strain, and they also call it a low pathogenic strain, which does have the potential to mutate. So there are two types of these bird flus and they are fatal to humans. Last time I read, they did have one death associated with this virus, and it was a farmer unfortunately. So it is something that is dangerous, but particularly it's more dangerous to humans that have a low immune response or a low immunosuppressive state. But nonetheless, since this virus is new to humans, it typically will have a more vigorated response, meaning that anyone who does get it, particularly the highly pathogenic strain, they will have more symptoms.

The symptoms include red eyes, itchy eyes, runny nose, a cough, diarrhea, pretty much symptoms similar to the flu that we have, but in a more higher state, meaning you'll have symptoms that are more profound, higher fevers, and this is from the highly pathogenic strain of the bird flu. The less pathogenic strain will have lesser symptoms, but there is a potential for it to mutate and become pathogenic.

So this is the reason why the CDC and our government officials, or the health services, the public health services, are keeping a close eye on it. Thankfully, we haven't had any large cases of it yet. 

Host: So basically you're here today, Dr. Rai, as you always are, and I said at the beginning as a fan favorite to really let us know this is not an endemic situation. It's not going to become a pandemic. Hopefully not. It's not something that we should be afraid of, but we should know about it so that we are not caught, blindsided. 

Anirudh Rai, MD: Yeah, absolutely. So the bird flu essentially is part of the flu family. It is something that has been known in the world and in this type of virus, it does mutate quite often.

So it's not something we weren't aware of. The main thing about this bird flu is the fact that it went from one species to another. So it did have pretty much a cross species sort of migration from birds to cows, and that's when we became a bit more cautious. The bird flu itself has symptoms similar to what the flu would have.

Particularly with this, it'll have red eyes, what we call conjunctivitis, teary eyes. It'll have runny nose, it'll have a cough. They'll have fevers that are quite high, and it can be deadly because there are two strains of it. And like all viruses and like all pathogens, we want to be cautious about it.

Practice good hygiene. Anytime you get meat or eggs, definitely cook them well and that will prevent the virus from even getting to you honestly. So practice good hygiene, eat fully cooked meals, and if you have any questions about this, talk to your local doctor as well, the data that's in public is out there for you to read.

Do your homework. If you have any questions, talk to your doctor. But right now, we are doing a good job of containing it. We're at a good job of monitoring it. And so far, I'm crossing my fingers here, I do not believe this will become an endemic of any sort right now. 

Host: Rock on Dr. Rai. You are always just so easy to understand, so educational, you inform us, you keep us up to date on all of these things. I thank you so much because it was really important for us to hear that because what we hear in the media seems mixed and we're not sure what to trust. So thank you so much for joining us and giving us your incredible expertise as you always do, and your compassion and your great personality.

You're just such a great guest, Dr. Rai. Thank you so much for joining us and to schedule an appointment at Henry Mayo Newhall Primary Care call 661-200-1710 or you can visit HenryMayoprimarycare.com. You can also visit the free Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, Online Health Information library @library.henrymayo.com. 

That concludes this episode of It's Your Health Radio with Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for joining us today.