Episode 66
Update: Flu and More Bird Flu
Bird Flu, Flu Season, and Protecting Your Health: What You Need to Know
While I typically focus on food and your health, pressing medical updates demand attention. Today, we’re tackling two critical topics: the latest on bird flu (avian influenza) and the rise in seasonal respiratory illnesses, including flu and COVID-19.
With public communication from federal agencies temporarily paused, it’s vital to stay informed. Here’s a comprehensive overview of what’s happening, what it means for you, and how to protect yourself and those around you.
Respiratory Illness Trends: Seasonal Flu on the Rise
As of January 24th, 2025, respiratory illnesses are driving more people to seek healthcare. Here’s what we’re seeing:
- Seasonal flu: Elevated and rising in some areas.
- COVID-19: Most regions report a decline in cases.
- RSV: Also trending downward.
Locally, we’re seeing these same trends, with flu activity increasing significantly.
Bird Flu: A Persistent Global Concern
Since 1997, HPAI A(H5N1) virus infections have been reported in over 925 people, with an alarming 50% case fatality rate. Early outbreaks included 20 cases and 7 deaths in Hong Kong between 1997 and 2003, and since November 2003, more than 900 cases across 24 countries have been documented (CDC).
Symptoms and Severity
HPAI A(H5N1) infections can range from mild to severe, including:
- Mild symptoms: Upper respiratory tract issues like a runny nose or sore throat.
- Severe symptoms: Pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multi-organ failure.
- Neurological impact: Some cases report encephalitis, a dangerous brain inflammation.
Since 2016, sporadic cases have been reported globally, and while rare, they highlight the virus’s ability to persist.
Notable Cases and Strains
A Sobering Case from Louisiana
A recent case in Louisiana reminds us of the risks associated with bird flu. A man died after handling wild birds infected with HPAI A(H5N1). This tragic event underscores how deadly the virus can be in humans.
Other Strains to Watch
- HPAI A(H5N6): Over 90 cases have been reported in China since 2014, with one additional case in Laos in 2021. This strain has a case fatality rate exceeding 50% (WHO).
- HPAI A(H5N8): Russia reported the first asymptomatic human case in a poultry worker in 2020 (CDC).
Testing and Monitoring
Hospitals now test anyone hospitalized with severe flu symptoms for bird flu. Public health officials use several tools to monitor these trends:
- Wastewater surveillance
- Emergency department visit data
- Lab-confirmed cases
These measures provide early warnings of emerging threats, helping to guide public health responses.
Protecting Yourself: Key Preventive Measures
1. Avoid Exposure
- Stay away from wild birds, sick or dead poultry, and areas with known outbreaks.
- Don’t handle birds without proper precautions.
2. Use Protective Gear
For those working with poultry or wild birds, personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential. Gloves, masks, and eye protection significantly reduce exposure risks.
3. Consider Antiviral Prophylaxis
If exposed to infected birds, antiviral medications like oseltamivir can lower your risk. These treatments are most effective when started within 48 hours of exposure and continued for 7 days.
4. Get Vaccinated
The FDA-approved vaccine Audenz offers protection against H5N1 for high-risk groups (FDA).
Why Vaccination Matters
Vaccines don’t guarantee you won’t contract the virus, but they do prepare your immune system to fight it more effectively. This reduces the risk of severe illness and protects vulnerable populations, including:
- Elderly individuals.
- People undergoing chemotherapy.
- Young children.
Vaccination also lowers your viral load, reducing the likelihood of spreading the virus to others.
The Role of Nutrition in Immune Support
Good nutrition strengthens your immune system, making you more resilient against respiratory illnesses:
- Vitamin C: Found in citrus fruits like oranges and lemons, it supports white blood cell function.
- Antioxidants: Spinach and broccoli are packed with immune-boosting nutrients.
- Vitamin D: Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, trout), fortified foods, and plant-based alternatives like Costco Oat Milk help maintain adequate levels.
The Bigger Picture
Bird flu continues to evolve, spreading to new bird populations and occasionally infecting mammals. While the overall risk of human transmission remains low, these developments remind us of the importance of:
- Early detection through testing and monitoring.
- Preventive measures to reduce exposure.
- Prompt treatment when needed.
Conclusion
Bird flu and seasonal respiratory illnesses remind us of the importance of vigilance and proactive health measures. With flu season in full swing, now is the time to take action—get vaccinated, improve air quality, and support your immune system through nutrition.
For more detailed updates, listen to my Fork U podcast, where I share in-depth insights on bird flu and other health concerns. You can also find weekly updates on my TikTok and Instagram (@drterrysimpson).
As always, I remain yours in health,
Dr. Terry Simpson
References:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Avian Influenza Updates
- World Health Organization (WHO): Avian Influenza
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA): Audenz Vaccine
Transcript
>> Dr. Terry Simpson: M this is our second bird flu and respiratory
Speaker:flu update and it's more important
Speaker:than ever to stay informed. With a
Speaker:temporary freeze on public information from federal
Speaker:agencies, I'm committed to sharing accurate,
Speaker:up to date information. So let's explore what's happening,
Speaker:what it means to you and how to protect yourself
Speaker:and those around you.
Speaker:I am, um, your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry Simpson
Speaker:and this is Fork you, Fork
Speaker:University where we make sense of the madness,
Speaker:bust myths and teach you a little bit about food
Speaker:and medicine.
Speaker:Here's some of the current respiratory illness
Speaker:Trends as of January 24th.
Speaker:You've probably noticed that there has been an increasing bit
Speaker:of lung or respiratory illnesses driving people
Speaker:to seek medical care. So here's what we're
Speaker:seeing. Number one, some seasonal flu
Speaker:cases are elevated, particularly influenza A and
Speaker:rising in some areas. COVID 19
Speaker:thankfully is declining and RSV
Speaker:respiratory syncytial virus is also
Speaker:declining locally. Here in California we're sort of
Speaker:seeing a similar pattern as this. Bird flu
Speaker:continues to be a, ah, growing concern. It's also
Speaker:known as highly pathogenic avian influenza
Speaker:or the acronym HPAI.
Speaker:Since 1997,
Speaker:HPAI A or
Speaker:H5N1 infections have been reported in
Speaker:over 925 people with a
Speaker:staggering 50% case fatality
Speaker:rate. Early outbreaks included 20
Speaker:cases and 7 deaths in Hong Kong between
Speaker:1997 and 2003. And since
Speaker:November of 2003, more than 900 cases
Speaker:across 24 countries have been documented.
Speaker:Why is bird flu dangerous? Bird flu
Speaker:infections in human can range from mild symptoms like a
Speaker:sore throat or severe complications including
Speaker:pneumonia, respiratory failure,
Speaker:acute respiratory distress syndrome,
Speaker:multi organ failure and even encephalitis or
Speaker:dangerousness of the brain. Now, there are
Speaker:various types of bird flu, not just
Speaker:H5N1. There's an H7N1 and H9, but
Speaker:we're focused on H5N1. Many of the
Speaker:milder cases come from the H9 or
Speaker:H7 varieties. I know it's complicated, but
Speaker:stick with me. And since 2016,
Speaker:there have been sporadic cases reported every year
Speaker:globally, including. You probably heard about the man in
Speaker:Louisiana who Unfortunately died from
Speaker:H5N1. But with flu season in
Speaker:full swing, the risk of someone contracting both
Speaker:seasonal flu and bird flu at the
Speaker:same time increases. This co infection
Speaker:would allow the viruses to mix, potentially creating a
Speaker:new and more dangerous strain.
Speaker:And that is reflected in that Louisiana man. He died
Speaker:after handling wild birds infected with the
Speaker:HPAI or H5N1. And
Speaker:that tragedy is a stark reminder of how serious bird infections
Speaker:can be on Um, a good note. The young woman
Speaker:in Canada who is infected with H5N1
Speaker:recently had a downgrade in her
Speaker:illness, meaning she's actually doing a little bit better.
Speaker:There are other bird flu strains. There's H5N6,
Speaker:about 90 cases have been reported in China. They
Speaker:also have a 50% case fatality rate. And H
Speaker:AH5N8. In 2020, Russia had the first
Speaker:symptomatic human case in a poultry worker.
Speaker:Hospitals are now testing anybody hospitalized with
Speaker:severe flu symptoms. They have special flu
Speaker:tests from the Centers for Disease Control.
Speaker:We're also doing other things. We're looking at wastewater
Speaker:surveillance, emergency department visit data and lab confirmed
Speaker:cases.
Speaker:Now, here's some things you can do to protect yourself.
Speaker:Number one is obviously avoid exposure, not
Speaker:handling wild birds, dead poultry, contaminated
Speaker:environments. I talked about this more in
Speaker:depth in in my previous podcast about bird flu a couple
Speaker:of weeks ago. If you work with live
Speaker:birds or poultry, wearing gloves and eye protection is key,
Speaker:including face masks. They can greatly reduce your
Speaker:risk if you're exposed to infected
Speaker:birds. There are a number of medications like
Speaker:Tamiflu that can reduce the risk of infection,
Speaker:but they work best if started within 48 hours
Speaker:of exposure. And for high risk
Speaker:groups, There is an FDA approved vaccine
Speaker:against H5N1. This
Speaker:probably won't work against a pandemic because that'll be
Speaker:a mutated strain. But we typically give this
Speaker:to people who work in highly infected areas with poultry,
Speaker:as well as giving them influenza standard vaccine.
Speaker:Let's talk about air quality and respiratory illnesses.
Speaker:So all respiratory illnesses, especially those
Speaker:of us in California, sometimes come from air
Speaker:quality. The recent wildfires in California
Speaker:blanketed my car with ash, even though the fire was
Speaker:60 miles away and the poor air quality
Speaker:bothered my asthma. You can actually hear it a little bit here because I was just
Speaker:recently outside. So here's what you can do.
Speaker:Number one, bring in outdoor air when it's safe to do. So
Speaker:that's true for viruses, but when you have something like
Speaker:wildfires, you don't want to do that.
Speaker:So what we have is a HEPA air cleaner. They're a portable
Speaker:air cleaner with something called a HEPA filter and also a
Speaker:charcoal reserve. They're a little harder to get now because of the
Speaker:wildfires. A lot of Californians have bought them, but they're
Speaker:still there and they're worthwhile getting.
Speaker:I want to talk a little bit about vaccination now. Some of you are a little
Speaker:hesitant about this and you may not understand
Speaker:what vaccines do. Vaccines don't
Speaker:create this impenetrable shield, but they
Speaker:prepare your immune system with antibodies and
Speaker:memory to fight off the virus. Vaccination
Speaker:reduces your risk of severe illness and protects
Speaker:vulnerable population, including the
Speaker:elderly, those undergoing chemotherapy,
Speaker:young children and infants, and people with
Speaker:immune deficiency diseases. Now,
Speaker:there's some things that you can do to actually boost your immune
Speaker:system. Naturally. This is not something that will
Speaker:stop anything, but clearly if you have a
Speaker:deficit in vitamin C or vitamin D,
Speaker:your immune system will suffer. And many people, about 20%
Speaker:of the population, have vitamin D deficiency. You can
Speaker:find vitamin D in things like fatty fish like salmon,
Speaker:trout, mackerel, tuna,
Speaker:as well as fortified foods like milk and orange
Speaker:juice. For those who are lactose intolerant,
Speaker:plant based options like Costco oat milk is a great
Speaker:alternative because it is fortified with vitamin D. And
Speaker:that fortification is every bit as good as taking a supplement
Speaker:and maybe even a little bit better. While vitamin
Speaker:C has been often touted as something great
Speaker:for for boosting your immune system, it actually
Speaker:does support white cell production. And especially if you are
Speaker:on a strange low carb diet, you might want to consider having more
Speaker:citrus fruits like oranges and lemons or even broccoli,
Speaker:which isn't a citrus fruit, but has a high quantity of vitamin
Speaker:C. Back to bird flu. It continues to evolve,
Speaker:spreading to new populations, occasionally infecting
Speaker:mammals. And while the risk of human transmission
Speaker:remains low, these developments highlight the
Speaker:importance of early detection through testing and
Speaker:monitoring and preventive measures to reduce
Speaker:exposure and vaccination and prompt M treatment
Speaker:when needed.
Speaker:Finally, one comment that
Speaker:came in bothered me greatly.
Speaker:I discovered today that the current administration has
Speaker:overturned the ban on menthol cigarettes. Why is
Speaker:that egregious? Well, I look forward to the day when
Speaker:we can be like the United Kingdom. As
Speaker:14 year olds become 15 year olds, you can't sell to someone
Speaker:who's born in 14 years ago.
Speaker:What year would that be?
Speaker:2010. So anybody in
Speaker:2010 and born beyond will not be able to buy cigarettes in the United
Speaker:Kingdom. I would hope we would have such a ban in the United
Speaker:States. We're not that forward thinking. Why is
Speaker:menthol an issue? Because menthol
Speaker:reduces your interest in having a cough.
Speaker:If you ever have a cough, like whether it's asthma or
Speaker:a virus or influenza or pneumonia, having those
Speaker:menthol cough drops really helps. My favorite, by
Speaker:the way, is something called Fisherman's Friend. It's one of
Speaker:my favorite cough drops. Kind of hard to find, but you can find
Speaker:them. They really reduce your coughing if
Speaker:you have it. But putting Menthol in cigarettes reduces the
Speaker:coughing, allowing people to inhale more nicotine and
Speaker:it clearly gets people addicted to cigarette
Speaker:smoke. And there has been a large bit
Speaker:documented how tobacco companies went after the
Speaker:poor, bringing menthol cigarettes to them, prominently
Speaker:displaying them in the local convenience markets,
Speaker:having sponsored events for menthol cigarettes
Speaker:and it really has become a problem. Smoking is
Speaker:not just a personal problem, but can affect people in the house,
Speaker:including children, including the elderly. So I
Speaker:would love to see the day when we get the
Speaker:right combination of people in our government
Speaker:that will actually outlaw cigarettes. Moving forward.
Speaker:Thanks for listening for this rather long podcast, but I
Speaker:just wanted to give an update and I'll continue to give an update because
Speaker:they there's few little bit of information coming out of the federal
Speaker:government. There's some, but we have many
Speaker:other areas where we can find this information from
Speaker:Europe, from state health departments in the United States,
Speaker:etc. And I'll continue to bring you updates as they
Speaker:become available or as they become more
Speaker:interesting. For more information please check out my
Speaker:blog@yourdoctorsorder.com and stay tuned
Speaker:to my podcast 4Q. I also share
Speaker:weekly updates on my TikTok and Instagram @rt
Speaker:Terry Simpson where you can find practical tips and latest
Speaker:healthcare news. As always, I want
Speaker:to thank our friends at Simpler Media for distributing
Speaker:this and my friend, the pod God, Mr. Evotera,
Speaker:while I am a doctor, I am not your doctor
Speaker:and should you need medical attention, please don't contact me.
Speaker:Please contact a local board certified
Speaker:physician. Not a chiropractor, not
Speaker:some weird eastern trained medicine guy, but a
Speaker:really good physician. If you want to make moves on your diet, please
Speaker:see a good registered dietitian. All of these people have your
Speaker:good health in mind.
Speaker:All right everybody, have a good day.
Speaker:De Evo these wildfires out here are
Speaker:horrendous. I can't believe the amount of destruction that
Speaker:we have coming on. These wildfires and what it's
Speaker:done, it's also causing me a lot of cough. I hope
Speaker:you guys are safe out there in the
Speaker:beautiful state of Arizona.
Speaker:>> Speaker B: We have been watching with uh, much
Speaker:trepidation. Glad you're safe,
Speaker:the friends are safe. But I know a lot of people are
Speaker:not. This world,
Speaker:man, this world.
