Latest / Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson / Bird Flu: Risks, Realities, Readiness

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Bird Flu: Risks, Realities, Readiness · Fork U with Dr. Terry Simpson

• 0:04
  >> Dr. Terry Simpson: Today we're diving into the bird flu,
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  a virus with far reaching implications on public
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  health, food supply, and
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  pandemic preparedness. We'll discuss its
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  effect upon food prices, vaccines for
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  poultry and humans, and the steps you can take to
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  stay safe. Whether you're just someone wanting
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  to know how to prepare your chicken, whether you have
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  outdoor bird feeders, whether you're a hunter, we'll help
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  you out. Along the way, I'll debunk some myths and explain why
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  evolving science is our greatest tool in addressing these
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  risks.
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  I am your Chief Medical Explanationist, Dr. Terry Simpson,
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  and this is Forku Fork University,
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  where we make sense of the madness, bust a few myths, and teach
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  you a little bit about food and medicine.
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  If this sounds familiar,
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  yes, I am worried.
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  Before I was a surgeon, I was a virologist, and I'm actually
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  published in the field. Never did I think before
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  2020 that those roles would intersect. And I
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  hoped after 2020 I would not have to think
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  about pandemics again. In
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  February of 2020, I was asked on KTAR radio
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  in Phoenix if I was afraid of this new virus
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  called COVID 19. And I said I
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  was. I even said that I was so much
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  concerned that I canceled a flight from California to
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  Phoenix to see my mom and dad and instead was
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  driving there. 2020 was
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  awful, and in the hospital were hundreds of
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  patients sick and dying. From COVID
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  19, I would go to the hospital in
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  scrubs, put on lots of protective gear,
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  and before I went home, which were usually long 18
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  hours, days, would strip out of those scrubs at the hospital,
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  shower at the hospital, put on fresh scrubs, go home,
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  shower and change again. Those
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  were the days when the very breath of someone infected
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  could kill you. When the new
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  vaccine arrived in California, I pushed
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  my way into line to get it on December
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  18th. This was a frustrating
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  time. Lots of burnouts from many of us in the
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  medical field. I remember going home after taking
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  care of sick people and seeing how people on Facebook
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  would tell me that I was wrong, that there was no problem,
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  that COVID 19 was just a farce, or that I had a
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  political agenda. It was frustrating.
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  And many nurses, doctors, respiratory
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  therapists, um, and others left the field of medicine because
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  people didn't see what we saw in the hospital.
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  It wasn't just a disease of the old and
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  feeble Bird flu, if it
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  mutates, can be potentially worse.
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  So let's talk about it. Bird flu,
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  also known as a highly pathogenic avian
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  influenza, or the acronym is
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  hpai. That's avian not
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  alien. It affects birds, but can occasionally jump
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  to humans. And while human to human
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  transmission has not been observed, the virus has
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  a high mortality rate of over 50% in
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  confirmed human cases, making it a serious
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  concern. Consider that COVID 19
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  that has killed over 1.3 million people in the United
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  States had a mortality rate of about
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  1%. The greatest fear in public
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  health is that bird flu could mix with seasonal flu
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  through a process called reassortment, creating a new
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  strain capable of spreading easily between
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  humans. This is why monitoring preventing outbreaks
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  in birds, poultry, and other animals is
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  crucial. Let me address a common
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  misperception. There is no laboratory
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  currently working on gain of function research for bird
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  flu. Gain of function means that the function would
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  change in the virus to make it more transmissible to human.
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  That is not occurring. Claims like this are conspiracy
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  theories that distract from real medical efforts.
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  Instead, scientists are focusing on surveillance,
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  prevention and developing solutions like
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  antivirals and vaccines. Spreading false
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  claims undermines public trust and distracts
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  from practical advice.
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  Let's start with how you've seen bird flu impact
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  you. It doesn't just affect health, but it
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  disrupts the economy and has already. Egg
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  prices are probably what you have seen most. The
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  culling of, uh, millions of chickens because of infection of
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  bird flu has drastically reduced egg supplies,
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  causing prices to skyrocket. This has
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  also affected dairy prices because of increased
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  food costs for the animals and because of
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  increased risks of milk.
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  So you're probably going to see higher milk and cheese prices in the near
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  future. Additionally, bird flu
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  viruses have been detected, partial
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  viruses in pasteurized milk.
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  This means it's even more dangerous in raw milk that hasn't
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  been pasteurized. Pasteurization,
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  which raises the temperature of milk to, uh, about
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  40 degrees below boiling for 12 seconds.
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  Pasteurization completely
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  eliminates the infectivity of any
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  virus. So please avoid drinking raw,
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  unpasteurized milk and avoid raw
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  and unpasteurized cheese.
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  What about the role of vaccines? You know, they have
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  always played a critical role in managing health risk, but
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  let's clarify their purpose. Vaccines are
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  not about completely preventing illness.
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  They're not a bubble you put around you and you won't get
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  sick. But instead, the aim is to
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  significantly reduce the risk of severe
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  disease, hospitalizations, and death. And they
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  do that well. This is true for seasonal flu
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  vaccine, COVID 19 vaccine, and any potential
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  vaccines for bird flu. Why do we have to keep making
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  new vaccines for COVID 19 and influenza? Because
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  they rapidly mutate. And when they rapidly mutate, we need
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  to bring in the next bird version of the vaccine.
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  Science evolves over time and adapting to new
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  information and challenges. The flexibility of science isn't a
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  flaw, it's a strength. Public health
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  recommendations may change as we learn more about viruses like
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  bird flu, but that's okay. The
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  only dogmas occur in religion and people who have a
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  set point of view that don't want to change with the times.
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  Trust in this process of scientific evolution
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  because it's essential in protecting ourselves and our
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  communities.
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  What about vaccines? Scientists are developing
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  bird flu vaccines for poultry to control the
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  virus in bird populations. We want to reduce the need for
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  culling and the economic impact to the poultry industry.
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  Lower the risk of virus spilling over to humans and other animals.
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  It hasn't been developed yet, but it's in the process. What about
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  vaccines for human While there are
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  H5N1 and that's the designation we use for the
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  bird flu and that has to do with the
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  antibodies and the antigen spikes, they are
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  stockpiled for at risk workers such as poultry farmers and
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  wildlife handlers. However, these vaccines are
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  strain specific and may not protect against new
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  mutations. Just like every year we have a new influenza
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  vaccine, we may need a new H5N1
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  vaccine if it makes the jump to where it can be
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  transmitted from human to human. Those
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  vaccines aren't available to the general public, and they would likely not
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  prevent a pandemic caused by a mutated strain capable of
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  human to human transmission. But this underscores why
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  prevention and monitoring are crucial to stopping bird flu
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  before it becomes a broader threat.
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  What about hunters, backyard bird feeders and pet owners? For
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  hunters, you need to avoid handling
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  sick or dead birds. Use gloves and masks
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  when field dressing game and disinfect your
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  tools afterwards. Cooking wild birds to an
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  internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit
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  or 73.8 degrees centigrade will kill
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  the virus. For backyard Bird Feeders
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  Clean your bird feeders and baths regularly with soap and
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  disinfectant. Avoid contact with bird droppings.
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  Wear gloves during the cleaning and consider wearing
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  an um, N, M95 or K95 mask.
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  Keep your pets away from areas frequented by
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  wild birds. For pet owners know that cats
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  are particularly vulnerable to bird flu,
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  often contacting it by hunting infected birds
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  or contacting bird breeding droppings. The
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  mortality rates among cats is very high,
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  so if you're having an outbreak in your area, your outdoor cat
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  needs to become an indoor cat and monitoring them for
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  symptoms like lethargy or respiratory distress,
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  consulting a vet if needed. There are some
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  general CDC recommendations. Cooking
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  poultry and eggs thoroughly ensuring a temperature of
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  165Fahrenheit or 73.8
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  centigrade. Avoid handling dead birds. Report
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  them to wildlife authorities like your local fish and game.
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  Wash your hands thoroughly after handling birds or
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  poultry products. Stick to pasteurized
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  dairy, avoiding raw milk, raw cheese to avoid minimal
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  exposure to the pathogens. Let's
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  recap Human to human
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  transmission of bird flu hasn't occurred, but
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  the virus has such a high mortality rate the
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  mutation could cause a more serious pandemic than we are
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  currently in with COVID While there are
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  poultry vaccines in development and
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  H5N1 vaccines exist for at risk workers,
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  they will not help if we have a new mutation that
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  causes human to human transmission. Bird
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  flu has raised eggs and dairy prices
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  due to culling and feed disruptions in the
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  economy. Expect this will continue until we
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  develop poultry vaccines. We
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  cannot develop a vaccine
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  against wild birds,
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  so wild birds are still going to be a vector or
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  a transmissible agent for bird flu.
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  Stay safe with hygiene and
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  vaccination and remember, the vaccines are about
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  reducing outcomes, not eliminating illness
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  entirely. Trust the science as it evolves.
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  It's our best defense. It's our best
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  process. And finally, if you want regular updates
• 9:54
  about the bird flu, you can follow me on TikTok as long as we
• 9:57
  have it anyway and Instagram. My handle ON Both
• 10:00
  is Dr. Terry Simpson, where I will share
• 10:03
  some timely insights, practical tips and keep you up to
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  date with the latest recommendation. And don't forget to
• 10:08
  subscribe to this podcast for more comprehensive discussions not only
• 10:11
  about science and health, but eating smart and
• 10:14
  healthy. Please check out the
• 10:17
  website associated with this podcast or my blog which is
• 10:20
  YourDoctorsOrders.com or
• 10:22
  4Q.com thank you for tuning in to
• 10:25
  4Q. Stay informed, stay safe and remember,
• 10:27
  prevention is our best recipe for a healthy
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  life. Until next time, eat smart, stay vigilant
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  and always keep your forks and knowledge sharp.
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  This podcast was researched and written
• 10:39
  by me, Dr. Terry Simpson and while I am a physician, I
• 10:42
  am not your physician. If you are sick or need
• 10:45
  more help understanding this, please see a regularly board
• 10:48
  certified Western trained physician. Not a
• 10:51
  chiropractor, not some weird eastern thought
• 10:53
  because because they don't have anything that will help you that much.
• 10:56
  They've never helped during a pandemic and won't
• 10:59
  again. I want to thank the distributors of this
• 11:01
  podcast, Simpler Media and my friend the pod God,
• 11:04
  Mr. Evo Terra. Until next time, stay
• 11:07
  safe out there.
• 11:13
  Hey Evo, I don't know if you've seen egg prices
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  jump where you are, but, man, it's
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  pretty bad here. I'm eating mostly beans for
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  breakfast. I hope you're doing well.
• 11:26
  >> Speaker B: Yeah, I'm kind of less concerned about the egg
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  prices, which, sure, they're up, but
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  more concerned about
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  another pandemic. Terry,
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  really,
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  I need off this plan.