RESPIRATORY VIRUSES

The flu is a contagious illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the respiratory system’s nose, throat, and lungs. There are two main types of influenza viruses: influenza A and influenza B. The flu can be detected year-round but is typically spread during the fall and winter seasons, known as the flu season.

Influenza has been known to cause global pandemics when a novel (new) influenza virus is introduced into the human population. Typically, when this happens, the virus can cause serious illness and spread easily from person to person because most of the population has little to no immunity, and vaccines most likely do not exist.

How Flu Spreads

The flu typically spreads when an infected person passes respiratory droplets to people nearby. Respiratory droplets are spread when people with the flu cough, sneeze, or talk, and the droplets enter other the mouth, nose, lungs, or possibly eyes of others.  Influenza viruses, such as avian (bird) flu and swine (pig) flu, are found in animals and can sometimes spread from animals to people.

Symptoms

Common symptoms of flu infection can include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, nasal congestion, muscle or body aches, headaches, fatigue, and GI illnesses such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The flu can cause mild to severe illness and, at times, can lead to death.

Prevention & Treatment

Getting vaccinated for the flu every year is the most effective way to prevent serious illness from the flu and reduces your chances of hospitalization and death. Vaccination may also help protect others around you who are more vulnerable to severe outcomes, such as babies, older people and people with underlying health conditions.

Daily actions such as washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, covering your coughs and sneezes and avoiding contact with ill people will help prevent contracting and spreading the flu and other respiratory illnesses.

If infected with the flu, talk to your doctor or primary healthcare provider about treatments such as antiviral drugs that may be available. Seeking care early is important because some treatments for the flu are most effective within a specific timeframe. If patients wait too long to check on symptoms, their treatment options could be limited.

Sometimes a disease that becomes pandemic can start in different hosts, like pigs, birds, and humans. Once the virus is capable of easily spreading from human to human, the threat of a global pandemic increases. Although a pandemic can occur with almost any disease, it is one of the more serious concerns for influenza. The concern that the influenza virus could reach pandemic levels every season is high because the virus can change into a completely new strain quite rapidly. A novel strain that shows up quickly often means:

Most of the global population will have little to no immunity.
A vaccine does not exist or is not yet available to the public in a large enough amount to prevent the spread of the new influenza virus.

The United States works closely with other countries and organizations to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks of influenza that may cause a pandemic. 

• IDHW – Influenza Tracking
• Ready – Future Pandemics Planning & Response

H5N1 bird flu is a disease caused by certain flu viruses that usually spread between birds.

People rarely get bird flu, but when they do, it’s most often through direct unprotected contact (no gloves, protective gear, facemasks, respirators, or eye protection) with infected birds.

People can become infected by breathing air droplets containing the virus or possibly dust, or by touching surfaces contaminated with infected bird mucous, saliva or feces and then touching their eyes, mouth, or nose. No known human-to-human spread has occurred with the contemporary bird flu viruses that are currently circulating in the US. CDC believes the risk to the general public from these viruses remains low.

Most common songbirds or other birds found in the yard do not get infected with the bird flu viruses that can be dangerous to poultry or possibly spread to people.

Bird flu can spread from wild birds to other animals, like cows or poultry.

Symptoms
Human illness from bird flu has ranged from no symptoms at all to severe illness, resulting in death.
During the 10 days after your last exposure, you should watch for these symptoms and contact your local health department if you develop the below symptoms:

• Fever (Temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or greater)
• Feeling feverish/Chills*
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Difficulty breathing/Shortness of breath
• Eye tearing, redness or irritation
• Headaches
• Runny or stuffy nose
• Muscle or body aches
• Diarrhea
  *Fever may not always be present

Prevention

Farm workers
While rare, bird flu can spread from wild birds to mammals, like cows. If you had close contact with obviously sick or dead cows, or surfaces contaminated by them during a bird flu outbreak, contact your state or local health department.
Mammals can be infected with bird flu viruses when they eat infected birds, poultry, or other animals and/or if they are exposed to environments contaminated with virus. Spread of H5N1 bird flu viruses from mammal to mammal is thought to be rare, but possible.
CDC believes the current risk to the general public from bird flu viruses is low. People who have job-related or recreational exposure to infected birds or animals, including cows, are at greater risk of contracting bird flu. CDC has more information for worker protection and PPE.

Hunters
Wild birds can carry bird flu without appearing sick. If you have had close contact with obviously sick or dead wild birds, or surfaces contaminated by them, contact your state or local health department.
As a general precaution, people should not harvest or handle wild birds that are obviously sick or found dead. Hunters who handle wild birds should dress game birds in the field, when possible, wear gloves when dressing birds, and wash hands with soap and water afterwards.
USDA has more information available on preventive actions for hunters.

Backyard poultry or other hobbyist flocks
Poultry, like chickens and turkeys, can get very sick and die from certain bird flu viruses. If you have poultry, your birds can get bird flu if they have contact with infected wild birds or share food, water sources and other environments with them. Poultry are likely to appear sick when they are infected with bird flu.
If you had close contact with obviously sick or dead poultry, or surfaces contaminated by them, contact your state or local health department. In the meantime, watch for symptoms.
USDA also has information available on preventive actions for bird owners.

Bird flu outbreak responders
If you have had close contact with infected birds or surfaces contaminated by them because you are responding to a bird flu outbreak as part of your job, your state or local health department should contact you. If you have not been contacted by your state or local health department after your exposure, contact them as soon as you can so they can help monitor your health.
Treatment
Your health department will decide how you are monitored. This monitoring could include contacting you daily by phone, email, or text to ask about how you feel for 10 days after you were last exposed. They may also ask that you get tested for bird flu if you have symptoms. Please follow their instructions.
If you get sick after being exposed to sick or potentially infected birds, a health care provider may write you a prescription for an antiviral drug to treat your illness. It’s important to take the medication as directed as soon as possible.

RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most RSV infections go away on their own.

RSV can be serious for babies, some young children, and older adults. RSV can cause more severe infections such as bronchiolitis (an inflammation of the small airways in the lungs) and pneumonia (an infection of the lungs). It is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age.

How RSV Spreads

RSV spreads through coughing, sneezing, contact (like kissing the face of a child who has RSV), and contaminated surfaces. Transmission occurs most often during RSV season, which generally starts in the fall and peaks in the winter in most of the United States.

Prevention & Treatment

The CDC recommends two immunizations to protect infants from severe RSV: a maternal RSV vaccine given during pregnancy or an RSV antibody given to infants after birth.

The CDC also recommends vaccines to protect adults aged 60 years and older from severe RSV.

There is no treatment for RSV, but you can manage symptoms with over-the-counter medications.

To help reduce the spread of RSV and other respiratory viruses:

• Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Take steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.
• Stay home and away from others when you are sick.
• You can also use additional tools like masks, physical distancing, and testing.

Learn more about CDC’s Respiratory Virus Guidance and what you can do to protect yourself and others.

People with COVID-19 had a wide range of symptoms reported – ranging from mild symptoms to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. Anyone can have mild to severe symptoms. People with the following symptoms may have COVID-19:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Prevention & Treatment

Current treatments for COVID-19 require a prescription from your healthcare provider.

Some forms of treatment are given in the hospital and some in an outpatient setting. Treatment must be started within the first few days to be effective. Talk to your healthcare provider about what option may be best for you.

CDC recommends that all people use core prevention strategies to protect themselves and others from COVID-19:

• Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. Although vaccinated people sometimes get infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, staying up to date on COVID-19 vaccines significantly lowers the risk of getting very sick, being hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19.
• Practice good hygiene by covering your coughs and sneezes, washing or sanitizing your hands often, and cleaning frequently touched surfaces.
• Take steps for cleaner air, such as bringing in fresh outside air, purifying indoor air, or gathering outdoors.
• Stay home and away from others when you are sick.
• You can also use additional tools like masks, physical distancing, and testing.