Tom Haupt on Risks Posed by Wisconsin Bird Flu Cases in 2025

Frederica Freyberg:
In public health news, is bird flu or highly pathogenic avian influenza high risk for livestock and poultry flocks but low risk for humans and could that change? For the latest on the status of bird flu outbreaks in Wisconsin, we turn to Tom Haupt, influenza research scientist at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. And thanks very much for being here.

Tom Haupt:
Thank you, Frederica. I appreciate the invitation.

Frederica Freyberg:
What is the current status of bird flu outbreaks in Wisconsin?

Tom Haupt:
Well, we’ve had approximately 4 or 5 commercial outbreaks and one backyard flop. As far as human cases, we have had only the one human case. That person has made a complete recovery. Thank goodness. As far as other testing, we have tested about 3 or 4 other people. All have come back negative, but we continue to monitor very closely in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection and the DNR to monitor all kinds of wildlife, any kind of flocks. We have had no cattle, dairy farms in Wisconsin that have been infected so far. We’re hoping it stays that way.

Frederica Freyberg:
Could there be more human cases out there that people just haven’t been tested or they think they’ve got a cold or, you know, what are the concerns about that?

Tom Haupt:
That definitely could be the case. And especially now when influenza has started to spike the way it has been over the past couple of weeks. And we’ve over doubled, doubled our number of cases for seasonal influenza over the past few weeks. So there could be some people who probably should be tested but are not being tested. But we really are trying to be very conservative on this and make sure that we try to capture everybody who may have had exposure. Make sure that they are tested for flu.

Frederica Freyberg:
Speaking of flu and seasonal influenza, I understand that the CDC provided flu vaccines to 12 states that also were affected by bird flu to prevent this kind of co-infection of both the human flu and the bird flu that could lead to kind of emerging variants of that that could be more transmissible. Why didn’t Wisconsin participate in that CDC vaccine program?

Tom Haupt:
It actually was not Wisconsin’s decision. There was like six initial states that were categorized to get it at first. We’re hoping to be part of the second or third round to get this vaccine from the CDC. But again, it was not in our hands.

Frederica Freyberg:
How worrisome is it from a public health standpoint that co-infection of these two different influenzas?

Tom Haupt:
Anytime you have co-infections, it’s always a concern whether it’s with avian influenza and seasonal influenza, COVID, RSV, whatever the case may be. The more pathogens that actually are infecting a person, the more severe the outcome could be which could lead to hospitalization and unfortunately deaths and that’s what we’re trying to prevent. Making sure we’re getting people tested in a timely manner at a proper laboratory, which now is the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, to get that information and to get those tests run as quickly as possible. But yes, it definitely could be a concern.

Frederica Freyberg:
What’s the best advice for people as we head into the peak of the seasonal flu season here in the midst of this kind of avian influenza outbreak?

Tom Haupt:
Well, we need to control what we can control and that’s two things. One is to get the vaccine for influenza. Our numbers are a little bit low. They’re about 30.7%, which is just a couple percentage points lower than what it was last year, which is a bit disappointing to be honest with you. We need to do a better job because we are optimistic that the vaccine is going to be effective in preventing severe illness and in many cases, it will be effective in preventing illness altogether. The other thing is to practice good hygiene: coughing into your sleeve, sneezing into a tissue, throwing it away right away, washing your hands. And above all, if people do get sick, stay home and give yourself the time to heal. Too many people think it’s just allergies or as you said, just a minor cold. They could be infecting someone who could be at high risk, and that person could actually result in becoming hospitalized and hopefully — and not — and really, hopefully it’s not that it won’t result in any kind of fatalities.

Frederica Freyberg:
As for the avian influenza, what should people be looking for to see whether or not that might be what they have?

Tom Haupt:
Yeah, it’s very hard to say at this point. One thing that we do definitely look at at the state is do you have an exposure? Do you have an exposure to any kind of birds with a die off, whether it be wild birds, poultry, anything like that? Do they work on a farm? You know, on a dairy farm where maybe the cows are not producing the milk the way they’re supposed to be doing, or they’re — the milk is very unusual. I mean, those are the people who come down with symptoms where we really want them to consider testing, calling the local or state health departments. We can arrange for testing to be done as quickly as possible, but the symptoms that could be very vague. I mean, it could be just conjunctivitis. It could be just an upper respiratory, mild upper respiratory illness. It’s really not a precise symptomology when you’re dealing with HPAI, highly pathogenic avian influenza.

Frederica Freyberg:
Well, I know you will be watching this on all of our behalves. Tom Haupt, thank you very much.

Tom Haupt:
And thank you, Frederica. I appreciate it.