Washtenaw County officials are putting out a warning after discovering cases of the bird flu. Susan Ringler-Cerniglia with the Washtenaw County Health Department told Michigan News Network the concern is for those who own birds or keep or work with chickens.
“It’s not a food safety concern,” Cerniglia said. “You can’t get it by eating poultry products. It is something that we want bird owners and people that work with birds to be aware of. It is very deadly potentially to the birds themselves, and we want to make sure that there’s not human illness happening from birds to humans.”
The strain is highly contagious to birds and has been detected already in Macomb and St Clair counties. Bird owners are advised to practice proper hygiene, including washing their hands. The bird flu has also been found in Kalamazoo County this year.
