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How worried should we be about bird flu around Kansas City?

Three hens walk inside of a chicken coop in the backyard of a Kansas City home. Many homeowners associations don’t let people raise chickens in their backyards. But a new Missouri law says HOAs must allow it.
Héctor Alejandro Arzate
/
KCUR 89.3
Three hens walk inside of a chicken coop in the backyard of a Kansas City home. Public health officials say bird owners should be careful to clean enclosures and prevent exposure between domestic and wild fowl.

Concerns about an outbreak of avian influenza have increased nationwide. Two Kansas health experts discuss how to limit its spread, and why public health risk still remains low.

Over the past few months, bird flu (avian influenza or H5N1) caused egg prices to rise and public health experts to worry. In Kansas, the virus has poultry producers on high alert, especially since the disease was found to infect migrating bird flocks.

Dr. Justin Smith, the Animal Health Commissioner with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, is in charge of the state's bird flu response. He urges farmers to take measures to insulate their flocks from migratory disease vectors like ducks and geese — a practice he calls "biosecurity."

"Maintain a level of separation from the wild bird populations," Smith says. "They are carriers of this virus."

According to Smith, that's helped protect dairy cows in Kansas.

"I do have to commend the dairy world and the fact that they stepped up," Smith says.

Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of The University of Kansas Health System's Infection Control and Prevention Program, tells KCUR the greatest risk of bird flu transmission remains direct contact between humans and infected birds.

"In 2024, in this first part of 2025, there's been just over 60 cases in the United States of avian influenza," Hawkinson says. "Those severe cases were identified as viruses that have come from directly from birds to humans."

It's not just poultry workers at risk. Those with backyard chicken coops, like the one responsible for the sole fatal case in the United States, should also be cautious.

"They (H5N1 patients) are probably putting their hands in their eyes, their nose, their mouth," Hawkinson says. "We're getting it that way, rather than what we consider droplet or aerosol spread."

Hawkinson advocates for basic precautions, such as avoiding cross-contamination when handling raw poultry or eggs in the kitchen. He says those with backyard bird flocks should frequently decontaminate coops, ponds, and other enclosures.

Most importantly, Hawkinson says, regular hand washing is an easy way to limit the spread of H5N1.

Both Hawkinson and Smith are confident that bird flu can be contained.

"Our industries are well attuned," Smith says. "They've got contingency plans in place."

"I would say the risk to the general public is extremely low at this point," Hawkinson says.

If the virus were to mutate, however, it could enable easier human transmission.

"We do need to maintain that vigilance so we can monitor so it doesn't become a major issue or pandemic," Hawkinson says.

  • Dr. Dana Hawkinson, Infection Control and Prevention Program (IPAC) director, The University of Kansas Health System
  • Dr. Justin Smith, Animal Health Commissioner, Kansas Department of Agriculture
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As a host and contributor at KCUR, I seek to create a more informed citizenry and richer community. I want to enlighten and inspire our audience by delivering the information they need with accuracy and urgency, clarifying what’s complicated and teasing out the complexities of what seems simple. I work to craft conversations that reveal realities in our midst and model civil discourse in a divided world. Follow me on Twitter @ptsbrian or email me at brian@kcur.org.
As the 2024-2025 Up to Date intern, I am passionate about finding diverse stories that allow public radio to serve as a platform for people in our area to share what matters to them. I grew up in the Kansas City metro, graduated from the University of Arkansas, and have previously worked as a producer for KUAF, Northwest Arkansas' NPR affiliate station. Email me at jmarvine@kcur.org.
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