Worrisome news came out of Wisconsin earlier this month that the state’s first human case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza — also known as bird flu — had been confirmed in a farm worker in Barron County.

According to a news release, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services received the positive test results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though Barron County is in northwestern Wisconsin, it brings bird flu a step closer to the Upper Peninsula and far northeastern Wisconsin. While Michigan has had two human cases of bird flu this year, both were downstate and occurred in farmworkers exposed to dairy cows with the virus.

The Wisconsin DHS did have some reassuring words about the case: the person had been in contact with an infected commercial poultry flock, so the source of the illness is known. DHS, in coordination with Barron County Health and Human Services, will monitor other farm workers who may have been exposed to the virus and has provided them with information to protect their health, according to the news release.

“The risk to the general public in Wisconsin remains low,” the news release states. “People who work with infected animals or have recreational exposure to them are at higher risk.”

The H5N1 HPAI virus has circulated in wild and domestic birds in North America since December 2021, according to the news release. H5N1 HPAI viruses are highly contagious and often fatal to domestic poultry. Caused by influenza type A viruses, the illness can range from very mild to severe, depending on the strain and species affected.

More significant, the disease can spread from infected birds to people by contact with infected birds, commingling with wild birds or their droppings, equipment or clothing worn by anyone working with the animals, according to the Wisconsin DHS.

But the virus does not spread easily from animals to people. People who have gotten sick with bird flu have been in direct contact with infected animals, the DHS advises.

Symptoms of bird flu in people include: sore throat, fever, muscle aches, cough and eye infections, or conjunctivitis.

Anyone who develops symptoms of flu or an eye infection who has been in contact with animals who might been infected should stay home — not go to work, school, shopping or use public transportation — and call their doctor’s office or clinic before visiting so they can take precautions to ensure other patients are not exposed to the virus, according to the DHS. Treatment for bird flu may include hospitalization, supportive care and/or the use of antivirals.

As the DHS states, the risk to the general public for now remains low.

It is safe to eat eggs, poultry and meat that has been fully cooked. Pasteurized milk and milk products, such as cheese and yogurt, are also safe to eat and drink.

General precautions should always be taken when handling any raw meat, including raw eggs, to avoid possibly spreading germs. These measures include:

— Washing hands and surfaces before and after food preparation;

— Avoiding using the same utensils on raw meat as on other foods, even cooked meat;

— Cooking raw meat thoroughly.

Prevention information for those who do have close contact with birds, dairy cows or other relevant animals can be found at the CDC’s Protective Actions for People page, https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/index.html#cdc_situation_summary_action-protective-actions-for-people.

Hopefully this first human case in Wisconsin proves to be isolated.