Tarrant County health officials warn of H5N1 spread in animals, urge vigilance after West Texas measles outbreak

Tarrant County Public Health Director Brian Byrd and Chief Epidemiologist Russ Jones told the Arlington City Council on Feb. 25 that seasonal influenza has been unusually high this winter and that a separate threat from H5N1 avian influenza requires continued monitoring.

Byrd and Jones said H5N1 remains concentrated in birds and livestock but has infected people occasionally since last year. "So far, bird flu has stayed mostly in cows and birds. It hasn't yet attained the ability to jump human to human," Byrd said. Federal agencies have characterized the virus's pandemic potential as moderate, and the CDC issued a health alert urging hospitals to speed subtyping of influenza specimens to detect novel strains quickly.

Why it matters: county officials said the virus's recent spread into dairy herds and other mammals increases opportunities for genetic change that could make human-to-human transmission possible. Separately, a measles outbreak in the South Plains and West Texas has produced more than 100 confirmed cases, mainly in children, and dozens of hospitalizations.

Key points…