As U.S. bird flu spreads, hospitals will screen more people. Will Canada? – National [Video]

As bird flu spread among animals soars in the United States, hospitals are being told to proactively screen for potential human cases in influenza A patients.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month told doctors and laboratorians to “now expedite the subtyping of influenza A-positive specimens from hospitalized patients” in order to “help prevent delays in identifying human infections with avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses.”

Following that CDC guidance, the New York State Department of Health issued an advisory on Monday instructing doctors to ask people with suspected or confirmed influenza A about potential exposures to wild and domestic animals, animal products or symptomatic people with probable or confirmed avian influenza.

In suspected bird flu cases, “appropriate infection control measures” should be taken, including isolation and the use of a face mask, the health advisory said.

The guidance comes as at least 67 people have been infected with the …