Public Health Madison & Dane County

H5N1 Bird Flu

Last updated January 8, 2025

Cows eating hay in dairy barn

If you work with or have other contact with poultry, dairy cows, unpasteurized (raw) dairy products, or wild birds, you're at higher risk for getting a type of flu called H5N1 bird flu.

Symptoms to watch for

If you have any of these symptoms after close contact with birds, dairy cows, or unpasteurized dairy products, you should get tested for H5N1 bird flu:

  • Fever (temperature of 100 degrees F or higher)
  • Feeling feverish/chills
  • Cough
  • Sore throat
  • Difficulty breathing/shortness of breath
  • Eye tearing, redness, or irritation
  • Headaches
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Muscle or body aches

  • Diarrhea

We can help you get tested

If you need health care right away, before going to the clinic or emergency room, call and tell the staff you're at risk for H5N1 bird flu because of your work. If it's a medical emergency, call 911 and tell the dispatcher you're at risk for H5N1 bird flu because of your work.

  • Make sure you put on a mask when you arrive.
  • Tell the health care provider your symptoms and that you're at risk for H5N1 bird flu because you work with chickens, dairy cows, or unpasteurized dairy products.
  • They should be able to test you.
  • The test will be free, but you may have to pay for other parts of the visit.

If you can wait to see a doctor, call us at 608-266-4821 and ask for the communicable disease team (se habla español: 608-243-0380). Our phone is answered Monday - Friday from 8:00am - 4:30pm.

  • We can call your health care provider ahead of time and help make sure you get tested.

  • The test will be free, but you may have to pay for other parts of the visit.

What is H5N1 bird flu?

  • It’s a type of flu that spreads among wild birds and sometimes causes outbreaks in dairy cows and chickens.
  • It can cause serious illness or death in some animals, like chickens and other birds, and less serious illness in other animals, like dairy cows.
  • Usually, this flu spreads between animals and birds, but sometimes it can spread to people. 

H5N1 bird flu is a mild illness in most people, causing eye infections and flu-like symptoms like fever, cough, stuffy nose, and body aches. 

Why is Public Health concerned about H5N1 bird flu?

The current risk to public health is low, but we’re monitoring the situation closely, and so should you. Most people don’t get very sick from H5N1 bird flu, but it’s important to get tested if you have symptoms so that we know where H5N1 is in our community. This will help protect other people and animals from getting sick.

There are also concerns that someone will get infected with H5N1 bird flu and a strain of human influenza at the same time. Those viruses could then mix and could create a new strain of flu that might be more dangerous for people or animals or spread more easily. 

If you have a job or recreational exposure to wild birds, poultry, dairy cows, or unpasteurized dairy products you have a greater risk of being exposed to bird flu

If you work at or own a farm, it’s essential you have the information you need to stay safe during this ongoing outbreak of H5N1 bird flu. Take steps to protect yourself, your animals, and others:

  • Keep germs away. Disinfect shoes, clothes, hands, crates, vehicles—any tools or equipment that’s around the birds. Isolate birds returning from shows for 30 days to observe for signs of illness before returning them to the rest of the flock.
  • Limit visitors. Restrict traffic onto and off the property to necessary visits only.
  • Avoid wild birds and pests. Keep wild birds and rodents out of poultry houses and coops. Make sure feed bins are secured to prevent any wildlife contamination.
  • Have a plan. If you own a commercial farm, you should have a site-specific biosecurity plan in place. Anyone who works on your property should also know the plan.

  • Visit the CDC’s website for more recommendations. The CDC has specific recommendations for workers and employers.

For all: Take steps to protect yourself from H5N1 bird flu

  • Get your seasonal flu shot. The seasonal flu shot protects against the other strains of influenza that are currently circulating in our community. Getting that shot reduces your risk of getting sick this winter and reduces the chances of getting the H5N1 bird flu and seasonal flu at the same time. Why is that important? Having both types of the flu at the same time could allow the virus to change in ways that enable it to spread from human to human.
  • Do not consume raw milk or raw milk products. Cases of bird flu continue to be identified in cattle. The pasteurization process kills harmful germs by heating the milk to a specific temperature.

  • Avoid contact with wild birds and sick or dead animals. Avoiding contact with wild birds whenever possible limits your risk of exposure.

Learn more

Our H5N1 bird flu fact sheet and blog post explain what the virus looks like in poultry, dairy cows, and people, and how to protect yourself from getting sick. 

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