Flu season arrived early in Kitsap; health officer says bird flu risk to public remains low

BREMERTON — Flu is spreading in Kitsap County weeks earlier than usual, and the county’s health officer says the bird flu that killed a Yakima County dairy worker poses very little risk to the general public.

Dr. Herbie Duber, health officer for Kitsap Public Health District, told the Kitsap Public Health Board on Tuesday that local influenza A cases began climbing significantly in mid-September. In most years the rise comes in late October, November or December.

“This year we started to see an increase in September,” Duber said.

Statewide, the share of emergency room visits due to flu has climbed since late September after sitting near zero, he said. The number of people seeking care for flu is “like five to ten times” the number with COVID-19, which is still above baseline levels. Influenza B is just starting to appear, he said.

RSV activity is minimal in the western U.S. for now. Duber said it is already rising in the Southeast, especially Florida, “so we expect that will come our way. It’s just a matter of time.”

He said people he has talked to at schools report more absences, mostly from illness.

Bird flu

Duber also addressed avian influenza after the death of a Yakima County dairy farm worker last week. He said more than 30 Washington dairy farms have had infected cattle.

The worker had close contact with infected animals and had significant underlying health conditions, according to Yakima’s health officer, Duber said. He said people are generally at risk only through close contact with infected animals, usually on farms. Most infections in workers start in the eye, through conjunctivitis, though respiratory infection is possible.

“Humans are at very low risk of the current avian influenza strain,” he said. “We worry about human-to-human transmission. That is not occurring. There is very, very low, minimal risk to the public.”

Infected cows can pass the virus through milk, he said. “Pasteurized milk will kill the virus.”

The state tests heavily and works closely with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Duber said, and the health district will post updates as needed.

Information on flu, COVID-19 and RSV, including where to get vaccinated, is at kitsappublichealth.org.