There are no known cases of avian flu here in the state, but the first human death was just announced in Louisiana, claiming the life of the first human to contract the virus, called H5n1.

It's found in birds, but has now spread to cattle in more than a dozen states and has infected more than 60 people so far.

Most of them work with cattle or poultry.

Raven Santana has more on the guidance that new Jersey officials are offering, and what you should know to stay safe.

This particular strain, H5n1, tends to, or historically, since it was first identified in the early 2000, spread amongst birds.

What we are seeing or have seen since that time is that it has spread to other mammals.

In terms of if they're eating or in contact with the sick dead bird, the bird flu, as its name implies, primarily infects birds.

But as state epidemiologist Stephanie Silvera warned.

My past years, there's a new strain, and it's now appearing in humans, mostly those who have contracted the virus because they work with poultry and cattle.

For the most part, these are people who are working with infected animals directly.

What we've seen is amongst humans, about 50% of people who became infected died from the disease.

Today, Louisiana reported the first person in the U.S. to die from H5n1.

While no cases have been detected here in new Jersey.

Silvera says a process to eliminate a potential spread has been painful for farmers, in turn impacting consumers.

Unfortunately, the best way to keep the bird flu from spreading amongst these agricultural animals is something called culling the herd.

Meaning if you have a farm and your chickens, one of them gets sick.

The best way to prevent the spread is really to just euthanize the entire flock.

Same thing with dairy cattle.

Now for dairy cattle, there are ways to vaccinate those animals.

There are ways to try to treat them.

But if this gets out of hand, what we are seeing and what we've already seen is the price of things like milk and eggs going up.

The shortages are there and the prices just keep going up.

That burden is also being felt by business owners like Salvatore Malo, owner of Mountain Deli in Scotch Plains.

A dirty dozen case used to cost me $45.

It's now $160.

It's a big increase, and I can't really pass that on to my customers.

Because, you know, how much do you want to spend for an egg sandwich?

You know, just getting to be a little too high.

Unfortunately, Merlo says he has little control over many factors of the egg shortage.

Right now, he says his biggest challenge isn't just an increase in price.

It's also the size of the eggs.

Nothing has ever happened like this.

We've had shortages, but they never ran out.

And now they're actually substituting the size of eggs.

I have smaller eggs in the extra large cartons.

And and I just think that they're, they're doing it because they don't have as many.

So if you're wondering if those eggs you're buying or dairy are safe, the answer is yes.

New Jersey health officials credit our strict surveillance system for that and ask folks not to fret.

We have the control over, you know, inter-state movement of cattle.

So any cattle entering into new Jersey from out of state, you know, they are required to have interstate, you know, a certificate of health.

And as part of the USDA federal order, they are required to test for avian flu or bird flu in cattle before they are shipped into into new Jersey.

And and I think, you know, that measure is keeping, the bird flu away from, from new Jersey cattle.

The new Jersey Department of Health and Agriculture are now trying to keep the bird flu away from pets.

The department and veterinarians are now cautioning against the consumption of raw milk and raw milk products by pets after the virus appeared in at least 11 cats on the West Coast.

What has made this round of concern is that even though this virus exists normally in the wild, is that there's been a pretty big outbreak in California, which is kind of moved itself to other places in that there was the raw milk that cats ingested.

There was the raw food.

Also in California.

Then Washington state had but raw turkey experts warn if you see a dead or sick animal, call animal control.

They say the best way to prevent an animal or yourself from contracting the virus is to make sure you do not consume raw milk or raw eggs.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Raven Santana.