Health and Medicine
Bird flu has been passed from an infected dairy cow to a farm worker in Michigan, marking the second occasion that the disease has been spread in this way. This strain of virus, called H5N1, has run rampant through both wild bird and domestic poultry populations and even spread as far as the Antarctic region. Fortunately, both infected workers suffered only minor symptoms and have since made a full recovery.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a dairy farm worker from Michigan via eye swab. “While a nasal swab from the person tested negative for influenza in Michigan, an eye swab from the patient was shipped to CDC and tested positive for influenza A(H5) virus, indicating an eye infection. Similar to the Texas case, the patient only reported eye symptoms”. The first case happened in March, and the person also reported an eye infection.
“Michigan has led a swift public health response, and we have been tracking this situation closely since influenza A (H5N1) was detected in poultry and dairy herds in Michigan. Farmworkers who have been exposed to impacted animals have been asked to report even mild symptoms, and testing for the virus has been made available,” said Dr Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive, in a statement from Michigan Department of Health & Human Services.
Given the recovery of both individuals, the CDC suggest that the human health risk from H5N1 is low; however, they write that “similar additional human cases could be identified” due to the high levels of the virus present in raw milk from infected dairy cows.
“The current health risk to the general public remains low. This virus is being closely monitored, and we have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission at this point. This is exactly how public health is meant to work, in early detection and monitoring of new and emerging illnesses,” continued Dr Bagdasarian.
This is only the third case ever reported of bird flu in humans in the country; the first case was recorded in 2022 in Colorado, in a worker associated with the culling of poultry with presumptive bird flu.
Cows, humans, and birds are not the only animals to be affected by bird flu. A bottlenose dolphin died from the disease in April, while farm cats, penguins, and a polar bear have all been hit by the virus.
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