A third case of bird flu has been confirmed among farm workers in the US. Moreover, the second case was identified in Michigan. However, the third farm worker contracted the virus through an infected cow, which wasn’t the case in the previous two incidences.
CDC confirmed the third case on May 30th. In addition, the infected individual has reported flu-like symptoms that he is now recovering from, according to officials.
Moreover, the CDS also emphasised that there is no link between the two cases, with the first two being dairy farm workers. They also said that the risk remains low for the general public. But people should take care when they’re coming into contact with animals.
The agency said,
People should also avoid unprotected exposures to animal poop, bedding (litter), unpasteurized (“raw”) milk, or materials that have been touched by, or close to, birds or other animals with suspected or confirmed A(H5N1) virus,
The dairy farm H5N1 outbreak has hit nine states now, and the two human cases occurred on different farms. The two other farmers experienced mild eye infection symptoms. However, the third individual presented with respiratory symptoms, which also included coughing and eye discomfort.
The patient was treated with antiviral Tamiflu and was asked to isolate at home
isolating at home, and their symptoms are resolving.
No other staff at the farm, and none of the patient’s family or friends, are showing symptoms of the bird flu.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services chief medical executive, Dr Natasha Bagdasarian, said,
With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow,
Neither individual was wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). This tells us that direct exposure to infected livestock poses a risk to humans, and that PPE is an important tool in preventing spread among individuals who work on dairy and poultry farms.
We have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission, and the current health risk to the general public remains low.
