Person Catches Bird Flu In TexasOnly Second In U.S. History – Forbes

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Officials in Texas reported only the second case of avian influenza (bird flu) in a person in the U.S. on Mondayin a patient who had direct contact with infected cattle the infection spreads rapidly among herds across five states, having impacted millions of animals in the land and sea.

Mondays case is the second human case of the H5N1 virus in U.S. history.

The patient was tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after reporting eye inflammation, according to a news release from the Texas Department of State Health Services, and is recovering while being treated with oseltamivir, an antiviral.

It is the second reported human case of H5N1 in the U.S., after an individual was reported in Colorado in April 2022 who had direct contact with infected poultry.

The new case, which involved direct exposure with suspected infected cattle, does not change the risk for the general public, which remains low, according to TDSHS.

There are no safety concerns about the nations dairy supply as of March 29 because of the pasteurization process required before products hit the market, according to a joint statement from the CDC, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The agencies said in the statement product loss from infected cattle is too limited to have a major impact on supply, adding that it should not have an impact on milk or other dairy product pricesciting the nations seasonally higher production of dairy in spring.

5. Thats how many statesMichigan, Idaho, New Mexico, Kansas and Texashave detected the illness in cattle herds, according to a March 29 joint statement from federal agencies.

There is limited information on the spread of the virus in raw milk, according to federal officials, so the FDA has recommended the dairy industry refrain from manufacturing or selling raw milk or raw/unpasteurized milk cheese products made with milk from cows showing symptoms of illness, including cattle infected or exposed to the virus.

Minnesota reported a case of the virus in a goat on March 20, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, which marked the first case in a domestic ruminant in the U.S.

Avian flu is typically divided into two categorieshighly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI)based on its ability to infect poultry, according to the U.S. Geologic Survey. The current outbreak has reportedly affected millions of birds across the globe, and has begun spreading to sea mammalsreportedly killing more than 5,000 sea lions in Peru in 2023which has scientists concerned about the potential risk to human health. Multiple human cases of different strains of the flu have been reported in China and Cambodia. The USDAs dashboard indicates seven flocks of birds in the U.S. have been infected with HPAI in the last 30 days, as of March 20. The cause behind the outbreak in cattle is unknown, the New York Times reported, but federal agencies said transmission between cattle cannot be ruled out. Human cases of the HPAI flu are rare but can occur with prolonged exposure to infected birds, according to the CDC, and there has been no known human-to-human spread of H5N1. There have been only four reported human cases of LPAI in the nations history, according to the CDC, which resulted in mild-to-moderate illness. The virus can present asymptomatically in humans, but common symptoms include conjunctivitis and upper respiratory symptomswhile severe symptoms include fever, shortness of breath and even death.

Bird Flu Found in Michigan, Idaho Cows as Virus Spreads in US (Bloomberg)

Avian flu hits dairy producing cattle farms (ABC News)

First human case of avian flu in Texas raises alarm (Politico)

For the first time, U.S. dairy cows have tested positive for bird flu (NPR)

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Person Catches Bird Flu In TexasOnly Second In U.S. History - Forbes