Category: Flu Virus

Ever since scientists discovered influenza infecting American cows earlier this year, they have been puzzling over how it spreads from one animal to another. An experiment carried out in Kansas and Germany has shed some light on the mystery.

Scientists failed to find evidence that the virus can spread as a respiratory infection. Juergen Richt, a virologist at Kansas State University who helped lead the research, said that the results suggested that the virus is mainly infectious via contaminated milking machines.

In an interview, Dr. Richt said that the results offered hope that the outbreak could be halted before the virus evolved into a form that could spread readily between humans.

I think this is good news that we can most likely control it easier than people thought, Dr. Richt said. Hopefully we can now kick this thing in the behind and knock it out.

The findings have yet to be posted online or published in a peer-reviewed science journal.

Seema Lakdawala, a virologist at Emory University who is researching the virus on dairy farms and was not involved in the new study, cautioned that breaking the transmission chain would require serious changes to how farmers milk their cows.

Its really great that these results are coming out, she said. But this is a real logistical problem.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit andlog intoyour Times account, orsubscribefor all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber?Log in.

Want all of The Times?Subscribe.

The rest is here:

How Does Bird Flu Spread in Cows? Experiment Yields Some 'Good News.' - The New York Times

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), today announced that it has awarded Moderna $176 million to develop a prepandemic vaccine against H5 avian influenza.

In its announcement, HHS said the award helps bolster the nation's pandemic flu vaccine capacity, which currently relies on an older traditional vaccine platform. Moderna will leverage its domestic large-scale commercial mRNA vaccine manufacturing platforms and ongoing development of mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccines.

The award comes as officials confirm more H5N1 avian flu in US cattle and poultry.

Dawn O'Connell, JD, assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said the $176 million represents the base award and the agreement contains other options that allow the government to quickly pivot funding to other mRNA vaccines when new flu strains or other disease threats emerge. She said the H5 vaccine is in clinical development and that phase 3 trials could begin in 2025.

The award also includes an option for large-scale production and pandemic response. At today's briefing, Robert Johnson, PhD, director of medical countermeasures at BARDA, said it's too early to project production capacity. He said the number will depend on dosing information, which should be available later this year.

Moderna said in a statement today that in 2023 it launched a phase 1/2 clinical trial of an investigational pandemic flu vaccine in healthy adults, which included candidates against H5 and H7 viruses, and results are expected this year.

Meanwhile, fill-and-finish activity continues on vaccine from bulk stocks of candidate cell-based adjuvanted H5 vaccine made by CSL Seqirus, and O'Connell said the first of 4.8 million doses will be available in the middle of July, with production continuing through August. This is faster than the government had anticipated.

As vaccine production and planning continues, federal officials are in ongoing discussions about how to best protect farm workers and others exposed to cattle.

Nirav Shah, MD, JD, principal deputy director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said if the main goal is to prevent transmission, using antiviral drugs for patients and their contacts may achieve the goal faster than a vaccine. He said health officials are weighing the risks and benefits, as well as whether people exposed to infected cattle will accept the vaccine.

So far, more than 780 people exposed to cattle have been monitored, and at least 53 with flulike illness symptoms have been tested for H5, he said. At this point, the number of confirmed human infections linked to the virus in dairy cows stands at three.

Shah said the nation has an ample supply of H5 tests, with 750,000 available and 1.2 million coming online over the next several months.

The official number of confirmed cases of H5N1 in dairy herds remains at 137 in 12 states, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. But individual affected states have announced a few more detections, including Minnesota, with another infected herd in Benton County, located in the state's central region.

Regarding poultry, USDA APHIS added confirmations of four more H5N1 outbreaks in flocks in two states, Colorado and Minnesota, both of which are also battling the virus in dairy cattle. Colorado's two outbreaks involve backyard flocks in Morgan and Larimer counties, and Minnesota's two outbreaks involve commercial turkey farms in Otter Tail and Swift counties.

At today's media briefing, federal officials were asked about recent reports of wastewater detections of H5 avian flu virus in San Francisco. Tracking from WastewaterSCAN has detected positive findings that aligned with outbreaks in cattle in six states, except for some detections in California.

Shah said San Franciso isn't known for dairy industries, and one hypothesis is a potential link to live-bird markets. Since 2022, USDA APHIS has reported sporadic highly pathogenic avian flu detections at live-bird markets in five states, with the most recent one reported from San Francisco in May of this year.

More:

HHS awards Moderna $176 million to develop mRNA H5 avian flu vaccine - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

In a recent study published in the United States (U.S.) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, researchers investigated the persistence of the highly pathogenic hemagglutinin 5 neuraminidase 1 (H5N1) avian influenza A virus from cattle and the H1N1 human influenza pdm09 pandemic virus strain in unpasteurized milk and on the surfaces of milking equipment.

Research Letter: Persistence of Influenza H5N1 and H1N1 Viruses in Unpasteurized Milk on Milking Unit Surfaces. Image Credit:OULAILAX NAKHONE/ Shutterstock

The highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus was detected in domestic cattle in March 2024, followed by the virus outbreak in large herds in numerous states in the U.S. and at least three confirmed infections in humans. Analysis of unpasteurized milk samples confirmed the presence of high virus levels in milk, suggesting that dairy workers exposed to unpasteurized milk were at a high risk of being infected by the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

Furthermore, an increase in the number of human infections of H5N1 could also give the virus opportunities to evolve and adapt to the human host, increasing the potential human-to-human transmission rates. Although the milking process in the dairy industry is largely automated, there are some stages where human inputs are required, which could increase the workers risk of exposure to the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus.

In the present study, the researchers analyzed whether the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus and the H1N1 human influenza pdm09 pandemic virus strain could persist in unpasteurized milk droplets on the surfaces made of stainless steel or rubber such as the ones found in milking units.

One of the steps during the milking processes where human input is required is forestripping, where the teats in the vacuum units are manually expressed for the first three to five streams of milk. This process removes bacteria and allows the workers to check for any abnormalities in the milk. However, it results in milk splatter on surrounding surfaces and exposes the workers to unpasteurized milk that could potentially contain the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus.

Milk splattering or spraying could also happen during other stages of the milking process. Furthermore, the workspace in which the dairy workers interact with the cows puts the human eye level closer to the cows' lower regions, allowing droplets of potentially infectious milk to come in contact with the mucus membranes of the humans.

In this study, the researchers diluted strains of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus or the surrogate H1N1 human influenza pdm09 pandemic virus strain in a 1:10 ratio using unpasteurized raw milk and pipetted droplets of this dilution onto rubber and stainless-steel surfaces inside an environmental chamber.

A tissue culture assay was used for endpoint titration to detect the presence of the virus at zero, one, three, and five hours. The experiments were conducted at 70% humidity to mimic the open-air environmental conditions in the milking parlors between March and April 2024 in the Texas panhandle region, which is when and where some of the outbreaks occurred.

Illustration of milking unit surfaces tested in a study of persistence of influenza H5N1 and H1N1 viruses in unpasteurized milk. Before attaching the milking unit (claw), a dairy worker disinfects the teat ends, performs forestripping of each teat to detect abnormal milk, and then wipes each teat with a clean dry towel. Workers then attach the milking unit to the cow teats. A pulsation system opens and closes the rubber inflation liner (at left) around the teat to massage it, mimicking a human stripping action. A vacuum pump is controlled by a variable speed drive and adjusts the suction to allow milk to flow down a pipeline away from the cow into a bulk tank or directly onto a truck. Additional sources of exposure to humans include handling of raw unpasteurized milk collected separately from sick cows or during the pasteurization process. Schematic created in BioRender (https://www.biorender.com).

The study found that the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A persisted in the droplets of unpasteurized milk on the rubber and stainless-steel surfaces and remained infectious for over an hour. In comparison, the H1N1 human influenza pdm09 strain dropped below the detection limit in less than an hour.

However, the viral decay rates for the H5N1 and the H1N1 viruses were similar on stainless-steel and rubber surfaces, indicating that the H1N1 human influenza pdm09 strain could be used instead of the H5N1 cattle virus to study the persistence of the virus in raw milk samples.

Longer observational experiments indicated that the H1N1 pdm09 strain persisted on the rubber surface of the inflation liner used in the milking process for over three hours, while on the stainless-steel surfaces, it persisted in droplets of unpasteurized milk for at least an hour.

These results showed that the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus that has now infected domestic cattle can persist in unpasteurized milk and can remain infectious for over three hours inside droplets of milk splattered on surfaces during milking.

Currently, no respiratory or eye protection has been required for dairy workers, but the CDC has released recommendations for face shields, eye protection, masks, and other personal protective equipment. Sanitization of the rubber inflation liners is also recommended to prevent the spread of the virus among the cows.

To summarize, the recent outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza A virus among domestic cattle poses a serious risk of infection to dairy workers exposed to droplets of unpasteurized milk. The study found that the virus can persist and remain infectious in droplets of unpasteurized milk splattered on the surfaces of milking equipment for over three hours. The researchers recommend the use of protective equipment during milking and the sanitization of the milking equipment to prevent viral transmission among humans and animals.

Journal reference:

Read more:

Study warns of H5N1 avian flu risk from unpasteurized milk in dairy farms - News-Medical.Net

More Videos

Next up in 5

Example video title will go here for this video

Next up in 5

Example video title will go here for this video

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently updated their emergency assistance for livestock, honeybees and the farm-raised fish program.

Author: wzzm13.com

Published: 5:47 PM EDT July 4, 2024

Updated: 5:47 PM EDT July 4, 2024

Read more from the original source:

U.S. Government expands aid to farms impacted by bird flu virus - WZZM13.com

Today theCenters for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC) confirmed thefourth human case of highly pathogenic avian flu in the United States this year and the first in Colorado, as the state reported more infected dairy cows. Previous human cases were in Texas (one) and Michigan (two).

In a press release emailed to journalists, the CDC said the Colorado patient is a dairy worker who was being monitored because of work exposure to H5N1 virus-infected cattle.

"The person reported eye symptoms only, received oseltamivir [Tamiflu] treatment,and has recovered," the CDC said. "Based on the information available at this time, this infection does not change CDC's current H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which the agency considers to be low."

This infection does not change CDC's current H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment.

The first two agricultural workers infected in the United States, in Texas and Michigan this spring, also reported eye symptoms.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has added two more H5N1 avian flu dairy herd outbreaks to its confirmed list, both in Colorado, raising its total to 139 affected herds from 12 states.

Colorado has had the most affected herds in the past 30 days, with 23 herds affected, APHIS said.

APHIS also reported H5N1 in 2 more domestic cats since our last report, 1 each in Michigan and Colorado, raising the total to 30 infected cats.

A WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health) notification on the Colorado cat, which is from Adams County, says the cat was exhibiting acute respiratory signs but wasn't associated with any known H5N1-affected cattle or poultry premises.

As more dairy herds have been infected with highly pathogenic avian flu, researchers from the Food and Drug Administration have continued to sample commercial pasteurized milk and conduct experiments that reassure consumers that the pasteurization process used in the United States inactivates H5N1. It is not yet known if drinking raw milk from an infected cow could pass H5N1 to humans, but mouse studies suggest it is possible.

A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center, however, shows that less than half of US adults know that drinking raw (unpasteurized) milk is riskier than drinking pasteurized milk. The survey included 1,031 adults polled from June 7 to June 10. While only 4% of Americans report regularly consuming raw milk products, selling such products is legal in 30 states.

One in five Americans (20%) said they are not sure if pasteurization can kill harmful bacteria and viruses. And 4% of those polls said pasteurization is simply not effective in doing so.

In the poll, over half of the respondents (54%) think that drinking raw milk is either safer (9%) or just as safe (15%) or are unsure (30%) whether it is more or less safe than drinking pasteurized milk. Pasteurization does not lower the nutritional value of milk, but 16% polled believe that it does destroy nutrients, and 41% aren't sure.

Outside of H5N1, raw milk is estimated to cause 840 times more illnesses and 45 times more hospitalizations than pasteurized products, according to the Annenberg Center.

It is important that anyone planning to consume raw milk be aware that doing so can make you sick and that pasteurization reduces the risk of milk-borne illnesses.

"It is important that anyone planning to consume raw milk be aware that doing so can make you sick and that pasteurization reduces the risk of milk-borne illnesses," said Patrick E. Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute at the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) at the University of Pennsylvania.

Note: This story was updated at 1:40 pm Central Time with information on the human case.

Go here to see the original:

CDC confirms 4th human case of H5N1 avian flu as more dairy herds in Colorado hit - University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Colorado health officials on Wednesday announced that a dairy worker in northeastern Colorado contracted bird flu after having close contact with sick cattle.

The worker, an adult man, had a mild eye infection. He has since recovered.

The human case is the first to be identified in Colorado related to the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza among dairy cattle. The outbreak among Colorados dairy herds is now the worst in the nation, with 27 cases having been identified in dairy herds, all in northeastern Colorado.

Nationwide, four dairy workers have now tested positive for bird flu after working closely with infected cattle. Eye infections were most common among those workers, possibly due to contact with infected milk during milking operations.

There have been no serious illnesses from the human cases related to dairy cattle, and there has been no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus.

The risk to most people remains low, Dr. Rachel Herlihy, the state epidemiologist, said in a statement. Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person. Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals.

This is the second human case of bird flu in a person in Colorado in the past two years, after a worker on a poultry farm in Montrose County tested positive for the virus in 2022. That worker likewise experienced mild symptoms and recovered with no known lasting ill effects.

As Colorados outbreak of bird flu among dairy cattle has widened, state and local health officials are currently monitoring more than 500 people who had exposure to sick cattle. More than 100 additional people have previously completed monitoring.

Following federal guidance, the state is conducting tests only on those who show possible symptoms of infection. The state has tested eight people so far for bird flu. All tests except for the most recent came back negative.

Health officials released few details about the infected worker to preserve his privacy. They said the worker reported his symptoms to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which tested him for influenza at the state health lab. Samples were sent to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for additional testing, which confirmed an infection of H5N1 avian influenza.

Our partnership with the Colorado Department of Agriculture has been crucial in disseminating information to dairy farmers across the state, Jill Hunsaker Ryan, the executive director of CDPHE, said in a statement. Coloradans should feel confident that the state is doing everything possible to mitigate the virus.

To quell the outbreak among cattle, Colorado is focusing its efforts on improving farms biosecurity the systems and protections they use to prevent the spread of disease. The state has a program that will provide personal protective equipment such as gloves, masks and goggles, to farms.

But implementing such systems can be difficult, especially in the heat of summer. Dairy barns and milking parlors can be hot places, making it uncomfortable for workers to wear goggles or face coverings for long periods of time. But removing the equipment potentially exposes workers to bits of flu virus contained in aerosolized particles of milk or other possible routes of infection.

Dr. Maggie Baldwin, the state veterinarian, said last week that agriculture officials are working with dairies to come up with individual plans for reducing the risk of flu transmission.

One of our really big focuses in the last week or so has been working directly with the farms on coming up with an actionable biosecurity plan that makes sense for that facility, Baldwin said in an interview.

Despite the new human case of bird flu, infectious disease experts have repeatedly said that the risk to the general public currently is low. Milk products are safe to consume so long as they are pasteurized; beef is safe to eat so long its cooked. There is no evidence that flu is spreading undetected among the general public.

Where we need to ramp up the level of concern in the population, Elizabeth Carlton, a professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health, said last week, is when we see those dairy farm workers get infected and spread it to their families.

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Read more from the original source:

Colorado health officials identify another human case of bird flu in the state - The Colorado Sun

Signs of H5N1 bird flu virus have been detected at three wastewater sites in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to sampling data.

Although positive wastewater samples have been found in seven other states, California is the only one that has yet to report a bird flu outbreak in a herd of dairy cows.

Genetic evidence of bird flu was detected in San Francisco wastewater on June 18 and June 26. Additional H5 hits were seen at a site in Palo Alto on June 19, and another on June 10 from the West County Wastewater facility in Richmond.

A statement from the states department of public health noted that its staffers are working with the CDC and local health departments to determine the source of H5 in wastewater. It noted that they are looking at non-human sources, including domestic poultry and wild birds.

As with the previous detections reported from before mid-May 2024, it is unclear what the source of H5N1 is, and an investigation is ongoing, department officials wrote in a statement. It is possible that it originated from bird waste or waste from other animals due to San Franciscos sewer system that collects and treats both wastewater and stormwater in the same network of pipes.

Health officials said the risk remains low for the general public.

The virus has not been identified in California cows, but it has been found in wild birds and domestic poultry in the state.

The finding is concerning because of their urban origin, said Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, an entrepreneur who is developing techniques for disease detection, and the chief executive and founder of PatientKnowHow.com. There are not many dairy or animal farms in San Francisco.

There are also no dairy farms in Palo Alto or Richmond.

Julie Weiss, Palo Altos watershed protection program manager, said her departments role in the wastewater research does not extend beyond providing wastewater samples to the research team. Kate Gibbs, the spokeswoman for Richmonds West County Wastewater facility, referred all questions to the state.

Although the samples from the Bay Area wastewater sites tested positive for H5, the testing was not specific to H5N1.

However, researchers say a positive genetic identification for H5 is suggestive of bird flu whether H5N1, the virus that has been found in U.S. dairy cattle (and which has infected three dairy workers ) or H5N2, the subtype implicated in the death of a man in Mexico City earlier this year.

Most human influenza A viruses are of the H1 and H3 variety.

The virus has been detected in 133 dairy herds across 12 states. It has also been found in wild birds and domestic poultry flocks throughout the United States.

In recent weeks, H5 was also detected in wastewater samples in Idaho, among other states.

Although there is no threat to the general public from the H5 detection in wastewater at this time, said Christine Hahn, Idaho state epidemiologist, we have determined that it is important that we work to understand these recent findings as much as possible.

The state is workingwith the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate the issue.

WastewaterSCAN, the research organization that detected the virus, is an infectious disease monitoring network run by researchers at Stanford, Emory University and Verily, Alphabet Inc.s life sciences organization.

A review of their data which takes samples from 194 locations across the country suggests H5 has also been detected at sites in Michigan, Texas, Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa.

California is the only one of these states that has not reported H5N1-infected cattle.

See original here:

Signs of avian flu found in San Francisco wastewater - Los Angeles Times

A new human bird flu case in the U.S. has been found further west than in the past, this time in a dairy worker in Colorado. Its the fourth human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza thats been detected related to an outbreak among U.S. dairy cows.

Previous cases were reported in Texas and Michigan, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which announced detection of the new case Wednesday. The dairy worker was treated for symptoms and has since recovered from the infection, which occurred in April.

While the strain of avian influenza designated H1N5 has proven deadly for some people worldwide, cases so far related to this outbreak have shown up as pink eye among people who work closely with infected dairy herds.

The Department of Agriculture reported that, as of Wednesday, there were 139 dairy herds that had tested positive for bird flu, located in a total of 12 states: Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

CDC has been watching influenza surveillance systems closely, particularly in affected states, and there has been no sign of unusual influenza activity in people, including in syndromic surveillance, the public health agencys notice reported. Risk to humans from the outbreak is considered low, the CDC said.

Among monitoring efforts, the CDC maintains a wastewater map of the country that shows levels of influenza A detection in the past two weeks. That includes bird flu, but doesnt separate it out from other influenza A strains. Nor does it say whether the virus samples came from animals or humans. It could come from a human or from an animal like a bird or an animal product, like milk from an infected cow, according to the explanation of the map.

As NBC reported, The CDC recommends that anyone in contact with dairy cattle wear protective equipment, including safety glasses, waterproof aprons and boots that can be sanitized.

USDA, Food and Drug Administration and CDC officials have said that while avian flu remnants were found in milk samples from infected dairy cows, milk that has been pasteurized was tested and proved safe for people to consume. Testing of dairy, beef and poultry products similarly showed they are safe to eat as long as they are handled properly and cooked adequately, as Deseret News previously reported.

While bird flu has been found most often in birds, it has also been found in a variety of animals, from sea lions to bears. It was detected in Idaho alpacas, North American river otters, Virginia possums, a couple of Utah mountain lions and a red fox.

As Deseret News reported, Avian influenza in the United States has been detected in big cats, mountain lions, bobcats, brown bears, black bears and polar bears, bottlenose dolphins, grey seals, harbor seals, red foxes, coyotes, fishers, American martens, North American river otters, raccoons, skunks, Virginia possums and Aberts squirrels. There have been outbreaks in cattle and in mink. But most of the wild mammal infections are considered dead end, meaning a mammal ate an infected bird, got infected and died without contributing to spread of the virus.

But theres no indication that the virus has mutated in ways that facilitate easy spread to or among humans, although health officials are watching closely. To become a pandemic, the CDC said that sustained person-to-person spread is needed.

The rest is here:

Another bird flu case in humans, this time in Colorado - Deseret News

The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to accelerate development of a pandemic influenza vaccine

July 2, 2024, 10:34 AM ET

2 min read

The U.S. government will pay the vaccine maker Moderna $176 million to accelerate development of a pandemic influenza vaccine that could be used to treat bird flu in people, as concern grows about cases in dairy cows across the country, federal officials announced Tuesday.

Moderna already has a bird flu vaccine in very early-stage testing that uses the same mRNA technology that allowed rapid development and rollout of vaccines to protect against COVID-19. The new funds from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services include continued development of the vaccine, including a late-stage trial next year if those early study results are positive.

But the project can be quicky redirected to target another form of influenza if a different threat than the H5N1 form of bird flu emerges, HHS officials stressed.

The award was made through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, a program that focuses on medical treatments for potential pandemics.

The H5N1 virus was detected earlier this year in dairy cows and has spread to more than 135 herds in 12 states and infected three people to date, all with mild cases. Federal health officials stress that the risk to the wider population remains low.

__

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Read the original here:

The US will pay Moderna $176 million to develop an mRNA pandemic flu vaccine - ABC News

CDC issues alert over bird flu case

Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel on what to know about bird flu and why it is important not to look directly at the solar eclipse without proper glasses

Health officials announced a farmworker in Colorado is the fourth person in the U.S. infected with bird flu.

In a statement from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), health officials said the male worker had direct contact with infected dairy cows on a northeast Colorado farm and developed bird flu.

The man developed mild symptoms and reported to health officials that he had pink eye.

In accordance with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the man was given antiviral treatment and recovered.

BIRD FLU IN TEXAS: LARGEST US EGG PRODUCER TEMPORARILY SHUTTERS FACILITY AFTER H5N1 VIRUS FOUND IN CHICKENS

Cows graze in an oil production field. A dairy farmworker in Colorado was infected with bird flu. (Reuters/Nick Oxford/File Photo)

Dr. Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist with CDPHE, said the risk of bird flu remains low for the public but may be heightened for those who are regularly exposed to infected animals.

"The risk to most people remains low. Avian flu viruses are currently spreading among animals, but they are not adapted to spread from person to person," Herlihy said.

BIRD FLU OUTBREAK AFFECTS OVER 24 STATES, POULTRY PRICES RISE

"Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals," she said.

Dr. Rachel Herlihy said the risk to the public of developing bird flu is low. (Reuters/Jim Vondruska/File Photo)

Three previous cases of human infection linked to cows were reported in dairy workers in Texas and Michigan since March.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Two of those workers also developed pink eye, while one had mild respiratory symptoms.

In 2022, the first U.S. case of bird flu was detected in a Colorado farmworker exposed to infected poultry.

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

She is a native of Massachusetts and is based in Orlando, Florida.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to sarah.rumpf@fox.com and on X: @s_rumpfwhitten.

View original post here:

Fourth case of bird flu confirmed in US - Fox News