Category: Flu Virus

Another Michigan dairy worker has been infected with a highly virulent bird flu, marking the third human case since the disease was detected in dairy cattle this spring but the first to report symptoms of respiratory illness.

The worker reported having a cough and eye discomfort with watery discharge, and received an antiviral treatment, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. The person is isolating at home and symptoms are resolving, the agency said. Those living in the workers home have not developed symptoms; no other workers at the farm have reported symptoms, and staff are being monitored.

Nirav Shah, the CDCs principal deputy director, said the emergence of respiratory symptoms is not atypical of novel influenza viruses.

What the presence of respiratory symptoms tells us is that the exposure risk is higher, he said. Simply put, someone whos coughing may be more likely to transmit the virus than someone who has an eye infection.

Dairy workers infected in the previous cases in Texas in April and in Michigan last week reported eye inflammation. Federal health officials say the development underscores the need for workers to take precautions such as wearing personal protective equipment when working with cattle.

The two workers infected with the virus in Michigan were not wearing full protective equipment, state officials said. In the previous case, infected milk splashed directly into the workers eye, resulting in inflammation. The latest worker to be infected, who is employed on a different farm, also had direct exposure to an infected cow but no further details were released.

Additional cases are expected, federal officials said, since public health surveillance kicked into gear in April. But the new case underscores the elevated risk for farm and dairy workers. The CDC reiterated that it believes the risk to the general public is low, and there is no indication of person-to-person spread.

Testing cows is key to controlling the outbreak, public health officials have said, amid frustration that more livestock herds arent being tested. The USDA had previously announced financial incentives to prod farm owners to test cows more broadly, even if infections have not been reported.

The USDA on Thursday announced a voluntary pilot program beginning next week to expand testing of herds not known to be infected with the H5N1 virus. Dairy producers enrolled in the program will be granted greater flexibility to transport lactating cows across state lines if tests of their bulk milk tanks are negative for the virus three weeks in a row and continue to remain negative in weekly tests.

This program is not loosening restrictions, but rather gives producers greater certainty and USDA better visibility onto the status of herds and the virus by providing this ongoing testing, said Eric Deeble, USDAs acting senior adviser for highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The USDA also unveiled $824 million in funding aimed at protecting livestock health, such as surveillance and the departments effort to develop vaccines for animals for the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The bird flu was detected in U.S. dairy cattle for the first time in late March, though researchers say the virus had probably been circulating on a limited basis for about four months before federal officials confirmed the disease. The H5N1 virus has now been detected in herds in nine states.

In the latest human case, specimens collected from the patient tested positive for avian flu at the state departments laboratory. The specimen was then sent to the CDC, which confirmed the infection Wednesday night.

The development marks only the fourth case of the bird flu virus in the United States. In 2022, a poultry worker in Colorado tested positive for the same strain of avian influenza. Across the world, cases of human illness have ranged from mild infections to more severe illness, like pneumonia.

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Bird flu detected in Michigan dairy worker - The Washington Post - The Washington Post

May 29, 2024 A new CDC modeling study suggests that influenza testing in health care settings in the United States can serve as an effective warning system in the event of an outbreak of a novel (non-human) influenza virus with pandemic potential.

The study, published May 26 in the journal Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, reports that existing flu surveillance in health care settings in the United States would likely detect at least one case of novel influenza virus infection in people, even when the virus has yet to spread widely.

The likelihood of detecting at least one case, which would prompt a public health response, increased with severity of illness. The findings are relevant in light of the current outbreak of avian influenza A(H5N1) (A(H5N1) virus) in U.S. dairy cows, which has resulted in two recently reported cases of human infection in dairy farm workers. [1] They also underscore the critical role health care providers play as a first line of defense by maintaining the rates of testing for influenza performed during the influenza season and forwarding clinical specimens to public health laboratories for further testing as recommended.

The study estimated the probability that at least one human infection with a novel influenza virus would be detected in three different health care settings, each reflecting different care-seeking behaviors and testing practices. Those include:

In each setting, the researchers used a modeling framework informed by data collected from existing influenza surveillance platforms to estimate the likelihood of detection of novel influenza virus infections in a variety of scenarios. Each scenario accounted for different

In a baseline scenario that assumed the presence of 100 cases in the population, with symptom severity similar to that of infection with a seasonal influenza virus, the likelihood of detecting at least one case of novel influenza virus infection per month was highest in community and UC/ED settings at 77% and 72%, respectively. Thats compared to less than 15% in hospital and ICU settings.

As the assumed severity of illness caused by the novel influenza virus increased, the probability of detection also increased across all settings due to the greater probability that an infected person would require medical attention. Assuming severity equal to that observed with A(H5N1) cases worldwide (about 50% case-fatality proportion), the researchers found that the probability of detecting at least one case was close to 90% in UC/ED settings and 100% in hospital and ICU settings.

In addition to severity, the probability of detection was greatly influenced by assumptions about the proportion of clinical specimens forwarded to public health laboratories. Since most commercial assays used to test for human influenza viruses cannot distinguish novel influenza A viruses from seasonal influenza A viruses, further testing at a public health laboratory is required for a positive specimen to be identified as a novel virus.

But that doesnt always happen, and the studys baseline scenario reflected that reality with the assumption (based on real-world data) that 50% of positive specimens were forwarded on for further testing. Increasing that percentage to 75% or 100%, the study found, substantially increased detection probabilities across all health care settings.

Greater detection probability was also associated with higher rates of testing in each health care setting. While seasonal flu activity is low in most of the country, ongoing A(H5N1) outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry continue to pose a challenge, and health care providers should continue to test for influenza whenever influenza virus infection is suspected.

The percent of total novel influenza cases detected in any health care setting was relatively low. However, even when the prevalence of novel virus cases was low, the probability of detecting at least one case was generally high. Thats important because one case would trigger the implementation of public health measures aimed at identifying and preventing additional cases, which can include increased testing and further virus characterization, as is happening in states currently experiencing outbreaks in dairy cows or poultry flocks.

These findings are informing enhanced testing strategies amid the ongoing multistate outbreak of A(H5N1) virus in dairy cows and other animals in the United Statesto ensure that even rare cases of novel influenza viruses can be detected. Additionally, CDC is supporting states that are monitoring people with exposure to animals infected or potentially infected with A(H5N1) viruses. Monitoring people with relevant exposure history is important to helping CDC better understand the risk to human health and potential for spread between animals and people and from person to person.

CDC considers the human health risk to the U.S. public from HPAI A(H5N1) viruses to be low at this time; however, people with close, prolonged, or unprotected exposures to infected birds, cows, or other animals, to unpasteurized (raw) milk, or to environments contaminated by infected birds, cows, or other animals, or by raw milk, are at a greater risk of infection. Its important to note that because influenza viruses constantly evolve, CDCs risk assessment for the general public could quickly change. Continual surveillance is critical to ensuring public health preparedness and readiness to respond.

While these findings indicate that existing flu surveillance systems are likely to detect at least one novel influenza case before the virus has spread widely, CDC is asking that health care providers remain vigilant for signs and symptoms of influenza virus infection over the summer and maintain high rates of testing. They should also forward influenza A virus-positive specimens to public health laboratories when recommended, such as when specimens are unsubtypeable or were collected from hospitalized patients with influenza-like illness. Specimens that are unsubtypeable or that test presumptive positive for novel influenza A virus at the state public health laboratory should be sent immediately to CDCfor further testing.

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Study Shows Novel Influenza Virus Infections in Humans in the United States Would Likely be Detected Through ... - CDC

The outbreak has been ongoing since February 2022

The H5N1 bird flu virus has spread to dairy cows in the United States, raising concerns about its spread to humans, reported Reuters.

Since 2022, bird flu in the US has infected over 90 million chickens, more than 9,000 wild birds, 67 dairy herds, oneperson who was exposed to poultry andthree people who werein close contact with an infected cattle.

The following is a timeline of the current outbreak in the country:

May 30

A third US dairy worker tested positive for bird flu in 2024 after exposure to infected cows, and was the first to suffer respiratory problems. The infection was the second human case in the state of Michigan.

May 22

Another human case of bird flu is confirmed in the US with the infection of a dairy worker in Michigan. It is the second case in humans this year after the virus was detected in cattle.

April 26

Colorado became the ninth US state to report an infected dairy herd.

April 25

Colombiarestricted the import of beef and beef products coming from US states due to bird flu in dairy cows.

April 24

The US government said it will require dairy cattle moving between states to be tested for bird flu.

April 23

The US Food and Drug administration said it had found bird flu virus particles in some samples of pasteurized milk, but said the commercial milk supply remains safe due to pasteurization.

April 11

South Dakota became the eighth US state to find avian influenza in a dairy herd, after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported infections in North Carolina, Texas, Kansas, Ohio, Michigan, Idaho and New Mexico.

April 4

Bird flu dairy cow outbreak widened to a dairy herd in Ohio.

April 2

Mexico's agriculture ministry said it was taking preventative measures to increase surveillance and reinforce inspections of US livestock imports after bird flu was found in dairy cattle there.

April 1

The second known human case of bird flu in the United States is reported in a person from Texas who had contact with dairy cows presumed to be infected with the virus.

The virus was detected in dairy cattle in New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho, along with Texas and Kansas.

March 25

The USDA said samples of milk collected from sick cattle in Kansas and Texas tested positive for avian flu, but the nation's milk supply was safe.

Dec. 12, 2023

Egg producer Cal-Maine Foods CALM.O said it had temporarilyceased production at a facility in Kansas after some of the flock tested positive for avian flu.

Nov. 3, 2023

Arkansas, a major US chicken producer, reported its first outbreakof lethal avian flu in a commercial poultry flock in a year.

Oct. 6, 2023

The United States detected its first case of avian flu on a commercial poultry farm since April, in a flock of 47,300 turkeys in Jerauld County, South Dakota.

April 14, 2023

The US government said it was testing four potential bird flu vaccines for poultry, after more than 58 million chickens, turkeys and other birds had died in the nation's worst outbreak ever.

March 20, 2023

Some of the world's leading makers of flu vaccines say they could make hundreds of millions of bird flu shots for humans within months if a new strain of avian influenza ever jumps across the species divide.

Oct. 7, 2022

Avian flu infected a commercial flock of breeding chickens in Arkansas, widening an outbreak of the disease in the southern region.

Nationwide, more than 47 million birds have been killed by avian flu or culled to control its spread this year in the nation's worst outbreak since a record 50 million birds were wiped out in 2015.

April 29, 2022

The first known human case of H5N1 bird flu in the United States appeared in a person in Colorado, who was involved in culling birds at a commercial poultry facility.

March 7, 2022

More than 22 million commercially raised US chickens and turkeys have been killed since February 2022 due to outbreaks of a highly lethal type of bird flu.

March 4, 2022

A bird flu outbreak is reported in a commercial flock of chickens being raised for meat in Stoddard County, Missouri, taking the spread of the virus to 10 commercial chicken and turkey farms in four states.

Feb. 9 , 2022

The USDA reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu in an Indiana turkey flock, the nation's first case in a commercial poultry operation since 2020.

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The ongoing bird flu outbreak in the United States - http://www.thecattlesite.com

The bird flu outbreak in U.S. dairy cows is prompting development of new, next-generation mRNA vaccines akin to COVID-19 shots that are being tested in both animals and people.

Next month, the U.S. Agriculture Department is to begin testing a vaccine developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers by giving it to calves. The idea: If vaccinating cows protects dairy workers, that could mean fewer chances for the virus to jump into people and mutate in ways that could spur human-to-human spread.

Meanwhile. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been talking to manufacturers about possible mRNA flu vaccines for people that, if needed, could supplement millions of bird flu vaccine doses already in government hands.

If there's a pandemic, there's going to be a huge demand for vaccine, said Richard Webby, a flu researcher at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis. The more different (vaccine manufacturing) platforms that can respond to that, the better."

The bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species in scores of countries since 2020. It was detected in U.S. dairy herds in March, although investigators think it may have been in cows since December. This week, the USDA announced it had been found in alpacas for the first time.

At least three people all workers at farms with infected cows have been diagnosed with bird flu, although the illnesses were considered mild.

But earlier versions of the same H5N1 flu virus have been highly lethal to humans in other parts of the world. Officials are taking steps to be prepared if the virus mutates in a way to make it more deadly or enables it to spread more easily from person to person.

Traditionally, most flu vaccines are made via an egg-based manufacturing process that's been used for more than 70 years. It involves injecting a candidate virus into fertilized chicken eggs, which are incubated for several days to allow the viruses to grow. Fluid is harvested from the eggs and is used as the basis for vaccines, with killed or weakened virus priming the body's immune system.

Rather than eggs also vulnerable to bird flu-caused supply constraints some flu vaccine is made in giant vats of cells.

Officials say they already have two candidate vaccines for people that appear to be well-matched to the bird flu virus in U.S. dairy herds. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used the circulating bird flu virus as the seed strain for them.

The government has hundreds of thousands of vaccine doses in pre-filled syringes and vials that likely could go out in a matter of weeks, if needed, federal health officials say.

They also say they have bulk antigen that could generate nearly 10 million more doses that could be filled, finished and distributed in a matter of a few months. CSL Seqirus, which manufactures cell-based flu vaccine, this week announced that the government hired it to fill and finish about 4.8 million of those doses. The work could be done by late summer, U.S. health officials said this week.

But the production lines for flu vaccines are already working on this fall's seasonal shots work that would have to be interrupted to produce millions more doses of bird flu vaccine. So the government has been pursuing another, quicker approach: the mRNA technology used to produce the primary vaccines deployed against COVID-19.

These messenger RNA vaccines are made using a small section of genetic material from the virus. The genetic blueprint is designed to teach the body how to make a protein used to build immunity.

The pharmaceutical company Moderna already has a bird flu mRNA vaccine in very early-stage human testing. In a statement, Moderna confirmed that we are in discussions with the U.S. government on advancing our pandemic flu candidate."

Similar work has been going on at Pfizer. Company researchers in December gave human volunteers an mRNA vaccine against a bird flu strain that's similar to but not exactly the same as the one in cows. Since then, researchers have performed a lab experiment exposing blood samples from those volunteers to the strain seen in dairy farms, and saw a notable increases in antibody responses," Pfizer said in a statement.

As for the vaccine for cows, Penn immunologist Scott Hensley worked with mRNA pioneer and Nobel laureate Drew Weissman to produce the experimental doses. Hensley said that vaccine is similar to the Moderna one for people.

In first-step testing, mice and ferrets produced high levels of bird flu virus-fighting antibodies after vaccination.

In another experiment, researchers vaccinated one group of ferrets and deliberately infected them, and then compared what happened to ferrets that hadn't been vaccinated. All the vaccinated animals survived and the unvaccinated did not, Hensley said.

The vaccine was really successful, said Webby, whose lab did that work last year in collaboration with Hensley.

The cow study will be akin to the first-step testing initially done in smaller animals. The plan is for initially about 10 calves to be vaccinated, half with one dose and half with another. Then their blood will be drawn and examined to look for how much bird flu-fighting antibodies were produced.

The USDA study first will have to determine the right dose for such a large animal, Hensley said, before testing if it protects them like it did smaller animals.

What scares me the most is the amount of interaction between cattle and humans, Hensley said.

Were not talking about an animal that lives on a mountain top," he said. "If this was a bobcat outbreak Id feel bad for the bobcats, but thats not a big human risk.

If a vaccine reduces the amount of virus in the cow, then ultimately we reduce the chance that a mutant virus that spreads in humans is going to emerge, he said.

___

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.

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Scientists are testing mRNA vaccines to protect cows and people against bird flu - ABC News

By Michelle Jokisch Polo

Another dairy farm worker in Michigan is testing positive for bird flu, making it the third human case in the U.S. this year.

Michigan confirmed its first human case of bird flu last week amid a multi-state outbreak of the virus in poultry and dairy herds.

The countrys first case was reported in Texas in March.

State health officials say the most recent case occurred in a farmworker who had been working closely with an infected cow before developing symptoms.

This individual had respiratory symptoms and is recovering, which is a very positive sign. This individual did receive Tamiflu, Michigans Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian told WKAR.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has not confirmed the specific location of the states two infections but did say the farm workers were employed at two different facilities.

Bagdasarian said the states first case of bird flu resulted from a direct splash of milk from an infected cow directly into the eye. The farm worker subsequently displayed symptoms of an eye infection.

What we are seeing is that these are individuals who have direct, close contact with infected animals, said Bagdasarian. It really shows us that personal protective equipment is helpful in keeping individuals working on dairy and poultry farms safe.

Bagdasarian said the state health department is monitoring symptoms and testing workers at affected cattle and poultry farms.

According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, 66 dairy cattle herds in nine states have confirmed cases of the H5N1 virus responsible for bird flu.

In Michigan, nearly seven million livestock have been affected by the virus. State food and agricultural regulators say they are responding with a one-health approach.

"Proper use of personal protective equipment is the best tool we have to protect farm workers, said Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Director Tim Boring in a statement. MDARD is currently offering assistance to dairy farms in need of additional protective equipment. MDARD has and will continue to take bold actions to assist farms impacted by this disease."

Neither individual who tested positive for the bird flu in Michigan was wearing a mask before developing symptoms, according to state health officials.

Some migrant farmworkers in Michigan have voiced concerns to labor advocacy groups about the lack of personal protection equipment available at sites. Many worry that they will not be able to access paid sick leave if they are infected with bird flu.

Were hearing the need for these kinds of protections, anxiety over being able to take work off and lose pay if they are exposed to the bird flu and face health complications, said Diego Iiguez-Lpez, the government affairs director for the United Farmworkers Foundation.

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Michigan Confirms Bird Flu in Second Dairy Worker - Farms.com

A third person in the United States has tested positive for avian influenza, aka bird flu, amid an ongoing outbreak affecting poultry and dairy cattle.

The case was detected in a farmworker in Michigan who was exposed to sick cows, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday.

Since March, a highly contagious strain of avian influenza A (H5N1) has spread to over 60 dairy cattle herds in nine U.S. states. In addition to the three human cases in the U.S., a child in Australia was also recently infected with bird flu.

Bird flu is a disease caused by infection with avian influenza A viruses, which occur naturally among wild aquatic birds and circulate among poultry, TODAY.com previously reported.

Occasionally, bird flu viruses spread to mammals, and rarely, to humans. The highly pathogenic H5N1 strain causing the U.S. outbreak is severe and often fatal in birds, but appears to be mild in cows.

No known human-to-human spread has occurred with the current H5N1 strains, per theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risk to the general public is low, but the outbreak has sounded the alarm among health officials in the U.S. and abroad, who are monitoring bird flu viruses closely.

The latest case marks the second farmworker in Michigan to test positive in one week and the third human case detected in the U.S. in the last two months. None of the three cases are connected and all occurred at different farms, the CDC said.

The first human case associated with the multi-state H5N1 outbreak among cows was reported in a dairy worker in Texas in March. It was the first time this strain of H5N1 referredto ashighly pathogenicavian influenza A (HPAI) had been detected in cows and the first instance of cow-to-human transmission, according to the CDC.

The current bird flu strain that were concerned with, H5N1, has been circulating around the world for quite some time, Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, previously told TODAY.com.

The Texas dairy worker and the first farmworker in Michigan to test positive both reported pink eye as their only symptoms. The third patient also had eye symptoms, as well as a cough and fever, officials said. The second patient in Michigan is the first to report upper respiratory symptoms associated with the bird flu infection.

"Based on the information available at this time, this case does not change CDCs current A(H5N1) bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public. The risk to members of the general public who do not have exposure to infected animals remains low," the CDC said.

Bird flu infections in humans can range in severity, experts note. Some people have no symptoms at all or only a mild flu-like illness, while others develop severe disease requiring hospitalization, according tothe CDC.

It can be a serious infection with a high mortality rate, said Schaffner.

According to the CDC, reported signs and symptoms of bird flu include:

Bird flu in humans may look similar to seasonal influenza flu or upper respiratory infection. In severe cases, bird flu can lead to pneumonia, respiratory failure and other complications, TODAY.com previously reported.

The recent case of H5N1 in the child in Australia was a severe infection, but the child fully recovered. Victorian health officials did not release additional details about the patient's symptoms.

The dairy worker in Texas who tested positive for H5N1 in March had a mild infection, with eye redness or conjunctivitis (pink eye) as the only symptom,the CDC said. The patient was treated with flu antivirals and recovered.

Similarly, the first farmworker in Michigan who tested positive for H5N1 only reported eye symptoms, per the CDC.

The third farmworker who tested positive reported eye symptoms, including discomfort and watery discharge, a cough, and a fever. They are being treated with antivirals and recovering, the CDC said.

The only other human case of H5N1 in the U.S., which was reported in Colorado in 2022, was a mild infection as well.

An infection with bird flu viruses cannot be diagnosed by signs or symptoms alone, the CDC says. Laboratory testing is required.

Transmission of bird flu viruses to humans is very rare. According to the WHO, since 2003, there have been 889 cases and 463 deaths caused by H5N1 in 23 countries.

Avian influenza can spread from infected birds to humans in a few ways, per the CDC:

Infected birds can shed the virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, mucus and feces, TODAY.com previously reported. People can become infected when the virus particles get into the mouth, nose, eyes or are inhaled, says Schaffner.

Humans typically become infected with bird flu viruses through close, unprotected contact with an infected bird.

When it comes to the dairy workers with conjunctivitis, the CDC noted it's press release that "it's not known exactly how eye infections result from avian influenza exposures."

"It may be from contamination of the eye(s), potentially with a splash of contaminated fluid, or touching the eye(s) with something contaminated with A(H5N1) virus, such as a hand. High levels of A(H5N1) virus have been found in unpasteurized milk from H5N1-infected cows."

Human-to-human transmission of bird flu viruses is extremely rare. The few cases that have been documented have occurred primarily through prolonged, unprotected contact between a symptomatic person and a family member or caregiver, per the CDC.

"The virus doesnt have the (genetic) capacity to spread easily from person to person, says Schaffner.

However, in arecent press conference, the chief scientist of the World Health Organization called the risk of the bird flu spreading to humans an enormous concern, and warned about the potential for the virus to acquire the ability to spread more efficiently between people. Scientists are closely monitoring bird flu viruses for any changes.

There is no evidence that humans can get bird flu from chicken, eggs, or beef that's been properly prepared and cooked, and it is safe to drink pasteurized milk, experts say.

The risk of getting bird flu is low, but the CDC recommends people:

Caroline Kee is a health reporter at TODAY based in New York City.

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3rd Human Case of Bird Flu In US: What Are The Symptoms? - TODAY

The lab, which tests animal samples from across the country, offers a peek at how scientists are racing to learn more about the virus, which experts are concerned may one day evolve to more easily infect people.

Its still very much an open question, scientifically: Whats going to happen as this virus continues to evolve and spread through animal populations? Runstadler said.

On Thursday, Michigan state officials confirmed the third human case of H5N1 in the US this year, in a farm worker exposed to infected cows. The worker had respiratory symptoms, a first for humans exposed to infected cattle, and is recovering.

Officials around the country are on high alert for new cases. Last month, the CDC asked state and local public health officials to keep flu monitoring efforts high throughout the summer to quickly detect any uptick in human illness. The agency also launched a dashboard that tracks Influenza A viruses H5N1 is part of that virus family in wastewater samples from across the country to pinpoint transmission hotspots.

Runstadlers work is an important piece of this broader monitoring effort. The lab tests a wide range of animals in hopes of catching H5N1 cases that might otherwise go undetected. One of their concerns is that the virus might make its way into an animal host that doesnt show any symptoms. There, the virus could develop more worrisome mutations, such as those that may promote adaptation to mammals.

Those are the places where viruses can evolve and circulate, because nobody had an eye on the ball, said Wendy Puryear, a virologist in Runstadlers lab.

Bird flu isnt new for Runstadler and his team. He formed his lab two decades ago to study flu viruses in animals. In 2013, the group began monitoring seals and, in the summer of 2022, became the first to identify and investigate the deaths of more than 180 gray and harbor seals from H5N1 off the coast of Maine.

The seal deaths concerned scientists because they were among the first signs that this strain of H5N1 could devastate mammals. Since then, the virus has killed tens of thousands of sea lions and seals in South America, and, more recently was detected in more than 60 dairy herds in nine states.

The lab is part of a network of Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Its one of less than a dozen network members that conduct wildlife surveillance and even fewer that conduct sampling as broad as Tufts, said Puryear.

The question that members of the Runstadler lab are now asking is whether any new wild birds and mammals are being infected along the East Coast and across the country. The team has tested around 10,000 bird and 2,500 mammal samples 1,000 of which are from marine mammals since the virus hit the United States in 2022.

The lab routinely finds positive H5N1 cases in birds, though they havent identified any mammals who have contracted the virus since the seal deaths in the summer of 2022. The USDA, however, has confirmed bird flu cases in over 200 mammals across the country including foxes, mountain lions, raccoons, and bears. The Runstadler lab has not tested any cattle, a process that is largely being handled by state and federal agencies, Puryear said.

In April, Runstadler traveled to a beach in Swampscott to swab a beached humpback whale. Though the large mammal tested negative for H5N1, whales have been shown to contract other types of influenza.

Bird samples are shipped to the lab from collaborators in New England and from as far south as Virginia. Samples from marine mammals come from Maine as well as Florida, California, Alaska, and even Hawaii. Lab members prepare care packages that include swabs, personal protective equipment, shipping materials, and instructions to help collaborators collect samples safely. Swabs arrive at the lab in small screw-cap tubes with a pink-colored liquid that helps preserve the samples. The tubes are placed inside Ziploc bags and packed in ice.

When a sample tests positive for H5N1, Puryear and her colleagues notify the submitter to warn them about potential contact with infected animals. They then send the sample to a USDA lab for confirmation. Either the Runstadler lab or a lab at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City then sequences the RNA, or genetic information, of the virus to see if there are any changes in its code. A computer identifies abnormalities like an A in the genetic code changing to a C and the string of letters is uploaded to an online database. There, scientists across the world can access the sequences to pin down if and how the virus might be evolving.

One concerning mutation, which makes the H5N1 virus better at copying itself inside of mammal cells, was detected in a seal the Runstadler lab tested in the summer of 2022. The mutation, called PB2 E627K, has also emerged in multiple mammals who contracted H5N1 in recent years and, in a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier in May, scientists reported the human who contracted H5N1 in Texas had also acquired the PB2 E627K mutation.

While that mutation is on scientists radars, they stress the virus would need additional genetic changes to promote spread between humans. In early April, the CDC said the presence of the mutation in the Texas farm worker did not change their assessment that the current risk of H5N1 to human health is low.

I think one of the things thats very valuable about their work is that its been continuous over time, said Ana Silvia Gonzalez-Reiche, a virologist at Mount Sinai who collaborates with the Runstadler lab. Throughout the years, they have accumulated a lot of data, and the value of that is that you can start seeing patterns and learning.

Puryear and her colleagues dont always know what samples theyre going to get in the mail on any given day. Around 11 a.m. on a recent Wednesday, a delivery man entered with the days packages. Puryear grabbed one a cardboard box branded with a pet food logo that had been repurposed to transport animal samples and placed it on the fridges bottom shelf.

The next day, the team tested the boxs contents. One of the samples, belonging to a crow from Cape Cod, came back positive for H5N1.

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Bird flu scientists at Tufts study wildlife to track H5N1 - The Boston Globe

A third person has tested positive for the H1N5 (bird flu) virus and is the first to suffer from respiratory problems, according to Reuters.

>> Read more trending news

The dairy worker was exposed to infected cows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, and was the second case of human infection in Michigan.

According to the CDC, the other two workers infected had only conjunctivitis pink eye not respiratory problems.

The person is isolating at home, the CDC said, and their symptoms are resolving. The persons contacts are also being monitored.

Since March, the avian flu in dairy cattle has affected 67 herds in nine states. The worker was employed at a different farm than the previous case in Michigan that was reported on May 22, the state said.

The U.S. government is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

In addition, remnants of the virus were found in milk from some of those cows that was on grocery store shelves.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that preliminary results of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) tests showed pasteurization killed the bird flu virus in milk, though.

On April 16, the USDAs Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service microbiologists identified a shift in an H5N1 sample from a cow in Kansas that could indicate that the virus has an adaptation to mammals, according to a statement from the USDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted further tests of the specimen sequence and said the overall risk factor of the virus infecting the general public had not changed.

The shift has been seen previously in other mammalian infections and it did not impact viral transmission, the agency said.

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Third person in the US tests positive for bird flu; worked with infected cattle - KIRO Seattle

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Posted: May 30, 2024

Another Michigan dairy worker has been diagnosed with bird flu, the third human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows, health officials said Thursday.

The patient reported a cough and eye discomfort, unlike the other two workers, who had only eye symptoms, health officials said. The farmworker was quickly provided antivirals and is recovering from respiratory symptoms, Michigan health officials said.

The risk to the public remains low, although farmworkers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk, health officials said. The Michigan cases occurred on different farms and there are no signs of spread among people, officials said.

"Risk depends on exposure, and in this case, the relevant exposure is to infected animals," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

In late March, a farmworker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal.

Last week, Michigan officials announced the first case there. That worker developed eye symptoms after "a direct splash of infected milk to the eye," Michigan health officials said in a statement.

Neither of the Michigan workers was wearing face shield or other personal protective equipment, which "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," Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the chief medical executive of Michigan's health department, said in a statement.

Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan, studies H5N1 bird flu.

"H5N1 is a clear occupational risk to dairy workers and this highlights the importance of detecting new cases as early as possible, so we can understand how to reduce risks to both cows and the people who are working with them," Rasmussen said.

"In Canada, it's important we remain vigilant for introduction to cattle here, for the safety of cows and the milk supply, as well as the safety of workers and producers."

There is no evidence that the risk to the general population has increased in Canada, Rasmussen added.

Health Minister Mark Holland told reporters on Thursday that Canada has no cases of H5N1 in cows and none has been found in the commercial milk supply.

Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species including dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises in scores of countries.

As of Thursday, H5N1 has been confirmed in 66 dairy herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Michigan will soon begin testing dairy farmworkers for signs of prior infection with bird flu, a countyhealth official told Reuters.

The new case marks the fourth time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what's known as Type A H5N1 virus.

In 2022, a prison inmate in a work program picked it up while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colo. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered. That predated the virus's appearance in cows.

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2nd person working with cows in Michigan got bird flu, health officials say - CBC.ca

(CBS DETROIT) A second case of H5 influenza, also known as bird flu or avian influenza, was detected in another Michigan farmworker, marking the second human case in Michigan and the third in the country overall.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the new case was reported in a farmworker who worked closely with cows that tested positive for bird flu. That worker was employed at a different farm than the worker in the case announced on May 22.

Officials say the risk to the general public is still low, and the farmworker who tested positive was given antivirals and is currently recovering from respiratory symptoms, including a cough and eye discomfort with a watery discharge. The worker did not have a fever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Household contacts with the infected farmworker haven't developed any symptoms, and no other workers at the same farm have reported bird flu symptoms.

"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," chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said. "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. 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."

Health officials say in both Michigan cases, neither farmworker was wearing full protective gear.

"Proper use of personal protective equipment is the best tool we have to protect farm workers," Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Director Tim Boring said. "MDARD is currently offering assistance to dairy farms in need of additional protective equipment. MDARD has and will continue to take bold actions to assist farms impacted by this disease."

The first case of bird flu in a humanwas detected in a Texas farmworker who was exposed to infected dairy cattle.

Bird flu was first detected in Michigan in dairy herds that arrived in Michigan from Texas, and have since been found in Clinton, Gratiot and Ionia counties.

Earlier this month, Michigan egg producer Herbuck's Poultry Ranch announced that it was laying off about 400 employees. The company said the virus impacted its hen population at some farms in Ionia County.

Michigan's Department of Agriculture and Rural Development issued guidelines for producers to help reduce the spread of avian influenza.

Michigan dairy farms and poultry operations must implement the following, under the order that went into effect on May 8:

Sara Powers is a digital producer for CBS Detroit. A Detroit native, Sara has been covering local topics such as breaking news, politics and entertainment for CBS Detroit since 2021.

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Bird flu reported in second Michigan farmworker, marking third human case in U.S. - CBS News