Category: Flu Virus

Bird flu is always a concern for health officials, not only for its effects on food supply chains, but for its potential for causing infections in humans. However, rarely, if ever, do humans contract this virus.

But the Texas Department of State Health Services reported on April 1 that a person contracted H5N1, a strain of bird flu.

The agency indicated the persons only symptom is eye inflammation. The person was infected by cattle, a development that could be a cause for concern, according to Sam Scarpino, a public health expert and professor at Northeastern University.

Bird flu has been around for basically as long as weve been thinking about human flu, Scarpino says. Its a pretty persistent problem because its always spilling over into mammals, including humans. It affects domestic bird population, poultry, et cetera. Its something that were persistently worried about causing another pandemic, and were paying attention to it a lot.

The types of flu found in birds often dont make their way to humans. These flus primarily infect birds gastrointestinal system, which means the cell receptors for the virus are in the gut of the bird. The same cell receptors can be found in humans lower respiratory tract.

That means its harder to get infected because the virus has to get in deeper, past more of the innate immune system, Scarpino said. But lower respiratory infections are bad and you also then are infected with something that youre totally naive too and your immune system goes haywire.

These infections also can range from mild to severe with high fatality rates. However, given the way the virus travels, it usually doesnt transmit from birds to humans.

Basically every modern influenza pandemic going back to 1918 and probably pre-1918 had at its origin of bird flu, Scarpino said. However, that bird flu will have almost certainly spent time in some intermediate host before it caused a human pandemic.

In this case, the virus was found in cattle that likely served as an intermediary host. The specific variant, H5N1, is one found more often than humans.

This bird flu has also moved from sea birds to seals and sea lions, killing thousands across the globe.

The jump between species, along with risk to humans posed by this particular strain, is why public health officials are watching the situation, Scarpino said.

The reason that were having this conversation is because everybodys worried about the chance of a pandemic that could be sparked by the transition from a bird flu into a human flu, Scarpino said. The level of concern in terms of human health is low. (But) the concern that I have is everything happening right now is pretty unprecedented.

Historically, there have not been a lot of bird flu cases in cattle up until now, Scarpino said. This case could be a fluke and the result of some shifts in cattle movement this year.

Whether the infection is something likely to spread to humans depends on what caused it to spread to cattle and what happens if the cows are spreading it to each other.

Scarpino said the fact the person with the flu only has eye symptoms is promising because it shows the virus may not be readily transmissible. But Scarpino said public health officials need to determine if how and why its spreading to cattle in order to assess the risk to people.

Its possible its just bad luck, he said. Its totally possible that something unusual happened in Texas. The problem is I havent seen a really compelling explanation for whats going on aside from it was just bad luck. Sort of hoping something was bad luck is not great public health policy. Were sort of assuming the cows are more like horses which means theyre a bit more susceptible to bird flu and so its not a big risk but Id love to have that assumption tested.

Scarpino said pasteurization prevents the virus from infecting milk products. However, the infections could cause a dip in supply that could lead to an increase in prices.

If we look at it in terms of the food supply supply, we talked about how theres massive culling of poultry to prevent this, said Darin Detwiler, an associate teaching professor of food policy and food safety expert at Northeastern University. This causes disruption within our supply systems, results in economic losses within the industry and consumers end up paying more for these products.

Ditwiler said there could also be a ban on food products from certain areas where bird flu has spread.

But overall, he said, the average person doesnt have reason to be too worried about bird flu yet.

If youre not interacting with animals, you dont need to necessarily be concerned, Ditwiler added. As always, I think consumers should make educated decisions and always buy food from trusted sources. Dont buy meat from some guys pickup truck on the county highway down by the river. Now is not the time.

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How Worried Should You Be About Bird Flu? - Northeastern University

Bird flu case confirmed in Texas in person who had exposure to dairy cattle Livestock in Texas, Kansas and Michigan are confirmed to have the virus, and herds in New Mexico and Idaho have also tested positive. Officials confirmed that one person in Texas also had bird flu.

Dairy cattle feed at a farm on March 31, 2017, near Vado, N.M. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says cows in multiple states have tested positive for bird flu. Rodrigo Abd/AP hide caption

Dairy cattle feed at a farm on March 31, 2017, near Vado, N.M. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says cows in multiple states have tested positive for bird flu.

Livestock at multiple dairy farms across the U.S. have tested positive for bird flu also known as highly pathogenic avian influenza, or HPAI in an outbreak that's likely spread to at least five states.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confirmed Friday that cows in Texas, Kansas and Michigan had been sickened by the virus, and there were presumptive positive test results for additional herds in New Mexico and Idaho.

It's the first time the disease has been found in dairy cattle, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

On Monday, the Texas Department of State Health Services announced that a person who was exposed to dairy cattle presumed to be infected with bird flu had also caught the virus.

It is only the second time a human in the U.S. has contracted HPAI A, or H5N1, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A person in contact with infected poultry was sickened in Colorado in 2022.

Texas issued a public health alert Monday, asking health care providers in the state to be on the lookout for people with symptoms of bird flu who may have been exposed to an infected person or animal.

The new cases come just days after a group of young goats contracted bird flu on a Minnesota farm.

Bird flu infects the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts of birds and is often fatal to avian populations. It can spread from wild birds to commercial poultry and backyard flocks as well as terrestrial and marine mammals and humans.

Government officials say the risk to the public amid the current outbreak remains low. Most past human infections have occurred after people had "unprotected exposures to sick or dead infected poultry," according to the CDC, and it's rare for a human to transmit the disease to another person.

Officials say the strain of the virus detected in Michigan is similar to the one found in Texas and Kansas, which was shown through initial testing not to include any changes that would make it more transmissible to humans.

The rash of bird flu infections should also not dramatically impact consumers of dairy products, federal and state officials say.

"The good news is this is not a serious problem," Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller told NPR on Sunday. "It's not going to bankrupt anybody. Cows basically have the flu for a week, and they get over it."

The country's commercial dairy supply is safe and a milk recall is unnecessary, the USDA says.

That's because dairies are required to divert or destroy any milk from impacted livestock, and only milk from healthy cows can be processed for human consumption.

Additionally, pasteurization which is required for milk entering interstate commerce kills bacteria and viruses, including influenza.

The Food and Drug Administration says there is limited information available about the transmission of bird flu in raw, unpasteurized milk. The agency has long warned people to avoid raw milk, which it says can harbor dangerous bacteria and sicken consumers.

Federal officials say the loss of milk from ill dairy cows is too limited to significantly impact the commercial supply, which is typically higher in the spring due to increased seasonal production. Dairy prices are not expected to rise due to the outbreak, they added.

The USDA believes the dairy cows have been sickened by a strain called H5N1, Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b, which was likely introduced by wild birds. Pigeons, blackbirds and grackles were identified at the affected Texas farms.

But federal officials are also not ruling out the possibility of cow-to-cow transmission. That's after a Michigan farm recently received a shipment of cattle from an affected Texas farm before any of the cows show signs of disease, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said Friday.

While there are still many unknowns, the available evidence collected from infected cattle isn't alarming to Richard Webby, a virologist from Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

"There's nothing in the sequence of the virus that sort of immediately screams that it has changed, and that's why these cows are getting infected," he said. "It just seems to be fairly typical of the viruses that have been detected in birds in various regions."

Cows sickened by bird flu at affected dairy farms have recovered "after isolation with little to no associated mortality reported," according to the USDA.

Texas officials said Monday that the person who tested positive for bird flu had reported eye inflammation, or conjunctivitis, as their only symptom. They were told to isolate and were being treated with oseltamivir, an antiviral drug.

Federal and state agencies are continuing to test sick livestock and unpasteurized milk samples.

The USDA also recommends that farmers and their veterinarians practice "good biosecurity," which includes limiting animal movements, testing livestock before they're moved and isolating sick cows.

NPR's Will Stone contributed reporting.

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Bird flu case confirmed in Texas in person who had exposure to dairy cattle - NPR

ATLANTA (AP) A person in Texas has been diagnosed with bird flu, an infection tied to the recent discovery of the virus in dairy cows, health officials said Monday.

The patient was being treated with an antiviral drug and their only reported symptom was eye redness, Texas health officials said. Health officials say the person had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low.

It marks the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal, federal health officials said.

However, theres no evidence of person-to-person spread or that anyone has become infected from milk or meat from livestock, said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Genetic tests dont suggest that the virus suddenly is spreading more easily or that it is causing more severe illness, Shah said. And current antiviral medications still seem to work, he added.

Last week, dairy cows in Texas and Kansas were reported to be infected with bird flu and federal agriculture officials later confirmed infections in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas. None of the hundreds of affected cows have died, Shah said.

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. However, the detection in U.S. livestock is an unexpected and problematic twist, said Dr. Ali Khan, a former CDC outbreak investigator who is now dean of the University of Nebraskas public health college.

This bird flu was first identified as a threat to people during a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong. More than 460 people have died in the past two decades from bird flu infections, according to the World Health Organization.

The vast majority of infected people got it directly from birds, but scientists have been on guard for any sign of spread among people.

Texas officials didnt identify the newly infected person, nor release any details about what brought them in contact with the cows.

The CDC does not recommend testing for people who have no symptoms. Roughly a dozen people in Texas who did have symptoms were tested in connection with the dairy cow infections, but only the one person came back positive, Shah said.

Its only the second time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with whats 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, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered.

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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Person is diagnosed with bird flu after being in contact with cows in Texas - The Associated Press

When the avian flu known as H5N1 spreads from birds to other species, the infected animal typically recovers or dies without passing on the virus. But in a surprising twist last week, scientists discovered that dairy cows in Texas apparently spread H5N1, or avian flu, to a farm worker who later tested positive, and might have been spreading it among themselves, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday.

Since then, cows in Kansas, New Mexico and Idaho have also fallen ill; the diseasewhich has killed millions of poultry animals worldwide since 2022is also suspected in Idaho. No other human cases have so far been announced.

None of the affected mammals, bovine or human, appears to be seriously ill, and no infections have been reported in Maryland, but the development is still cause for worry, said Mostafa Ghanem, an assistant professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Maryland who studies infectious disease.

If its proven this kind of lateral transmission is occurring in mammals, that changes the rules of game, Ghanem said. Its very concerning, and it means more, and more complex, measures are going to be needed to guard against it.

He spoke on Tuesday to Maryland Today about safety measures that farms can take, how avian flu has changed and whether our milk supply is at risk.

The latest infections put us in uncharted territory.

Prior to the March 25 announcement about the Texas farm, no dairy cows had ever been infected by bird flu, let alone transmitted it to other cows, according to the USDA. The as-yet unproven possibility that they spread it to a farm worker who came in contact with them pushes the case further beyond the norm, Ghanem said. In the United States, only one person had ever been infected by bird flu, in 2022, and the only other ruminant animal that contracted it was a baby goat. In addition, he said, while H5N1 is an RNA virus thats highly prone to evolution and changing all the time, in the recent cases, analysis has shown no indication that a virus mutation made it better able to infect mammal hosts or spread more easily among peoplea good thing, he said.

H5N1 is a killerbut rarely of cows or humans.

Avian influenza is most deadly to domestic poultry, where mortality can approach 100% in some outbreaks, and is generally spread by wild fowl, which can be infected and recover, or even remain largely asymptomatic. The infected dairy cows may have a fever, give less milk or poor-quality milk and eat less. The only symptom shown by the man infected in Texas, meanwhile, is a mild case of conjunctivitis, aka pink eye. Human infections with avian influenza A viruses, including H5N1, are uncommon but have occurred sporadically worldwide, and the risk of infection for general public remains low, Ghanem said.

Avian flu has changed UMD-led research in recent years has shown that what used to be a seasonal flu is increasingly taking on a year-round character. Weve had avian flu over the summer the past two years, which means things are changing and the time of risk is lasting longer and longer, Ghanem said. The avian flu outbreak that has been surging since 2022 has poultry farmers boosting biosecurity measures to keep chickens and other species away from wild birdsmeasures that in large part have proven effective, he said.

Farmersand backyard chicken farmersmust boost their vigilance.

Cattle operations may now have to grapple with similar considerations as poultry operations, managing wild bird contact with herds and protecting water sources from contamination by birdsthe route by which the Texas cattle are suspected to have been infected. Finally, farmers must closely monitor data on cows feeding, milk production and other behaviors. Its pretty easy to see when something is wrong, he said. But it will be crucial to quarantine that animal until you have test results to avoid spreading through the herd.

In addition, the rising number of infected wild birds is increasing the chance that the heritage breed hens that provide your breakfast eggs could fall victim to the virus, meaning its time to take steps to avoid attracting wild birds to your property, and keep your poultry security enclosed.

Our food is safe.

Milk from sick cows isnt allowed into the food supply, Ghanem said, and regardless, any milk thats part of interstate commerce is required to be pasteurized. That treatment kills any potentially infectious microbes, just as cooking meat to a safe temperature does, he said. In addition, he said, the situation is being closely monitored nationwide, with health authorities taking necessary precautions to prevent further spread of the virus and protect animals and food supply.

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Avian Flu's Recent Spread 'Changes the Rules of the Game' - Maryland Today

The largest producer of fresh eggs in the U.S. said Tuesday it had temporarily halted production at a Texas plant after bird flu was found in chickens, and officials said the virus had also been detected at a poultry facility in Michigan.

Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. said in a statement that approximately 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, about 3.6% of its total flock, were destroyed after the infection, avian influenza, was found at a facility in Parmer County, Texas.

The plant is on the Texas-New Mexico border in the Texas Panhandle about 85 miles (137 kilometers) southwest of Amarillo and about 370 miles (595 kilometers) northwest of Dallas. Cal-Maine said it sells most of its eggs in the Southwestern, Southeastern, Midwestern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

The Company continues to work closely with federal, state and local government officials and focused industry groups to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks and effectively manage the response, the statement said.

AP correspondent Ed Donahue reports on the latest case of bird flu.

Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers, the statement said.

The company said there is no known bird flu risk associated with eggs that are currently in the market and no eggs have been recalled.

Eggs that are properly handled and cooked are safe to eat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The announcement by Cal-Maine comes a day after state health officials said a person had been diagnosed with bird flu after being in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and that the risk to the public remains low. The human case in Texas marks the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal, federal health officials said.

In Michigan, Michigan State Universitys Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has detected bird flu in a commercial poultry facility in Ionia County, according to the Michigans Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The county is about 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Detroit.

The department said it received confirmation of the disease Monday from the lab and that it is the fourth time since 2022 that the disease was detected at a commercial facility in Michigan.

Department spokesperson Jennifer Holton said Tuesday that state law prohibits the department from disclosing the type of poultry at the facility. The facility has been placed under quarantine and the department does not anticipate any disruptions to supply chains across the state, Holton said.

Dairy cows in Texas and Kansas were reported to be infected with bird flu last week and federal agriculture officials later confirmed infections in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas. A dairy herd in Idaho has been added to the list after federal agriculture officials confirmed the detection of bird flu in them, according to a Tuesday press release from the USDA.

_____ Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this report.

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The largest fresh egg producer in the US has found bird flu in chickens at a Texas plant - The Associated Press

Texas health officials reported Monday that an individual who had been in contact with cattle has contracted H5N1 avian flu, only the second case ever recorded in the U.S.

The person had contact with dairy cattle that are believed to have been infected with the virus, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement. It went on to say that the individuals only symptom is eye inflammation infection of the conjunctiva, the tissue surrounding the eye.

Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the infected individual is doing well and is being treated with the influenza antiviral oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu. The individual was instructed to isolate to reduce the risk of infecting others, and to date theres no indication of onward spread, Shah said.

We are not aware of reports that any of this individuals close contacts have developed any symptoms, he told STAT.

The person was tested late last week, with confirmatory testing taking place at the CDC over the weekend. The CDC is not currently running any other confirmatory H5 tests, Shah said. The fact that there are not other samples cooking right now is reassuring, insofar as that were not aware of other individuals who are symptomatic following an exposure to livestock, he added.

We are still out there looking, to be very clear, he said. Our antennae are up and we have been working with state public health officials in a number of jurisdictions to look for individuals who report signs and symptoms of illness, to make sure they know how to get tested.

Three states Texas, Kansas, and Michigan have recently reported they have had confirmed H5N1 outbreaks in cattle; New Mexico and Idaho have also reported outbreaks in cattle that are presumed to have been caused by H5N1. The virus doesnt kill the cattle, but milk production is lowered and the animals feeding is reduced.

Owners of implicated herds have been told to destroy milk produced by infected cattle, though if milk from infected animals made its way into the food chain, pasteurization could kill the virus, the CDC statement said.

Up until now, cows have not been on the ever-lengthening list of animals that have been known to be susceptible to this virus. Infections of the highly pathogenic bird flu a term that describes how it behaves in poultry have been detected in many other mammals, though, including big cats, bears, foxes, skunks, sea lions, and seals.

Despite the alarming increase in the past few years of the viruss geographic range and the number of species it has been seen to infect, both the World Health Organization and the CDC currently assess its risk to people as low. The news of the case in Texas does not change that, Shah said.

H5N1 bird flu has been high on the worry list of experts on emerging diseases for the past two decades. Over that time there have been nearly 900 human infections in 23 countries; just over half of those infections have been fatal. But in recent years the strain of the virus circulating in many parts of the world including the United States seems to trigger human infections less frequently than earlier versions of the virus did. And when human cases caused by this strain occur, they are typically mild.

A case in point was the countrys first H5 infection, which occurred in 2022. A man who was involved in culling infected poultry in Colorado reported feeling fatigued; he tested positive for the virus. It was unclear if he was actually even infected or simply had viruses in his nose that were picked up by a nasal swab test.

The low rate of human infections and the mildness of most cases when they occur has counterbalanced concern about the viruss astonishing spread. But people who have studied influenza and this virus in particular for years do not know what to make of its movement into so many different animal species.

Richard Webby, an influenza virologist who heads the WHO Collaborating Center for Studies on the Ecology of Influenza in Animals at St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., called the infections in cows a head scratcher, saying he would not have figured cattle to be on the list of animals susceptible to this virus.

This particular version of H5 is teaching us a number of things we thought we knew werent right, Webby said. He termed the news of the Texas case not unexpected, but always a concern.

Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesotas Center for Infectious Diseases Research and Policy, said the move into cows expands the virus range, but Im not sure what it portends for humans and swine.

Osterholm said he would be more concerned if there were word that the virus had been found to be infecting pigs. Pigs can be infected with human and avian flu viruses and co-infection of more than one type of virus in pigs can produce reassortants hybrid viruses that might be more able to infect people.

As of now, he believes the risk H5N1 poses is not changed by the infection of cattle.

This all could change in a heartbeat with additional mutations. But theres no evidence this virus has changed, Osterholm said.

This story has been updated with comments from CDC and other infectious disease experts.

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Bird flu reported in person exposed to presumably infected cattle - STAT

A person in Texas has tested positive for bird flu after being in contact with dairy cows that were likely infected with the virus, health officials announced on Monday (April 1).

The individual's only reported symptom was eye redness, likely caused by an infection of the eye called conjunctivitis. The person is now isolating and being treated with an antiviral drug for influenza, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This is the second reported case of a human in the U.S. being infected with a type of "highly pathogenic" avian influenza virus called A(H5N1) and the first person to likely be infected by cows. The first human case in the U.S. was in 2022 and involved a prisoner in Colorado who had been culling infected poultry at a commercial farm as part of a pre-release employment program.

H5N1 is a subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), a type of flu that can cause severe disease and death in birds. The virus causes outbreaks in both poultry and wild birds but can also spread to mammals. In the past few years, the virus has been reported in more than 48 mammal species, including foxes, skunks, raccoons, seals and polar bears.

Now, the virus has made its way to cows. The announcement of a person likely catching H5N1 from cattle comes one week after dairy cows in Texas and Kansas tested positive for the virus, and two weeks after the disease was found in goats for the first time. H5N1 has since been detected in cows in New Mexico, Michigan and Idaho.

Health officials say the risk of humans being infected remains low and that, as milk is pasteurized before being sold, dairy products remain safe. The meat supply is also safe, and cooking meat to safe internal temperatures kills viruses like influenza.

Nonetheless, the spread of H5N1 among mammal species is concerning scientists, especially if it's a sign that the virus is now capable of mammal-to-mammal transmission.

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"Mammal-to-mammal transmission has been suspected for a while, but not confirmed. If sequencing confirms this, it would be a pretty worrying step in the evolution of the virus," Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist and statistical geneticist at the Queen Mary University of London, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "If mammal-to-mammal transmission can occur, that raises the possibility of the potential of human to human transmission."

About 860 human cases of H5N1 have previously been reported worldwide. The mortality rate is around 60%, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), although the CDC notes some cases cause no or few symptoms. Symptoms can include a cold, cough and fever, and the infections are typically treated with the same antivirals used for seasonal flu.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.

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Person in Texas catches H5N1 bird flu in 1st probable case of cow-to-human transmission - Livescience.com

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As avian influenza (bird flu) continues to spread among wild birds in the European Union, officials are warning of the potential for a future human pandemic.

On Wednesday, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an alert noting that "transmission between bird and mammal species has been observed, particularly in fur animal farms, where outbreaks have been reported."

Although it is rare for infected birds to pass along the virus to humans, the agency warned that new strains could pose a danger in the future.

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"These viruses continue to evolve globally, and with the migration of wild birds, new strains carrying potential mutations for mammalian adaptation could be selected," the alert stated.

"If avian A (H5N1) influenza viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, largescale transmission could occur due to the lack of immune defenses against H5 viruses in humans."

As avian influenza (bird flu) continues to spread among wild birds in the European Union, officials are warning of the potential for a future human pandemic. (iStock)

In other words, humans dont have immunity against bird flu which means it could potentially spread quickly.

The flu has been found to spread between birds and mammals, the EFSA noted "particularly in fur animal farms, where outbreaks have been reported."

US TUBERCULOSIS CASES IN 2023 WERE AT HIGHEST LEVEL IN A DECADE, CDC SAYS

To prevent the risk of a bird flu pandemic, the agency recommended taking steps to limit exposure and prevent the spread to mammals and humans.

"Key options for actions include enhancing surveillance targeting humans and animals, ensuring access to rapid diagnostics, promoting collaboration between animal and human sectors, and implementing preventive measures such as vaccination," the EFSA wrote.

"People with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection," the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. (iStock)

"Effective communication to different involved target audiences should be emphasized, as well as strengthening veterinary infrastructure, enforcing biosecurity measures at farms, and reducing wildlife contact with domestic animals."

The agency also called for "careful planning of poultry and fur animal farming," particularly in locations with large numbers of waterfowl (aquatic birds like ducks and geese).

On Monday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that a person in Texas tested positive for H5N1 bird flu.

"This person had exposure to dairy cattle in Texas presumed to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses," the CDCs statement said.

CDC WARNS OF INVASIVE BACTERIAL OUTBREAK AMID SPIKE IN CASES AND FATALITY RATES: 'RARE BUT SEVERE'

"The patient reported eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis), as their only symptom, and is recovering. The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu."

The CDC said this is the second case of a human testing positive for H5N1 in the U.S., after a previous case was observed in Colorado in 2022.

"If avian A (H5N1) influenza viruses acquire the ability to spread efficiently among humans, largescale transmission could occur due to the lack of immune defenses against H5 viruses in humans," the European Food Safety Authority said. (iStock)

"This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low," it added.

"However, people with close or prolonged, unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals (including livestock), or to environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection."

"At present, it does not transmit readily from person to person."

The CDC said it is "working with state health departments to continue to monitor workers who may have been in contact with infected or potentially infected birds/animals and test those people who develop symptoms."

Human symptoms can range from mild (e.g., eye infection, upper respiratory symptoms) to severe illness (e.g., pneumonia), according to the CDC.

Erica Susky, a Toronto-based medical microbiologist certified in infection control, said she believes there is generally "not a high risk" of human-to-human transmission, given that "the natural reservoir" of H5N1 and other strains of avian influenza is birds and not humans.

"Cases of H5N1 in humans usually occur in people who have had contact with birds (slaughter, de-feathering, butchering or preparing)," she told Fox News Digital.

The EU agency called for "careful planning of poultry and fur animal farming," particularly in locations with large numbers of waterfowl. (iStock)

While bird flu has a 60% fatality in humans, Susky noted, it rarely occurs.

"At present, it does not transmit readily from person to person," she said.

The primary concern involves the influenza virus, she said, which is "excellent at mutating and recombining."

"If there are repeated contacts between species that are the natural reservoir for one type of influenza viral strain like birds and H5N1 and humans, the chances of this novel strain adapting to spread in this different species increases," Susky told Fox News Digital.

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"As there are more cases of H5N1, there are more chances for a crossover event into humans."

Some of the biggest sources of spread, Susky said, are industrial agriculture and modern cities, where a virus like influenza can pass readily through human and bird populations.

"Currently, birds share influenza strains less often with humans, though that can change it is how past influenza pandemics have arisen," she said.

The CDC on Monday announced that a person in Texas tested positive for H5N1 bird flu. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo)

To prevent spread, Susky recommended practicing proper infection prevention techniques, which is important not only for bird flu, but also for seasonal influenza.

Those techniques include following proper and frequent hand hygiene before preparing food, eating or touching ones face, and after using the washroom or coming in contact with animals.

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Other mitigation strategies include receiving the annual influenza vaccine for those who qualify, and not going out among other people while feeling ill.

"The best way to minimize ones risk of coming in contact with novel influenza strains is to avoid contact with birds and wild animals, if possible," Susky added.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman contributed to this report.

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Bird flu pandemic in future? EU warns of potential spread to humans due to 'lack of immune defense - Fox News

The human patient had a mutation, PB2 E627K, which is linked to the virus adapting to mammalian hosts

The recent confirmation of a second human case of H5N1 avian influenza in the United States has reignited anxieties about a potential bird flu pandemic. This follows months of widespread outbreaks in wild birds and poultry flocks, causing significant economic damage and raising concerns about the virus's potential to jump species.

On April 1, 2024, a case of a Texas dairy worker contracting H5N1 after exposure to infected cows was reported, raising questions about the viruss potential for human-to-human transmission. A dozen cow herds in six states and three cats in Texas have also died due to infection.

The White House, on April 3, 2024, said it is closely tracking and monitoring the situation. The US reported its first-ever human case of H5N1 bird flu in 2022.

Read more:First cases of avian flu found in Antarctic region

Meanwhile, the virus may be fast spreading in Antarctic Peninsula region. An expedition of scientists from Federation University, Australia found the carcasses of 532 Adlie penguins on a small part of an island, and suspect the casualties may be much higher, going into several thousands.

Although the researchers believe this was caused by high-pathogenicity avian influenza, virus presence has not been confirmed and additional testing will be conducted in the coming months to determine the cause of death.

The human patient had a mutation, PB2 E627K, which is linked to the virus adapting to mammalian hosts, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The development is concerning, as bird flu viruses typically dont infect humans. However, rare cases of human infection have occurred with some of these viruses, according to CDC. However, the mutation has been detected earlier.

Overall, the genetic analysis of HPAI A(H5N1) viruses in Texas supports CDCs conclusion that the human health risk currently remains low, CDC said in a statement.

Read more:We should only worry about bird flu making us sick when we see human-to-human transmission

However, some experts have raised concerns regarding the virulence and mortality of the virus, warning about a bird flu pandemic. According to United Kingdom based news website Daily Mail, experts have warned that a bird flu pandemic could be 100 times worse than COVID and kill up to half of those infected.

'I think this is a virus that has the greatest pandemic threat [that is] playing out in plain sight and is globally present, Dr Suresh Kuchipudi, a bird flu researcher in Pittsburgh, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail report.

The report also mentioned that the infection has been observed in various mammals such as cows, cats, and humans, which raises concerns about the virus potentially mutating to become more easily transmissible, the report added. However, other experts have also pointed out it was too early to panic because there were still too many unknowns about recent cases to warrant sounding an alarm, it added.

The virus has long been on the radar of experts as a pandemic risk.

Read more:French bird flu vaccine for ducks may be launched soon

A recent study, published in journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, indicated that the avian influenza A virus subtype H5N1 entered a significant panzootic phase between 2020 and 2023, akin to a pandemic within the animal kingdom.

Researchers analysed data on infected mammals from 59 scientific articles spanning two distinct periods: 20202023 and 20032019. The study highlights the potential risks posed to human health by mammalian adaptation of the virus, noting a lack of comprehensive information on the current panzootic event (20202023).

In 2005, the World Health Organization (WHO) and influenza experts worldwide had expressed concerns over the spread of the avian flu virus. The global health agency predicted that, even in the best-case scenarios, the pandemic could lead to 2 to 7 million deaths and tens of millions needing medical care.

According to a 2007 research paper published in International Journal of Health Sciences, The first ominous sign that avian influenza viruses (H5N1) could directly infect humans from avian species on a large scale occurred in 1997 in Hong Kong, resulting in 18 documented cases and six fatalities.

Read more:Learning from COVID-19: Heres what is needed to prepare for the next global health emergency

India reported its first and only case of human avian influenza A(H5N1) in Haryana on July 21, 2021.

The current strain causing worry, H5N1, has been circulating aggressively in birds across the globe since late 2021. Wild birds are natural carriers of this virus, and their migratory patterns contribute to its rapid spread. This has resulted in a significant increase in confirmed bird flu cases compared to past years. Since January 1, 2022, the US Department Of Agriculture has reported close to 9,500 cases in wild birds.

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Bird flu's growing threat? After human case from infected cow in Texas, over 500 penguins found dead in Antarctica - Down To Earth Magazine

The largest producer of fresh eggs in the United States said Tuesday that it has stopped production at a Texas plant afterbird fluwas found in chickens there.

Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. said in a statement that approximately 1.6 million laying hens and 337,000 pullets, about 3.6% of its total flock, were destroyed after the infection, avian influenza, was found at the facility in Parmer County, Texas.

This is absolutely devastating news for Cal-Maine and the entire Panhandle region which has already suffered so much already. Given this latest development, all producers must practice heightened biosecurity measures. The rapid spread of this virus means we must act quickly.

The plant is on the Texas-New Mexico border in the Texas Panhandle about 85 miles southwest of Amarillo and about 370 miles northwest of Dallas.

The company continues to work closely with federal, state and local government officials and focused industry groups to mitigate the risk of future outbreaks and effectively manage the response, according to the statement. "Cal-Maine Foods is working to secure production from other facilities to minimize disruption to its customers."

The company said there is no known bird flu risk associated with eggs that are currently in the market and no eggs have been recalled. Miller echoed the statement, saying the risk to the public is minimal.

The current risk to the public remains minimal, Miller said. "It is important for us as an industry to maintain a high level of vigilance. State and national agencies will continue to provide updated guidance as developments warrant."

Eggs that are properly handled and cooked are safe to eat,according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The announcement by Cal-Maine comes a day afterstate health officials saida person had been diagnosed with bird flu after being in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and that the risk to the public remains low.

The human case marks the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal, federal health officials said.

Dairy cows in Texas and Kansaswere reportedto be infected with bird flu last week and federal agriculture officials later confirmed infections in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently received cows from Texas.

Cal-Maine sells the majority of its eggs in the Southwestern, Southeastern, Midwestern and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, the company said.

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Largest US fresh egg producer halts production at Texas plant after bird flu found in chickens - NBC DFW