Texas Confirms Its First Human Bird Flu Case – Precision Vaccinations

Austin (Precision Vaccinations News)

Recent reports indicate that the multi-year, global outbreak of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virushas reached the stateof Texas.

In late March 2024, the Texas Animal Health Commission announced that dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle had tested positive for avian influenza A(H5N1).

Subsequently, on April 1, 2024, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) reported one confirmed human case of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus in Texas. The affected person had direct exposure to dairy cattle suspected of being infected with avian influenza.

The patient is being treated with anantiviral drug.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has confirmed the detection of HPAIin fiveadditional dairy herds in Texas.

The USDA reported that the HAPI strain foundis similar to the strain confirmed initially in cattle in Texas and Kansas.

This strainappears to have been introduced by wild birds (H5N1, Eurasian lineage goose/Guangdong clade 2.3.4.4b), which indicates the virusjumped from birds to cows.

Furthermore, these HAPIcases donot change the risk for the general public, which remains low.

However,the DSHS says in today'spress release that this 'bird flu' case is concerning and warrants close monitoring of the situation.

In response, DSHS issued a Health Alertasking healthcare providers around affected dairies to be vigilant for possible human cases and is providing testing and treatment recommendations.

According to TexasFarmbureau.org,Texas's 2023 dairy cattle population includedover 4 million beef cows, 635,000 milk cows, and 4.25 million calves.

Providers should consider the possibility of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection in those with influenza symptoms and relevant exposure history.

This includes people who have had close contact with a person with suspected or confirmed avian influenza A(H5N1) infection, affected animals, or unpasteurized milk from dairy farms with suspected avian influenza A(H5N1) infection.

A close contact is defined as a person who has been within 6 feet of a confirmed or probable avian influenza A(H5N1) case for a prolonged period or has had direct contact with infectious secretions. In contrast, the case was likely to be contagious, beginning one day before illness onset and continuing until the resolution of illness.

From a prevention perspective, bird flu vaccines have been approved and produced as of April 2024.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,about 20 millionH5N1 and12 millionH7N9 vaccines were availablein theNational Strategic Stockpile in 2023.

One vaccine, CSL Seqirus Inc.Audenz monovalent, adjuvanted,cell-basedinactivatedsubunit vaccine, received its initial U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationApproval inJanuary 2020.

These bird flu vaccines are not commercially available in the United States. Moreover, the CDC says annual flu shots do not offer protection against this type of influenza virus.

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Texas Confirms Its First Human Bird Flu Case - Precision Vaccinations