A Texas resident contracted avian flu after coming into contact with cows
Source: rbc
This is the first case of human infection with avian influenza virus in the state and the second in the history of the United States; the first was registered in 2022. The sick person is a dairy farm worker who has been in contact with infected cows.
In Texas, an employee of a dairy farm was diagnosed with avian flu after contact with infected cows, Politico and The New York Times write. In early April, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture of the United States confirmed the presence of the disease among cattle in this state, as well as in Kansas and Michigan.
This is the first case of human infection with the avian influenza virus type A (H5N1) in Texas and the second in the country's history. The first was registered in April 2022 in Colorado — the patient participated in the slaughter of poultry at an agricultural enterprise, where infection of livestock with this virus was confirmed.
Initially, the farm employee went to the doctors complaining of conjunctivitis, but later he passed a positive test for avian flu. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the patient is being treated with an antiviral drug. Politico, citing sources, writes that the disease is mild, the person is on the mend.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is a highly contagious and often fatal disease of poultry caused by the avian influenza virus. It can be transmitted from wild birds to poultry and other species of birds and animals. Among humans, "the virus has not acquired the ability to actively transmit," the World Health Organization notes; no signs of human-to-human transmission have yet been identified.
According to the CDC, initial tests did not show that the virus has mutated and is able to be transmitted more easily from animal to human. "Although cases of the disease among people in direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk to the population remains low," the agency noted.
Nevertheless, the White House is closely monitoring the development of the situation, and the Office of Emergency Preparedness regularly receives information from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health. The FDA said the U.S. has a stockpile of avian flu vaccines.
The H5N1 virus was first detected in 1996 in geese in China. In 1997, there were reports of human infection during an outbreak of influenza among poultry in Hong Kong. Since 2003, avian influenza has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, and in 2021 to America; in the United States, it has affected more than 82 million farmed birds, writes the NYT.
This is the first case of human infection with the avian influenza virus type A (H5N1) in Texas and the second in the country's history. The first was registered in April 2022 in Colorado — the patient participated in the slaughter of poultry at an agricultural enterprise, where infection of livestock with this virus was confirmed.
Initially, the farm employee went to the doctors complaining of conjunctivitis, but later he passed a positive test for avian flu. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the patient is being treated with an antiviral drug. Politico, citing sources, writes that the disease is mild, the person is on the mend.
Highly pathogenic avian influenza is a highly contagious and often fatal disease of poultry caused by the avian influenza virus. It can be transmitted from wild birds to poultry and other species of birds and animals. Among humans, "the virus has not acquired the ability to actively transmit," the World Health Organization notes; no signs of human-to-human transmission have yet been identified.
According to the CDC, initial tests did not show that the virus has mutated and is able to be transmitted more easily from animal to human. "Although cases of the disease among people in direct contact with infected animals are possible, this indicates that the current risk to the population remains low," the agency noted.
Nevertheless, the White House is closely monitoring the development of the situation, and the Office of Emergency Preparedness regularly receives information from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Health. The FDA said the U.S. has a stockpile of avian flu vaccines.
The H5N1 virus was first detected in 1996 in geese in China. In 1997, there were reports of human infection during an outbreak of influenza among poultry in Hong Kong. Since 2003, avian influenza has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa, and in 2021 to America; in the United States, it has affected more than 82 million farmed birds, writes the NYT.
