Bird flu, or avian influenza, might be lethal in birds however usually doesn’t infect individuals. Whereas some strains have prompted critical illness and even demise in people, most trigger comparatively gentle signs.
Within the U.S., two individuals have been identified to be contaminated with avian influenza: one individual in 2022, and one other earlier this 12 months. In a report revealed Friday within the New England Journal of Medicine—amid rising concern over infections leaping from birds to cows—well being officers from the united statesCenters for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) and Texas Division of State Well being Companies present particulars on the newest human case.
In accordance with the report, a dairy farm employee in Texas developed redness and a few drainage from his proper eye in late March. As a result of the Texas Animal Well being Fee and the U.S. Division of Agriculture had reported on the finish of March that fowl flu viruses have been detected in two Texas and two Kansas dairy farms, veterinarians within the space have been alert for signs of an infection in sick cows and in individuals. A vet referred the dairy employee for testing at a Texas Division of State Well being Companies subject workplace, in keeping with a spokesperson for the division. He didn’t develop any fever or problem respiration—that are among the many potential signs of an infection—and his imaginative and prescient remained regular. Dr. Scott Milton, a regional well being director for the division, took swabs from the employee’s eyes and again of his throat, and these have been analyzed on the Texas Tech Bioterrorism Response Laboratory in Lubbock, the place preliminary outcomes have been constructive for extremely pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI)A and A(H5).
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Health officials advised the man to isolate at home and prescribed the antiviral drug oseltamivir for five days to him as well as to members of his household to protect them from infection. So far, there have not been reports of sustained spread of avian influenza from person to person, but the antiviral medications were prescribed in an abundance of caution. The redness in his eyes resolved after several days, and the worker never developed any respiratory problems.
Additional analysis of the worker’s samples by researchers at the CDC labs in Atlanta confirmed the specific type of avian influenza involved, HPAI 2.3.4.4b A(H5N1), which has recently been detected in bird and cattle populations. Such bird flu strains generally circulate among avian species, but there have been cases of human infections reported in 23 countries over the past 20 years, according to the new report. Overall, the virus has a 50% mortality rate—but that could reflect a skewed population of people with more susceptible immune systems who are vulnerable to infection, since many cases lead to mild or no symptoms, or symptoms that aren’t reported.
The strain in the dairy worker was “closely related” to those found in dairy cattle and birds in Texas during that time, according to the NEJM report. But the genetic analysis was a mixed bag of reassuring and concerning news. The strain that infected the dairy worker does have a change that helps it adapt to infecting mammals, including people. But it does not contain changes that would make it resistant to current antiviral treatments. The virus is also close enough to versions that researchers have used to create candidate vaccines that could be made available if the virus begins to spread from person to person, which has not happened yet.
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Well being officers from the U.S. Meals and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Division of Agriculture (USDA) proceed to check milk, cottage cheese, bitter cream, and beef to observe for the virus. Whereas about 20% of milk bought in shops incorporates fragments of the avian influenza virus, these viruses should not energetic, in keeping with the latest FDA tests. The company says that the pasteurization course of is designed to kill viruses like HPAI, and due to this fact advises in opposition to consuming any unpasteurized dairy merchandise, resembling uncooked milk.
