Another person in the US state of Michigan has contracted bird flu from dairy cows. US public health officials (CDC) stated that 3 people contracted bird flu from dairy cows and one person from poultry, and a total of 4 people across the country have bird flu.
“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has announced a new case of influenza A(H5) in a Michigan farmer who worked closely with influenza A(H5) positive cows,” Michigan Health officials said in a statement yesterday. This worker worked on a different farm than the case announced on May 22. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to emphasize that the risk to the public remains low; this farm worker was quickly given antiviral medications and his respiratory symptoms are improving.”
The CDC said that along with the Michigan case, 3 people have contracted avian influenza linked to the outbreak in dairy cows. “Based on the information currently available, this case does not change CDC’s current A(H5N1) avian influenza human health risk assessment for the United States because all three of the sporadic cases were in direct contact with infected cows. The risk is exposure dependent and in this case the relevant exposure is to infected animals. The risk to the general public, who are not exposed to infected animals, remains low.” In addition to the 3 dairy cow cases, the CDC confirmed that one person has contracted avian influenza from poultry.
“BOTH FARMERS WERE NOT WEARING PROTECTIVE CLOTHING”
Health official Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian said in a statement: “In the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms were caused by direct splashes of infected milk into the eye. In this case, respiratory symptoms developed after direct exposure to an infected cow. Both people were not wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). This shows us that direct exposure to infected animals poses a risk to humans and PPE is an important tool.”
