The risk to the U.S. population remains "low." A total of eight people have been affected by the disease since the spring.
Four new human cases of Bird flu Outbreak were confirmed in the United States by health authorities on Sunday, July 14, bringing to eight the number of people infected since the spring by this disease of animal origin. The infected people are four "farm workers" working on the same poultry farm, explained the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a press release. A fifth case is also suspected and must still be analyzed to be confirmed.
The risk to the U.S. population remains "low," the CDC said. Infected workers suffer from "conjunctivitis" and "flu-like symptoms." An outbreak of Bird flu Outbreak was reported in the U.S. in the spring, with an unusual twist: the disease, which initially primarily affected poultry and birds, is now also affecting cows.
A first infection in Texas , in the southern United States, was announced on April 1. It was then the first known case worldwide of avian flu in a human via a cow. Two other cases were then reported in Michigan . And in early July, another case was identified in Colorado on a cow farm. This western American state is now seeing the disease spread to both livestock and poultry.
Experts are concerned about the growing number of mammals infected with the disease, even though human cases remain rare. They worry that high circulation could facilitate a mutation of the virus that could allow it to jump from one human to another. The CDC has reiterated its call for precautions for workers who come into contact with infected cows or poultry. Additional genetic testing is needed on the new Colorado cases to detect any changes in the virus that could lead to “a change in the risk assessment” by authorities for the public.
It is safe to consume pasteurized milk-Bird flu Outbreak
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed "immense concern" in mid-April over the increasing spread of the H5N1 strain of avian Bird flu Outbreak to new species. Cattle herds in at least nine US states have been affected by the outbreak. The first report was on March 25.
The CDC reiterated Wednesday the importance of precautions for people exposed to sick or potentially infected animals, including avoiding "close, prolonged, and unprotected" contact with the animals, their feces, and raw, unpasteurized milk.