Third person in US tests positive for bird flu in connection to outbreak in dairy cattle

A third person in the US has tested positive for H5 bird flu in connection to an ongoing outbreak in dairy cattle, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday. This is the second human case reported in the state and the fourth ever in the US.

A third person in the US has tested positive for H5 bird flu in connection to an ongoing outbreak in dairy cattle, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday. This is the second human case reported in the state and the fourth ever in the US. This time, in addition to some of the eye symptoms seen with previous H5N1 cases, the farmworker reported a cough and other respiratory symptoms that are more typical of human influenza infections, the health department said. “This individual had respiratory symptoms, including a cough, congestion, sore throat and watery eyes,” Dr. Nirav Shah, the principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a briefing Thursday. “What the respiratory symptoms tell us, more than anything, is that this virus, like many viruses, can present in more than one way, and for that reason, we should remain alert, not be alarmed,” he added. Experts said that the addition of respiratory symptoms doesn’t necessarily indicate that the virus has become more dangerous or that it may transmit more easily from person to person. Instead, they say, the person probably developed lung symptoms because of the route of infection, perhaps by breathing in infectious aerosols in the milking parlor instead of rubbing their eyes with contaminated hands. “With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for Michigan, said in a news release. “Neither individual was wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). This tells us that direct exposure to infected livestock poses a risk to humans, and that PPE is an important tool in preventing spread among individuals who work on dairy and poultry farms. We have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission, and the current health risk to the general public remains low.”