{"id":1037,"date":"2024-05-23T16:34:48","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/bird-flu-reported-in-michigan-farm-worker-is-second-human-case-linked-with-ongoing-outbreak\/"},"modified":"2024-05-23T16:34:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T16:34:48","slug":"bird-flu-reported-in-michigan-farm-worker-is-second-human-case-linked-with-ongoing-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/retirednurseblog.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/23\/bird-flu-reported-in-michigan-farm-worker-is-second-human-case-linked-with-ongoing-outbreak\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird flu reported in Michigan farm worker is second human case linked with ongoing outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A case of H5 influenza, also known as avian influenza or bird flu, has been reported in a farm worker in Michigan who had regular exposure to infected livestock, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s the second case reported as part of an ongoing outbreak of the virus in birds and cattle across the country and the third bird flu case ever reported in a person in the US. However, health officials emphasized Wednesday that the risk to the general public remains low. <\/p>\n

The person was being monitored for the virus because of their exposure to infected cattle, the CDC said in a news release Wednesday. A nasal swab tested negative for influenza at the state health department and later at the CDC, but an eye swab tested positive. The person reported only eye symptoms, and they have recovered. <\/p>\n

Eye symptoms such as redness, swelling and watering were also the only ones reported in the previous\u00a0human case\u00a0in this outbreak, in a dairy farm worker in Texas. That man took antiviral medications and recovered with no lasting problems. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not unexpected that comprehensive testing identified a human infection,\u201d the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said in a\u00a0news release\u00a0Wednesday. \u201cInformation to date suggests this is a sporadic infection, with no associated ongoing spread person-to-person.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Michigan farm worker was one of about 170 people enrolled in an active monitoring program in which they received a text message from the state health department each day that asks about potential symptoms. When the person indicated the presence of symptoms, public health workers took samples, offered antiviral medications to them and their close contacts, and urged them to isolate. <\/p>\n

The CDC received the samples on Tuesday and reported the test results to Michigan health officials that night, said Dr. Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis case was not unexpected,\u201d Shah said Wednesday, emphasizing the agency\u2019s ongoing efforts to help farms prepare for the spread of the virus. \u201cIt does not change our assessment of the risk overall. What it does do, however, is it reinforces the message that CDC has been putting out since late March, which is that entities involved with this \u2013 be they local health departments, farms, farm workers and farm worker organizations \u2013 ought to be alert but not alarmed by these developments. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not seen evidence of other cases in this area or elsewhere in any of our monitoring systems, let alone any evidence of human-to-human transmission,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd this is reassuring, but the work of public health is not done. In the coming days, we\u2019ll have additional information on the genomic sequence or the DNA fingerprint of this particular virus. And we\u2019ll be able to compare it to the virus from infected cows in Michigan, as well as to compare it to the virus from the earlier human case in Texas.\u201d <\/p>\n

The fact that the nasal specimen tested negative while the eye swab was positive is also, \u201cin a sense, reassuring,\u201d Shah said, as it indicates a reduced likelihood that the virus is spreading through respiration. <\/p>\n

Although remnants of the virus have been found in samples of dairy products purchased from grocery stores, the US Food and Drug Administration \u201ccontinues to affirm our assessment of the safety of the commercial milk supply,\u201d Dr. Don Prater, acting director of the agency\u2019s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said Wednesday. <\/p>\n

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