The third human case of bird flu in the US was reported by officials on Thursday, and it was connected to the ongoing virus outbreak in dairy cattle.
After a first case in Texas in April, the farm worker from Michigan is the second person in the Midwestern state to contract the illness.
In a statement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that, contrary to what would be more worrisome, all three cases were transmitted from cows to humans.
But it added it was the first case “to report more typical symptoms of acute respiratory illness associated with influenza virus infection,” while the previous cases resulted in mild symptoms including conjunctivitis.
The person’s symptoms included cough without fever, eye discomfort and watery eye discharge. They were treated with the antiviral medicine oseltamivir and isolated at home, with their symptoms resolving.
The worker was not wearing personal protective equipment, which health authorities have recommended for those in close contact with dairy herds, said Michigan’s health department.
Over the past few years, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus called HPAI H5N1 has spread to infect more than 50 animal species, including, from March, dairy cattle in the United States.
Unlike in Europe, American farmers are allowed to feed cattle ground-up chicken waste, which some scientists say may be a risk factor for bird flu — though the feed industry has challenged this claim and US authorities believe wild birds are responsible for infecting cows.
“The risk to members of the general public who do not have exposure to infected animals remains low,” said the CDC.
It further stated that the discovery of a new case was “not surprising” given Michigan’s proactive screening efforts for farmworker illnesses.
According to the CDC, humans should avoid close contact with sick or dead animals, including wild birds, domesticated birds, and other domesticated animals, in addition to wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).
The organization also advised against eating unpasteurized milk or coming into contact with animal feces or bedding.
Recent research has shown that mice exposed to raw milk tainted with bird flu become sick, but the virus is eliminated by pasteurization.
The illness was most recently discovered in Idaho’s farm-raised alpacas.
