USA
After contact with cows: human infected with bird flu
The H5N1 virus was first discovered in dairy cows in the USA at the end of March. photo
© Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
The largest wave of bird flu ever documented is currently raging worldwide. In the USA, a person has been infected with such a pathogen for the second time. How do experts assess the situation?
In the US state of Texas, one person is positive Avian flu tested. The person had previously had contact with dairy cows in which the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus was suspected, the US health authority CDC announced on Monday (local time). The only symptom the affected person reported was redness in the eyes, which resembled conjunctivitis. He was ordered to isolate himself, received antiviral medication and is on the mend.
The H5N1 virus was first discovered in dairy cows in the USA at the end of March. According to the US Department of Agriculture, the cows were probably infected by wild birds. The person in Texas is the second recorded case of bird flu in humans in the United States. The first case occurred in the state of Colorado in 2022.
The CDC continues to rate the risk of infection for people in the United States as low. The authority says it is working with health authorities to monitor and test possible high-risk patients after contact with potentially infected birds or farm animals.
Bird flu or avian influenza – like flu in humans – is caused by influenza A viruses, but by various other subtypes. The largest wave of bird flu ever documented is currently raging across almost the entire world and also affecting Europe. The pathogen primarily affects birds, but has also been found in many mammals, including cats, bears and seals.
Human infections only occur sporadically. Symptoms range from eye or respiratory infections to serious illnesses such as pneumonia that can lead to death, according to the CDC. Health experts warn of the danger that the virus adapts to humans and can then be transmitted from person to person.