Yesterday, I reported that American cattle had been infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu (avian influenza), which has decimated flocks of wild and domestic birds around the globe. The virus was also identified in the milk of dairy cows.
Since the first virus cases were reported in late 2020, the pathogen has jumped species, infecting minks and bears, wiping out the elephant seal pup population in Venezuela, and even crossing over into penguins. Additionally, two people were seriously infected by H5N1 in Cambodia (and a total of 6 human infections there have been recorded). Furthermore, research indicates the virus has mutated to target the brains of mammals.
A report emerged that a Texas man is infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza A [i.e., A(HPAI)].
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday that a person in Texas has tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza, otherwise known as H5N1 bird flu.”This person had exposure to dairy cattle in Texas presumed to be infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses. The patient reported eye redness (consistent with conjunctivitis), as their only symptom, and is recovering,” the CDC said in a statement. “The patient was told to isolate and is being treated with an antiviral drug for flu.”
This is the first case in this country to be linked to cattle.
State officials recommend that clinicians should “consider the possibility” of infection in people who have symptoms and a potential risk for exposure, including those who have had close contact with someone infected, contact with affected animals, or contact with unpasteurized milk from dairy farms with infections.Symptoms can include a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches, fatigue, eye redness, shortness of breath, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or seizures. The illness can range from mild to severe, and health care providers who come across someone who may have the virus should “immediately consult their local health department,” according to the alert.Because eye redness has been observed in these infections before, health care providers like optometrists and ophthalmologists “should be aware of the potential of individuals presenting with conjunctivitis who have had exposure to affected animals,” according to the alert.
This is the second case of human infection with the super-bird flu. The first case occurred in 2022 after an inmate at a Colorado prison contracted the virus after direct exposure to infected poultry.
Besides the case in Cambodia, the only other human cases of A(H5N1) infection occurred in asymptomatic workers on a British poultry farm.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assures everyone that it has stockpiles of vaccines for the flu.
…[S]enior White House officials are closely monitoring the evolving situation, with the Office of Pandemic Preparedness receiving regular updates from HHS and USDA. Jeff Zients, President Joe Biden’s chief of staff, was briefed last week, said one person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.The FDA’s top vaccine regulator said Monday that the U.S. maintains a stockpile of vaccines targeting avian flu.“There are actually vaccines licensed in the United States for H5N1, and there are stockpiles where we believe that, if we needed to, they would be reasonably good matches,” Dr. Peter Marks said at the World Vaccine Congress in Washington.Whether the federal government would activate more production of those countermeasures depends on how the situation unfolds, Marks indicated.”Just because of being on edge from Covid, there are a lot of people looking at what’s going on here, and there’s probably a pretty low threshold to pull the trigger here,” he said. “This is one case we’re a little luckier because it’s a pathogen that we know. We know what this is and what we have in the freezer, so to speak. We have a little bit of a leg up on at least getting started.”
Here’s hoping all cases in both humans and cattle remain mild.
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