Second U.S. Human Case of Bird Flu Linked to Dairy Cows From Michigan

Second U.S. Human Case of Bird Flu Linked to Dairy Cows From Michigan

Legal Insurrection has followed the severe bird flu pandemic since reports of its initial outbreaks on American poultry farms, including its spread to mammals.  We noted that highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is now reported in cattle within 36 herds in 9 states.

In our coverage, we have stressed that the disease has been mild in cows, and the first human case reported in this country (a Texas man who contracted it from cattle) essentially had a bad case of “pink eye.”

Now, a second human case has been reported in Michigan, also in a farm worker. As with the Texas case, the virus seems to target the eyes.

The farmworker experienced mild symptoms in the eye after contact with an infected cow and has since recovered, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday. Michigan officials said Monday that three additional cattle herds had tested positive for bird flu.

The country’s first human case of bird flu from cattle was announced in a Texas farm worker in late March. That patient had an eye infection with the virus, called H5N1, and was treated with an antiviral. Health officials maintain that the risk to the public remains low, as there’s been no human-to-human transmission.

As of late Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has reported 52 herds in nine states have tested positive for bird flu. Health officials said they have antivirals and vaccine candidates on hand should they be needed.

The Michigan patient also came down with a bad case of pink eye. Additionally, it appears that respiratory transmission to humans is not occurring.

The person was being monitored for symptoms following exposure to infected dairy cows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. The person developed conjunctivitis, or pinkeye, and a sample taken from the eye tested positive for the virus. A sample taken from the person’s nasal passages was negative.

At a news briefing Wednesday, Dr. Nirav Shah, the CDC’s principal deputy director, said the negative nasal sample is reassuring, in a sense.

“It reduces the likelihood — it does not eliminate, but it reduces the likelihood — of a respiratory route of transmission,” Shah said.

…More information about how the virus spread will be gleaned from its genetic sequence, including whether it has acquired any mutations that could allow it to spread between people more easily. The CDC is working to sequence samples of the virus taken from the Michigan worker and is expected carry out the genetic analysis later this week, Shah said.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced bird flu has been detected in beef for the first time. Officials stressed that the meat from a single sickened dairy cow was not allowed to enter the nation’s food supply, and beef remains safe to eat.

The USDA said the H5N1 virus was found as part of testing of 96 dairy cows that were diverted from the supply because federal inspectors noticed signs of illness during routine inspections of carcasses at meat processing plants. Bird flu was found in only one of those cows.

Bird flu has been confirmed in dairy cattle herds in nine states, has been found in milk and has prompted the slaughter of millions of chickens and turkeys. But finding it in beef is a new development for the outbreak, which began in 2022.

The agency said last month that it would test ground beef for bird flu at retail stores, but it has yet to find any sign of the virus.

Even if bird flu were to end up in consumer beef, the USDA says, cooking the meat to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit will kill it just like it kills E. coli and other viruses.

The flu’s impact on poultry is more worrying, as evidenced by an egg producer in Michigan that just had a massive layoff.

Herbruck’s Poultry Ranch, the biggest egg producer in Michigan, is laying off nearly half its staff after its flock was infected with the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

About 400 workers across five Herbruck’s facilities will be affected by the mass layoff, the company told the state in a May 15 letter. It will impact hourly, salaried and contract workers throughout Ionia County.

“In the face of ongoing efforts to address the detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza alongside state and federal regulators, Herbruck’s has reached the difficult decision to conduct layoffs at the affected facilities where work is not available,” CEO Greg Herbruck said in a statement. “We expect this to largely be temporary, as we plan to rehire many positions as we work to repopulate our facilities and continue egg production as safely and quickly as possible.”

6.5 million chickens were killed off in Michigan this month.

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