Catherine Rusoff
A Michigan farmworker has been diagnosed with bird flu, state health officials announced in a statement Wednesday, marking the second human case linked to the current outbreak in U.S. dairy cows.
The last patient, who had been in contact with supposedly infected cows, showed mild symptoms of an eye infection and recovered, according to a statement released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The risk to the public remains low,” Michigan health officials said.
A nasal swab from the person tested negative for the virus, but an eye swab tested positive, “indicating an eye infection,” the report said. CDC said. An investigation is underway to understand more details about the worker’s situation.
The first casewhich was also mild and presented as conjunctivitis due to an eye infectionhappened in late March after a farmworker in Texas came into contact with cattle suspected of being infected.
Since 2020, the H5N1 bird flu virus, also called HPAI or highly pathogenic avian influenza“has caused extensive morbidity and mortality events” in animal species in the U.S., according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. The virus, carried by migratory birds, also affected flocks of birds in several states.
So far, the virus does not appear to have spread from person to person, but public health officials are closely monitoring to detect any signs of virus mutation to transmit more easily.
“There’s no evidence yet that this happened, but that’s the big concern,” said CBS News chief medical correspondent Dr. explained earlier this month.
“The concern would be if it changed in mutations, in genetic makeup, so that it could easily spread from human to human.”
The detection of the virus in US livestock earlier this year – which has now been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine states, according to the US Department of Agriculture – has also raised questions about food securityespecially around milk.
Test confirms pasteurization is working to kill the virusand the Food and Drug Administration says the commercial supply of milk is safe.
Health authorities strongly advise against the consumption of raw milk, despite influencers promoting it on the social networks.
“Do not consume unpasteurized dairy products,” Dr. Nidhi Kumar recently told CBS New York. “I know there are people who are real advocates for this, but this is not the time to do it.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls it raw milk “one of the riskiest foods.”
“Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria,” the agency’s website explains. “Raw milk can be contaminated with harmful germs that can make you very sick,” with symptoms including diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting,
