Bird flu can unfold amongst people, however may be very uncommon
While chook flu is never seen in people, it shares most of the similar signs because the common flu.
Damien Henderson, Getty Images
Less than every week after sick dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas examined optimistic for chook flu, Texas state officers reported {that a} person within the state has been contaminated with the virus after coming into shut contact with the contaminated cows.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in a news alert Monday stated that the affected person grew to become “in poor health following contact with dairy cows presumed to be contaminated with avian influenza” and that their main symptom was conjunctivitis, also referred to as pink eye.
Officials stated that it’s the first human case of the extremely pathogenic pressure of avian influenza in Texas, and the second within the U.S., and that’s “believed to be related to the recent detections of avian influenza A(H5N1) in dairy cows”.
What to know: Milk from sick dairy cattle in 2 states take a look at optimistic for chook flu
Bird flu threat to normal public
Federal and state well being authorities are investigating the outbreak, stated the information alert, including that the chance to normal public is low and that the virus has not often been transmitted from person to person.
“Avian influenza A(H5N1) viruses have solely not often been transmitted from person to person,” authorities stated. “As such, the chance to most people is believed to be low; nevertheless, folks with shut contact with affected animals suspected of getting avian influenza A(H5N1) have the next threat of an infection.”
The state division of well being, nevertheless, has issued a well being alert to healthcare supplied to be vigilant concerning the signal and signs of the chook flu, particularly amongst those that have common contact with animals.
Bird flu in dairy cattle in Kansas, Texas
The U.S. Department of Agriculture final Monday had introduced that the extremely contagious pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI) had been present in unpasteurized scientific samples of milk from in poor health cows at two dairy farms in Kansas and one in Texas, plus a swab from a dairy cow in Texas.
The company stated its officers, together with the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state veterinary and public well being authorities, have been investigating an sickness detected primarily in older dairy cows in these states, in addition to in New Mexico.
Wild migratory birds are believed to be the supply of the an infection, the USDA had stated.
What is chook flu?
Bird flu is a illness attributable to a household of flu viruses primarily transmitted amongst birds.
Avian influenza viruses, based on the CDC and USDA, are labeled into two teams: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) (usually seen in wild birds) and HPAI, discovered largely in home poultry. According to the Centers for Disease Control, LPAI viruses trigger gentle or no illness, and HPAI trigger extreme illness and excessive mortality charges in contaminated birds.
Bird flu has cost the federal government roughly $660 million and in recent occasions raised the value of eggs and poultry. At least 58 million birds have been slaughtered final 12 months to restrict the unfold of the virus.
Bird flu signs
Signs and signs of chook flu, based on the Texas Department of State Health Services, might embody:
- Fever (temperature of 100°F [37.8°C] or higher) or feeling feverish or chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nostril
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Eye redness (conjunctivitis)
- Difficulty respiratory/shortness of breath
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Seizures
In some instances, contaminated sufferers might also expertise conjunctivitis, which is redness within the eyes, stated the division.
Those contaminated with avian influenza expertise signs starting from gentle to extreme, says the well being division, explaining that experiences of extreme sickness in people “have included fulminant pneumonia resulting in respiratory failure, acute respiratory misery syndrome, septic shock, and [even] dying.”
Healthcare suppliers have suggested to “immediately consult their local health department” if they arrive throughout sufferers who’re experiencing the signs and have come into shut contact with livestock and cattle.
Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending information reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and observe her on X, the platform previously often called Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
