California health officials have confirmed the state’s second human case of bird flu Thursday just hours after announcing the first, adding to fears of an outbreak.
The second infected person, like the first, had contact with dairy cows carrying the virus. Both of them have mild symptoms, including red and swollen eyes.
The cases are not linked and there is no indication the first person transmitted the infection to the second, with officials saying there is no human-human transmission, rather it was animal-to-human.
Fears over the spread of bird flu are increasing as, for the first time, a patient in Missouri who had not come into contact with sick birds, cattle or other animals was diagnosed with the virus.
The second person to have been infected with bird flu in California, like the first, came into contact with dairy cattle carrying the pathogen
California health officials maintain the general risk to the public remains low, as there is no indication the virus can be transmitted from one person to another.
According to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH): ‘People who interact with infected animals, like dairy or poultry farm workers, are at higher risk of getting bird flu.
‘CDPH recommends that personal protective equipment, or PPE, such as respirators (N95 masks), eye protection (face shields or safety goggles), and gloves be worn by anyone working with animals or materials that are infected or potentially infected with the bird flu virus.’
More than 250 herds of dairy cattle across 14 states have been infected with H5N1.
California officials added: ‘As an added precaution, and according to longstanding state and federal requirements, milk from sick cows is not permitted in the public milk supply.’
Fears over the spread of bird flu are increasing as, for the first time, a patient in Missouri who had not come into contact with sick birds, cattle or other animals was diagnosed with the virus.
The above shows states where human cases of the bird flu, H5N1, have been detected – not yet including the newest presumptive positive case in California
This is the first picture of the Texas farm worker infected with bird flu. The infection began in the right eye, before spreading to the left
It is possible the patient drank raw milk, which made them sick.
While drinking raw milk could pass the infection on to the drinker, the milk on grocery store shelves has undergone pasteurization to kill off pathogens, and is generally safe.
The worst-case scenario is the patient caught it from another person and the virus has begun silently spreading between Americans.
Fourteen people have tested positive for H5N1 so far, but because bird flu does not always cause symptoms, there could be more sick people who have never been tested, according to the CDC.
In March, a Texas dairy farmer tested positive for the virus and experienced similar symptoms to those reported in the California patients – conjunctivitis.
While the man suffered ‘very mild’ symptoms, photos show how the virus caused blood vessels in his eyes to pop, leading to bleeding on the surface of his eyeballs.
Other symptoms H5N1 patients may experience include cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches and body aches or muscle soreness.
Almost 900 people in 23 countries have been infected with the H5N1 strain of avian flu over the last two decades, but they were all linked to wild or kept birds.
