NBC News
One person in Missouri has been infected with bird flu, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday. The adult, who had no known contact with poultry or dairy cows, was hospitalized on Aug. 22 and has recovered.
The case adds to growing anxiety about the risk of bird flu spreading to humans, especially since it is the first infection in a person in the United States who did not work with poultry or dairy cows.
The CDC said the risk among the general public remains low.
At least 196 dairy herds in 14 states have confirmed outbreaks of the H5 influenza virus, according to the CDC. Outbreaks among poultry have also been detected in 48 states.
Health officials said the Missouri patient is the 15th human case of H5 that has been reported in the United States since 2022. Since the beginning of 2024, 14 people who work in livestock and dairy have been infected. Most had mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever or runny nose. Many have had conjunctivitis or pink eye.
No H5 infections have been reported in dairy cattle in Missouri. A few cases have been reported in commercial or backyard poultry and in wild birds.
“The question now is, how did this patient get the infection?” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. “We need a very, very thorough investigation.”
There has been no evidence that H5N1 (the H5 virus that spreads in dairy cows) has been passed from person to person. The Missouri patient’s sample will need to be studied in a lab to see if the H5 virus might have acquired mutations that make it easier to transmit to humans, Schaffner said.
“This will be of great interest,” he said.
In a separate statement, Missouri health officials said there have been no signs of unusual influenza activity in people, nor increases in emergency room visits or laboratory detection of human influenza cases in the state.
The Missouri State Public Health Laboratory received a sample from the patient, local health officials said in the statement. The sample was sent to the CDC for further study.
The adult patient has underlying medical conditions and tested positive for influenza A, Missouri officials said.
