Another dairy farm worker in Michigan has been diagnosed with bird flu. This is the third case associated with an outbreak in dairy cows that has been detected in humans, health officials said Thursday.
This last infected person developed respiratory symptoms, unlike the two workers, who only had mild eye symptoms, health officials explained. But the farmworker was promptly given antivirals and is recovering from his respiratory symptoms, Michigan health officials said.
The risk to the public remains low, although farm workers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk, health officials clarified. The Michigan cases occurred on different farms and there are no signs of spread between people, they added.
None of the Michigan workers were wearing face shields or other personal protective equipment, which “tells us that direct exposure to infected livestock poses a risk to humans and that PPE is an important tool to prevent spread among people who They work on dairy and poultry farms. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, medical director of the Michigan department of health, said in a statement.
In late March, a farm worker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the world's first known case of a person contracting this version of bird flu from a mammal. Last week, Michigan officials announced the first case there.
Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species (including dogs, cats, skunks, bears, and even seals and porpoises) in dozens of countries.
The new case marks the fourth time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what is known as the H5N1 type A virus. In 2022, an inmate in a work program contracted it while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue and he recovered. That was before the virus appeared in cows.
