The United States Confirms First Case Of Bird Flu Without Animal Contacts

The Centers for Control and Disease Prevention and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services have released statements stating that the adult patient, who has underlying conditions, was admitted to the hospital on August 22, treated for influenza with antiviral medications, recovered, and was then released.

The patient was sent for extra testing in state and federal laboratories after an initial test suggested that their flu type seemed unusual.

The results showed that the patient had H5, also known as avian flu or bird flu. This individual was the first documented non-animal contact bird flu case in the United States, testing positive for the illness for the 14th time this year.

According to the Missouri health agency, “no H5 infection in dairy cattle has been reported in Missouri,” yet “some H5 cases in commercial or backyard flocks and wild birds have been reported.” Farmworkers have been the target of every prior bird flu case reported in the US, including the first one in 2022.

The most typical hosts of bird flu are wild birds and poultry, but it has also been identified in mammals more recently. This year, an outbreak in cattle was observed nationwide. On rare occasions, close contact or polluted conditions might lead to human infection.

The CDC stated that although it still believes there is little risk to the public, “circumstances may change quickly as more information is learned.”

Although there have been a few isolated instances in the decades before H5 was discovered in humans in which an animal source could not be determined, there has not been any proof of ongoing human-to-human transmission, which would greatly raise the danger level.