Third person in US tests positive for bird flu

A third person in the US has tested positive for H5 bird flu in connection to an outbreak in dairy cattle, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday.

This is the second human case reported in the state.

This time, in addition to the eye symptoms seen in the other recent human infections with this virus, the individual, a farmworker, reported having a cough and other respiratory symptoms that are more typical of human influenza infections, the health department said.

Experts with knowledge of the case said that the addition of respiratory symptoms doesn’t necessarily indicate that the virus has become more dangerous, or that it may transmit more easily from person-to-person.

Instead, they say the person likely developed lung symptoms because of the route of infection, perhaps by breathing in infectious aerosols in the milking parlor instead of rubbing their eyes with contaminated hands.

“With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye.

With this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for Michigan said in a news release.

“Neither individual was wearing full personal protective equipment (PPE). This tells us that direct exposure to infected livestock poses a risk to humans, and that PPE is an important toolin preventing spread among individuals who work on dairy and poultry farms. We have not seen signs of sustained human-to-human transmission, and the current health risk to the general public remains low.”

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the general public is low, according to the statement from the health department.

Research into how infections are transmitting from between cows and from cows to people that work with them is ongoing.

This is the third human infection known to be caused by this highly pathogenic form of avian influenza that’s currently infecting dairy cattle in the US.

None of the three people had contact with each other, but all worked with cattle, suggesting they are instances of cow-to-human transmission.

The other two cases involved eye infections, or conjunctivitis.

The person had direct contact with infected cattle and notified local health officials that they were feeling sick. Their symptoms are described as mild.

Michigan’s health department is advising people working on poultry or dairy farms to get a seasonal flu vaccine.

“It will not prevent infection with avian influenza viruses, but it can reduce the risk of coinfection with avian and flu viruses,” the health department said.