NewsDesk @ bactiman63
The CDC issued the following statement on Thursday, April 28, 2022:
A person tested positive for avian influenza A (H5) (H5 bird flu) in the United States, as reported by Colorado and confirmed by the CDC. This case occurred in a person who was directly exposed to poultry and was involved in the killing (depopulation) of poultry with suspected H5N1 bird flu. The patient reported that fatigue for several days was their only symptom and he has recovered since then. The patient was isolated and treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir. Although the detection of H5 bird flu in this specimen may be the result of superficial contamination of the nasal membrane, this cannot be determined at this time and a positive test result meets the criteria for the case of H5. The appropriate response to public health at this point is to accept that it is an infection and to take action to limit and treat it.
H5N1 avian influenza / CDC
This case does not change the assessment of human risk to the general public, which the CDC considers low. However, people who are exposed to work-related or recreational infected birds are at higher risk of infection should take appropriate precautions as specified in the CDC guidelines.
The CDC has been monitoring the disease among people exposed to H5N1-infected birds since those outbreaks were detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States in late 2021 and 2022. To date, H5N1 viruses have been found in American birds. and backyard birds in 29 states. and in wild birds in 34 states. The CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people exposed to H5N1-infected birds, and this is the only case to date. Other people involved in the Colorado extermination operation tested negative for H5 infection, but they are being re-tested with great care.
This is the second case in humans associated with this specific group of H5 viruses that are currently prevalent, and the first case in the United States. The first international case occurred in December 2021 in the United Kingdom in a person who had no symptoms and who keeps birds infected with the H5N1 virus. More than 880 human infections with earlier H5N1 viruses have been reported worldwide since 2003, but the predominant H5N1 viruses now circulating among birds worldwide are different from earlier H5N1 viruses.
Infected birds excrete H5N1 viruses in their saliva, mucous membranes and feces. H5N1 virus infections are rare in humans; however, human infections can occur when enough virus enters a person’s eyes, nose, or mouth or is inhaled. People with close or prolonged unprotected contact (excluding respiratory or eye protection) with infected birds or places that sick birds or their mucous membranes, saliva or faeces have touched may be at greater risk of H5N1 virus infection. Diseases in humans from avian influenza virus infections range from mild (eg eye infection, upper respiratory tract symptoms) to severe illness (eg pneumonia), which can lead to death. The only previous human case related to this group of asymptomatic H5N1 viruses. The spread of earlier H5N1 viruses from an infected person to close contact has been very rare in the past and has not led to a permanent human-to-human spread.
Local, state, and federal health partners are working together to prevent the spread of this H5N1 virus among birds and humans. The U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are the leading federal departments for investigating and controlling outbreaks of avian influenza in wild birds, and the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is the lead agency for such poultry activities, such as poultry. The US Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC are the leading federal public health partners in this situation.
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This single H5-positive human case does not alter the assessment of the risk to human health. The CDC will continue to monitor this situation closely for signs that the risk to human health has changed. Signals that could increase the risk to public health may include multiple reports of H5N1 infection in humans from bird exposure or the identification of spread from one infected person to close contact. The CDC also monitors H5N1 viruses for genetic changes that are associated with adaptation to mammals, which may mean that the virus adapts to spread more easily from birds to humans. The CDC takes routine preparedness and prevention measures, which include an existing vaccine candidate virus that can be used to make a human vaccine if needed.
The CDC has guidelines for clinicians practicing public health and people with potential bird exposure. As a reminder, people should avoid contact with poultry that looks sick or dead, and avoid contact with surfaces that appear to be contaminated with feces from wild or poultry if possible. If you have to handle wild birds or sick or dead poultry, minimize direct contact by wearing gloves and wash your hands with soap and water after touching birds. If present, wear respiratory protection, such as a medical face mask, and eye protection, such as goggles. It is safe to eat properly processed and cooked poultry and poultry products in the United States. Proper handling and cooking of poultry and eggs to an internal temperature of 165˚F kills bacteria and viruses, including H5N1 viruses. Additional information is available on bird protection, including what to do if you find a dead bird. The CDC also has guidelines for specific groups of people exposed to poultry, including poultry workers and people responding to outbreaks of poultry. The CDC will continue to provide additional updates on the situation and update the guidelines if necessary.
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