Bird flu infects third US dairy worker; Michigan set to expand testing
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[May 31, 2024]
By Leah Douglas, Julie Steenhuysen and Tom Polansek
(Reuters) -A third U.S. dairy worker tested positive for bird flu after
exposure to infected cows, and was the first to suffer respiratory
problems, U.S. officials said on Thursday.
The infection was the second human case in Michigan, which has confirmed
more cases of bird flu in dairy cattle than any other state. It also
expands the symptoms for human cases, after the two workers who
previously tested positive experienced only conjunctivitis, or pink eye,
and recovered.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the
latest case does not change its assessment that bird flu is a low risk
to the general public and that it has not seen evidence of
human-to-human transmission.
Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the CDC, said on a call with
reporters that the agency expected to see respiratory symptoms because
past novel influenza viruses have also featured those symptoms.
"At the same time, respiratory symptoms increase the odds of exposing
someone to the virus as compared to (eye) symptoms," Shah said.
Meanwhile, Michigan will soon begin testing dairy farm workers for signs
of prior infection with avian flu, a county health official told
Reuters. State and local health officials have been monitoring exposed
farm workers for symptoms.
The ongoing outbreak of avian flu in dairy cattle has affected 67 herds
in nine states since March, according to CDC data.
The third worker to test positive reported upper respiratory tract
symptoms including cough without fever, and eye discomfort with watery
discharge, the CDC said.

The patient was given antiviral treatment, is isolating at home, and the
symptoms are resolving, the CDC said. Household contacts of the patient
have not developed symptoms and are being monitored for illness, the
agency added.
The worker was employed at a different farm than the previous human case
Michigan reported on May 22, the state said.
CDC reported the first human case connected to dairy cattle in Texas on
April 1. None of the three human cases are associated with the others,
the agency said.
'A MILD CASE'
"Even though there were respiratory symptoms present in this individual,
it was still a mild case," said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease
expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. "This
underscores the risk that is particular to dairy farm workers."
CDC officials have been eager to test blood samples of farm workers for
signs of prior infection to help understand the scope of the bird flu
outbreak.
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Test tubes labelled "Bird Flu" and a piece of paper in the colours
of the U.S. national flag are seen in this picture illustration,
January 14, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo
 Michigan county and state officials
will collaborate with the CDC on the testing effort, said Chad Shaw,
health officer and environmental health director with the Ionia
County Health Department in Michigan. Details of the plan for
testing have not been previously reported.
Ionia County has reported avian flu infections in four dairy cattle
herds and four poultry flocks, according to state data.
The goal of the testing is to discern how the virus is spreading
from farm to farm, including whether humans have carried the virus
asymptomatically, Shaw said, adding that he did not know when the
testing would begin or how many workers would be tested.
Shah said the CDC has been working with state health and agriculture
departments on a series of studies to help understand the current
risk to workers, whether workers had been infected previously, and
what factors on a farm increase the risk of infection.
The CDC will design the studies that any public health entity can
use for those purposes, Shah said, adding that Michigan's health
department was leading its testing effort.
Testing for prior infection is important for determining how
widespread the virus is among humans, said Michael Osterholm, a bird
flu expert at the University of Minnesota. Widespread exposure could
increase the chances that the virus will mutate to become more
easily transmissible in humans.
"The real bar to cause us to sleep with one eye open is whether or
not there is person-to-person transmission, and there's no evidence
here of that," Osterholm said.
The manufacture of 4.8 million doses of bird flu vaccines will be
completed this summer, David Boucher, director of infectious disease
response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on
the press call.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is launching a pilot
program that will allow enrolled farmers to bulk test their dairy
cows' milk for bird flu rather than testing individual animals
before shipping them across state lines, Eric Deeble, a senior
adviser, told reporters.
The details of that program were first reported by Reuters.
The USDA also will spend an additional $824 million to work with
states on bird flu testing and surveillance, Deeble said.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington and Julie Steenhuysen and
Tom Polansek in Chicago; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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