United States: The report was made this Thursday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which informed that a third person has been confirmed to have been infected with H5N1 bird flu that is associated with an outbreak in dairy cattle.
According to the experts report, this is the second human case in the state and the fourth one ever recorded in the United States.
More about the news
This time, the farmworker, in addition to some of the eye manifestations as seen in previous H5N1 cases, presented a cough and other symptoms that clearly pinpoint to the respiratory system issues, which is more characteristic of patients suffering from human influenza infections, the health department informed.
Dr. Nirav Shah, the principal deputy director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated on Thursday, “This individual had respiratory symptoms, including a cough, congestion, sore throat, and watery eyes,” CNN Health reported.
He added, “What the respiratory symptoms tell us, more than anything, is that this virus, like many viruses, can present in more than one way, and for that reason, we should remain alert, not be alarmed.”
About the additional symptoms
Some of the specialists opined that the inclusion of respiratory symptoms in the clinical manifestations of the disease does not necessarily mean that the virus is more dangerous or has a higher rate of transmission from one person to another.
In this case, the researchers suggest the person probably got lung symptoms from the route of infection, maybe by inhaling aerosols from an infected surface such as the milking parlor rather than touching and rubbing their eyes with contaminated fingers.
According to Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for Michigan, “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,” as CNN Health reported.
Moreover, “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,” She added.