Dairy Cows Infect Person With Avian Flu

After recent reports of cows infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza, a person in contact with those cattle in Texas has now tested positive.

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A week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas, a person with exposure to presumably infected cows in Texas has now tested positive as well. Reported by the Texas Department of State Health Services and confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the patient suffered from eye redness consistent with conjunctivitis and is recovering with the help of an antiviral drug for flu.

This infection does not change the human health risk for the H5N1 bird flu for the general public, which the CDC still considers to be low. This is only the second case in the U.S. of a human becoming infected with avian flu. The first case was in 2022 in Colorado. In both cases, the people had exposure to animals infected by the virus. In Colorado, the person had been assisting with the culling of poultry infected with the H5N1 bird flu.


   Dairy Cows Found Infected With Avian Flu
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