Health officials said Thursday they don’t know how the Missouri person became infected. Avian flu However, we believe this may be a rare example of a “one-off” isolated illness.
Investigators trying to determine how the patient contracted the virus have not been able to confirm the exact strain of flu.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the risk to the general public remains low. Missouri Case Study Questions have been raised about the possibility of bird flu being transmitted from person to person, but officials have said there is no evidence anyone else has been infected.
“At this point, the evidence indicates this is a one-off incident,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, CDC’s principal deputy director.
Unusual strains of influenza that originate from animals can turn up in humans — health officials say there have been seven confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States this year alone — but this is the first time that a surveillance system has picked up this type of bird flu.
H5N1 avian flu Widespread It is widespread among wild birds, poultry, cattle and many other animals, and as it spreads more in the environment, it increases the chances that people could become infected and potentially become infected, Shah said.
Health officials have released few details about the Missouri case, which was first announced last weekend, citing patient confidentiality.
Shah said the man had been suffering from chest pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and weakness and was admitted to hospital on Aug. 22 for “reason related to underlying health conditions.”
As part of his treatment, the patient was tested for influenza and tested positive for influenza A, a broad classification of viruses. Subsequent testing completed last week determined that the pathogen belongs to a class of viruses commonly found in birds and not in humans. But the concentration of genetic material from the patient’s virus was so low that authorities were not able to fully analyze it to confirm exactly which virus it was, Shah said.
“Ultimately, full sequencing may not be technically feasible,” Shah said.
The patient: Dairy cow or other animals linked to the ongoing bird flu outbreak. The person later told Missouri health officials that they did not drink. Unpasteurized milk Shah also mentioned dairy products during a conference call with reporters on Thursday.
Health officials said the patient was given antiviral medication and has since recovered and been released from hospital.
Shah said that as part of the investigation, authorities want to take blood samples from people who were around the patient to see if there is evidence of infection.
The Missouri patient is the 14th person to have avian flu in the United States since the virus was detected in cattle in March, with one additional person infected so far in 2022. All of those cases have been relatively mild, and each patient had direct contact with infected animals.
U.S. health officials are preparing Vaccines and other measuresIn case bird flu spreads widely among people or causes severe illness.
The CDC announced on Thursday that it is partnering with five private labs to develop and run tests for H5N1 and other viruses. Shah said the agency plans to initially spend at least $5 million on the contracts, increasing it to $118 million over the next five years if needed.
In the past, the C.D.C. Developed our own test In the early stages of the new outbreak, testing was slow and widespread, which led to delayed detection of new infections.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science Education Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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