Bird flu found in another Michigan farmworker

For the third time this year, a human has been reported to have been infected with bird flu.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) announced on Thursday afternoon that there was an additional case of influenza A (H5) in a Michigan farmworker who worked closely with influenza A (H5) positive cows.

This worker was employed at a farm different from the first Michigan case announced on May 22. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to find that the risk to the public remains low; this farmworker was quickly provided antivirals and is recovering from respiratory symptoms. 

This virus has been associated with the ongoing multistate influenza A outbreak (H5N1). As part of the ongoing response, state and local public health are closely monitoring for potential human cases, which has occurred sporadically in individuals with close contact to infected animals. It is not unexpected that comprehensive testing identifies sporadic human infections in farm workers. 

“Michigan has led a swift public health response, and we have been tracking this situation closely since influenza A (H5N1) was detected in poultry and dairy herds in Michigan. Farmworkers exposed to impacted animals have been asked to report even mild symptoms, and testing for the virus has been made available,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.

“With the first case in Michigan, eye symptoms occurred after a direct splash of infected milk to the eye. In this case, respiratory symptoms occurred after direct exposure to an infected cow. 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 tool in preventing the 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.”

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