The health authorities of UNITED STATES reported a human case of Avian Flu A(H5) in the Colorado in a man under the age of 40 who was involved in the slaughter of poultry infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) when he tested positive for the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the patient was being isolated and treated with a flu antiviral drug, oseltamivir. Although it is possible that the detection of avian influenza A(H5) in this sample resulted from surface contamination of the nasal membrane, this cannot be determined at this stage and the positive test result meets the criteria defining a case A(H5).
The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which is tasked with containing the current large outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, reports that to date the virus has been confirmed to be present in 29 states, affecting more than 33 million domestic birds.
The CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people who have been exposed to birds infected with the A(H5N1) virus and this is the only case discovered to date. Others involved in the culling operation in Colorado have tested negative for A(H5) virus infection, but are being tested once more out of an abundance of caution.
This is the second human case associated with this specific group of H5 viruses which are currently predominant, and the first case in the United States. The first international case occurred in December 2021 in the UK in a person who had no symptoms and kept birds that were infected with the H5N1 virus.
Source : Food Safety News.
