While US health officials continue to monitor the outbreak in dairy cattle across the country, a second human recently tested positive after a mutation of the bird flu virus.
A dairy farmer in Michigan tested positive for H5N1 (bird flu) this past week on May 22. Despite the CDC’s indications that a human outbreak is still unlikely, this marks the second case originating from dairy cattle in the US since April 1. Since the first case of bird flu in 2024, reported by a Texas dairy farmer, experts are concerned the virus has mutated and is more susceptible to infecting humans than previously.
The most recent human infection of bird flu marks the second case originating from dairy cattle in the US since April 1. | image credit: Berit Kessler / stock.adobe.com
Since 2022, this marks just the third reported case of the bird flu in the US. While the first was reported from exposure to poultry in late April 2022, the 2 most recent cases stray from the ongoing outbreak among at least 67 dairy herds across 9 US states.1
From the first case in 2022 up until now, US health officials—specifically the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and CDC—have reported the virus in US dairy products and allocated nearly $200 million to contain its spread.
“While the current public health risk is low, CDC is watching the situation carefully and working with states to monitor people with animal exposures,” wrote the CDC.1 This sentiment has been consistent from the CDC since the 2 most recent human cases purportedly originated from the same dairy cattle outbreak.
And while humans’ health risks are low, the virus is continuously adapting. The government has recently ramped up containment efforts and is currently monitoring about 350 people who’ve reached close contact with any of the infected herds across the country.2
In just the past 2 months, a lot of information has been rapidly evolving surrounding the bird flu outbreak in the US. Despite multiple humans having reported an infection from the virus and its detection in US supermarket dairy products, the CDC has maintained its stance that the risk of an outbreak amongst humans is still very low. However, as recent containment efforts continue to be introduced, the bird flu outbreak has sounded alarms in the 9 states with infected herds.
READ MORE: Infectious Disease Resource Center
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