United States: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Friday that an individual, without any documented contact with animals, has contracted the H5N1 virus, more commonly known as avian influenza.
This unprecedented case, discovered in Missouri, was flagged through the state’s routine flu surveillance system. However, the CDC emphasized that the threat to the broader populace remains minimal, according to the reports by The Hill.
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services revealed that the patient, who was hospitalized in August, had pre-existing medical conditions, though no direct exposure to animals was identified. The individual was administered antiviral treatment specific to influenza, discharged afterward, and has since recuperated.
This year, at least 13 additional cases of avian flu have emerged in the US, but all those individuals had direct contact with infected animals, primarily poultry and cattle, through occupational exposure.
The CDC clarified, “While novel flu cases have been detected through the national surveillance infrastructure, this marks the inaugural identification of an H5 case via this system.”
Although the virus was initially discovered in dairy cows back in March, no Missouri livestock has shown infection, as per The Hill.
Earlier in the year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) confirmed outbreaks in 51 cattle herds spread across various states, including Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Kansas, Colorado, Idaho, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas.
Additionally, the World Health Organization reported in June that a man in Mexico succumbed to bird flu, though the strain was previously undocumented, as reported by The Hill.
A former director of the CDC has forecasted that an avian flu pandemic is inevitable, suggesting it is a question of timing rather than possibility. He remarked that avian influenza possesses a notably higher mortality rate in comparison to COVID-19.