A concerning development unfolds in California's dairy industry as avian influenza spreads beyond poultry farms.
According to Daily Mail Online, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has confirmed a third case of bird flu in a California dairy worker.
This latest case brings the total number of human H5N1 flu infections in the United States to 17 over the past two years.
The most recent patient is experiencing mild symptoms, including eye redness and infection. Notably, none of the three cases in California have required hospitalization. The CDC believes that the infections were transmitted from dairy cows that the workers had been in close contact with.
It's important to note that there is currently no evidence of person-to-person transmission. The three infected individuals did not know each other, suggesting independent exposures to infected animals.
The CDC has identified a total of six human cases of bird flu linked to dairy cow exposure in 2024. Additionally, nine cases have been attributed to poultry exposure since 2022, spread across five states. One case was reported without known contact with infected livestock.
The rapid spread of bird flu among dairy cattle herds in at least 14 states has prompted concerns about potential future cases.
Some farms are reporting infection rates as high as 50 to 60 percent of their herds, with approximately 15 percent of cows succumbing to the illness.
Dr. Rick Bright, former deputy preparedness secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, expressed concern about the situation:
We don't know how many cows are infected, we don't know how many people have been exposed... If we haven't caught the virus before it mutates to efficiently transmit person-to-person, all bets are off in terms of being able to control it.
Despite the growing number of cases, the CDC maintains that the risk to the general public remains low. The agency has studied the genetic makeup of virus specimens from infected individuals and has not found any mutations that would increase the likelihood of human-to-human transmission or resistance to antiviral medications.
However, as the virus continues to spread among both birds and cows on farms, some experts worry about the potential for the virus to adapt and become more efficient at infecting humans on a wider scale.
The CDC expects more cases to arise in the coming months, given the speed at which bird flu is spreading among dairy cattle herds across the country.
In conclusion, California has reported its third case of bird flu in dairy workers, bringing the total U.S. cases to 17 in two years. The CDC maintains that public risk remains low, but experts are concerned about the potential for the virus to mutate and spread more efficiently among humans. As the situation evolves, health officials continue to monitor the outbreak closely.
