Michigan reports another person who works with cows has bird flu, the third case in the US this year

Another worker in Michigan has been diagnosed with bird flu, the third human case linked to an outbreak in US dairy cows, health officials said Thursday.

The patient reported coughing and eye discomfort, unlike the two workers, who only had eye symptoms, health officials said. The farm worker was quickly given antivirals and is recovering from respiratory symptoms, Michigan officials said.

The risk to the public remains low, although farm workers exposed to infected animals are at greater risk, health officials said. The cases in Michigan occurred on different farms and there are no signs of spread to humans, officials said.

“Risk depends on exposure, and in this case the relevant exposure is infected animals,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement.

In late March, a farm worker in Texas was diagnosed with what officials called the first known case globally of a person contracting this version of bird flu from a mammal.

CLOCK: Why scientists are concerned about the latest bird flu transmission to cows

Last week, officials in Michigan announced the first case there. That worker with bird flu developed eye symptoms after “a direct splash of infected milk into the eye,” Michigan officials said in a statement.

None of the workers in Michigan were wearing shields or other personal protective equipment, which “tells us that direct exposure to infected animals poses a risk to humans and that PPE is an important tool in preventing spread among farm workers of milk and birds. ,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, executive director of the Michigan Department of Health, in a statement.

There are between 100,000 and 150,000 workers on U.S. dairy farms, the United Farm Workers of America estimates.

Since 2020, an avian flu virus has spread among several animal species — including dogs, cats, clams, bears, and even seals and porpoises — in dozens of countries.

As of Thursday, H5N1 had been confirmed in 66 dairy herds in nine states, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

The new case marks the fourth time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what is known as the H5N1 type A virus. In 2022, a work program inmate caught it while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue and he recovered. This preceded the appearance of the virus in cows.