Washington The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that a Louisiana resident has become the first person in the nation to have a severe case of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
On a teleconference with media, federal public health officials declined to elaborate, citing patient confidentiality, but it is thought that the unnamed individual contracted the virus from sick or dead birds on their property that were not a part of a commercial chicken flock. Another name for the virus is H5N1, or bird flu.
According to Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, most H5N1 infections in the US used to start out as minor illnesses like conjunctivitis and moderate respiratory symptoms before fully recovering, he stated during the call.
According to Daskalakis, over the more than two decades that this virus has been known to exist worldwide, H5 infection has been linked to serious sickness in various nations, including illnesses that have killed up to 50% of patients. In order to address the ongoing animal outbreaks in dairy cows and poultry and reduce the possibility of this virus spreading to humans through animal contact, the One Health response—a coordinated, coordinated federal response in the United States—is crucial. This is because of the virus’s proven ability to cause serious illness in humans.
Daskalakis stated on the call that the CDC still considers the threat to the public to be minimal, notwithstanding the Louisiana instance.
In a press release published on Friday, the Louisiana Department of Health stated that the patient was hospitalized and hails from the southwest portion of the state, but it did not elaborate.
In an email sent to States Newsroom on Wednesday, Emma Herrock, the Louisiana Department of Health’s director of communications, stated that the patient is in serious condition at the hospital and is suffering from a severe respiratory ailment linked to an H5N1 infection.
According to her, the patient is over 65 and has a history of underlying medical issues.
The Louisiana patient is the first person in the United States to have a severe case of bird flu, although the CDC has documented 61 human cases of H5N1 in nine states this year.
Daskalakis declined to say during the call why the Louisiana case is considered severe whena Missouri resident who was hospitalized due to bird fluwas not classified the same way.
According to public health officials, the Missouri patient had serious underlying medical issues when they were taken to a hospital in August. According to the CDC, the person had immediate symptoms of weakness, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and chest pain.
The CDC declined to say Wednesday what symptoms the Louisiana patient was experiencing, citing privacy concerns.
Bird flu has affected wild birds and poultry flocks throughout the United States for years, but it wasn t until March that dairy cattle began becoming infected with the virus.
The dairy outbreak has affected 865 herds through 16 states this year, according todatafrom the U.S. Department of Agriculture. There have been 315 new cases in dairy cattle during the last month, with the vast majority of those diagnoses in California, while one herd each tested positive in Nevada and Texas.
Bird flu has affected nearly 124 million poultry throughout 49 states,according toUSDA.
Eric Deeble, deputy under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA, said on the call the nationwide milk testing strategylaunched earlier this monthhas expanded to several states.
The program requires anyone responsible for a dairy farm such as a bulk milk transporter, bulk milk transfer station, or dairy processing facility to share unpasteurized or raw milk samples when requested.
California, Colorado, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Washington are the 13 states currently enrolled in the program, he said.
These states represent a geographically conversant list of states, some of which have been affected by H5N1 in dairy cows, and some of which have never detected the disease, Deeble said. Additionally, these first two groups of states represent eight of the top 15 dairy-producing states in the country, accounting for nearly 50% of U.S. dairy production. We anticipate continuing to enroll additional states in the coming weeks.
The USDA also continues to havea voluntary bulk milk testing programfor any farms planning to ship dairy cattle across state lines to provide an easier pathway to establishing the herd is negative for H5N1, instead of having to test each cow individually.
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