Another person became ill from a bird infection. influenza This time in the United States, however, public health officials don’t know how people contracted highly pathogenic avian influenza. influenza virus (HPAIV).
Fortunately, the patient has recovered, but he is the 14th person to have avian influenza in the United States this year and the first with “no known recent contact with animals.” According to To the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
All previous human cases have occurred among workers at poultry or dairy farms who contracted the virus from sick animals, making this new case a mystery the CDC is desperately trying to solve.
An adult patient at a Missouri hospital tested positive for the avian virus on August 22. Previously, only poultry and wild birds in the state had tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
The patient initially tested positive for influenza A, but it did not match any known human subtypes. Further testing revealed that the patient had some form of avian influenza, which is currently spreading among wild and domestic birds and mammals throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Africa, parts of Asia, and Antarctica.
This person is not known to have had contact with animals, It’s possible They had been unknowingly exposed to infected animals.
CDC officials are now sequencing the viral genome from this recent human case to better understand where the pathogen came from and how it adapted to infect mammals like us.
The CDC still considers the threat of avian flu to the general public to be “low” because the Missouri patient has not transmitted the virus to close contacts and there have been no confirmed cases of person-to-person transmission so far.
“The risk of sustained transmission or infection among the general public remains low.” confirm Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
However, the fact that these patients were hospitalized is a worrying sign. At this point, it is unclear whether their severe symptoms are due to the virus itself or underlying conditions.
CDC Deputy Director Nirav Shah said: said Guardian In an exclusive interview in July, the team said they were closely monitoring bird flu for any worsening human infections, as this could indicate the virus may be mutating in a way that poses a risk to public health.
“When we see people who have absolutely no connection to farms or contact with chickens exhibiting signs and symptoms, that’s very concerning,” Shah said. said at that time.
The recent case in Missouri is the first case of bird flu detected as part of the national flu surveillance system, in which any strange forms of influenza are sent for further testing.
