A person in Missouri was infected with bird flu despite not being directly exposed to the animal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a case of bird flu in humans – specifically the H5 subtype – in a press release on Friday, September 6.
The individual (who had underlying medical conditions, according to the CDC) was hospitalized on August 22, state officials said The New York Times. After being treated with the antiviral drug Tamiflu, the patient recovered and was sent home, the paper reported.
The first person to die from a new strain of bird flu, confirms the World Health Organization
The case, which was identified through Missouri’s seasonal flu surveillance system, marks the first human case of bird flu detected in the state and the 14th reported in the United States this year, according to the CDC and the Missouri Department of Health and Seniors.
Coupled with the fact that it is also the first case of bird flu “without known occupational exposure to sick or infected animals”, this key case raises concerns that the virus is spreading undetected among humans.
Image of the CDC sign.
Getty
All previous human cases reported to the CDC occurred in individuals who had contact with poultry or dairy cows, the latter of which are currently experiencing bird flu outbreaks in several states.
The World Health Organization expresses ‘tremendous concern’ about the spread of bird flu to humans
The outbreak, which was first reported in March, marks the first time that a specific bird flu virus, HPAI A (H5N1), has been found in cows. In April, a human case was confirmed in the first case of “probable mammalian-to-human spread of the virus,” according to the CDC.
“It is important to note that, although rare, there are new cases of influenza A in which an animal source cannot be identified,” the CDC said of the Missouri case. “The main concern in these situations is that no further transmission occurs.”
According to the organization, the risk among the general public remains low, although it noted that “as always, circumstances can change rapidly as more information becomes available.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
dr. Nahid Bhadelia, director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Boston University, told The New York Times that the route of transmission “will determine how much greater the risk of disease is to the general public.”
Bhadelia also told the newspaper that she is in favor of including a higher percentage of hospital-acquired flu samples in routine testing and surveillance to “cast a wider net.”
“We are always later than we think we are in outbreaks,” she added.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education