By Lisa Schnirring
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today announced two more presumptive H5 avian flu positives in dairy workers, which if confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would raise the state’s total to five over the past few weeks.
The two new possible cases were reported from the Central Valley, and so far there are no known links among the human cases, suggesting that only animal-to-human transmission is occurring in the state, the CDPH said in a statement.
Also, the group added that the CDC has confirmed its recently reported third case, which was found in state testing, with the sample forwarded to the CDC.
Latest patient had mild symptoms, including eye redness
“All cases so far have experienced mild symptoms, including eye redness or discharge (conjunctivitis). None of the individuals has been hospitalized,” the CDPH said.
At a briefing last week, federal health officials commended California for actively monitoring workers and quickly identifying and following up on people with symptoms.
If the CDC confirms that state’s two latest cases, the national total would rise to 19 since the first of the year. Except for a patient in Missouri, all infections were linked to contact with sick cows or poultry.
H5N1 strikes 13 more California dairy farms
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has confirmed 13 more H5N1 avian flu outbreaks in California’s dairy cows, bringing the state’s total since late August to 96.
The first outbreak in the state was reported in September, and the rapid pace of spread in California—the nation’s largest dairy producer—has already made it the hardest-hit state.
The new outbreaks push the national total to 296 across 14 states.
Wild bird positive from outbreak area
As the investigation continues into how the virus is spreading among California’s farms, recent sampling from harvested wild birds in one of the affected Central Valley counties has turned up positive H5N1 findings.
According to the APHIS wild bird confirmation list, the five birds that tested positive in Tulare County were sampled between September 17 and 21. Species included starlings, blackbirds, and a dove.
In other developments, USDA APHIS confirmed one more H5N1 outbreak in poultry, which involves a location in Miami-Dade County that has 70 birds. The report didn’t note the type of facility that housed the birds, but many of the of the state’s recent outbreaks in Miami-Dade involved live bird markets.
Source : umn.edu