Via STAT, a report by Helen Branswell, who has been tracking H5N1 longer than anyone else: Bird flu reported in person exposed to presumably infected cattle. Excerpt:
Texas health officials reported Monday that an individual who had been in contact with cattle has contracted H5N1 avian flu, only the second case ever recorded in the U.S.
The person had contact with dairy cattle that are believed to have been infected with the virus, the Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement. It went on to say that the individual’s only symptom is eye inflammation — infection of the conjunctiva, the tissue surrounding the eye.
Nirav Shah, principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the infected individual is doing well and is being treated with the influenza antiviral oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu. The individual was instructed to isolate to reduce the risk of infecting others, and to date there’s no indication of onward spread, Shah said.
“We are not aware of reports that any of this individual’s close contacts have developed any symptoms,” he told STAT.
The person was tested late last week, with confirmatory testing taking place at the CDC over the weekend. The CDC is not currently running any other confirmatory H5 tests, Shah said. “The fact that there are not other samples cooking right now is reassuring, insofar as that we’re not aware of other individuals who are symptomatic following an exposure to livestock,” he added.
“We are still out there looking, to be very clear,” he said. “Our antennae are up and we have been working with state public health officials in a number of jurisdictions to look for individuals who report signs and symptoms of illness, to make sure they know how to get tested.”
