Bird flu: The second human case of H5N1 illness in Michigan. 

Bird flu 

Bird flu: US health officials disclose the second human case of H5N1 illness in a Michigan agricultural worker.

According to ABC News, the sick individual is a Michigan farmworker who has been exposed to livestock-infected bird flu or avian influenza on a daily basis.

The Michigan dairy worker reported bird flu symptoms to local health officials, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the United States' national public health organization, began monitoring him for potential exposure to infected cattle.

 The MDHHS said that the farm worker has since recovered.

"Two samples were taken from the patient. According to ANI, an upper respiratory tract samples retrieved from the worker's nose tested negative for influenza virus at the state health department laboratory, citing a press release from the US public health agency.

According to the CDC press release, "The eye specimen was sent to CDC for testing because it is one of the few labs where those specimens can be used with the CDC A(H5) test." The specimen was received by the CDC, and the testing results confirmed A(H5) virus infection."

 

Furthermore, the CDC retested the infected farmworker's nasal material and found it to be negative for influenza. It is worth noting that the influenza virus neuraminidase (the N in the subtype) is currently undergoing genetic sequencing at the CDC.

Only three cases of bird flu have been documented in the United States thus far, including the recent Michigan case. According to MDHHS and the CDC, the risk of contracting avian flu is still low.

The chief medical officer of MDHHS stated, "Michigan has led a swift public health response, and we have been tracking this situation closely since influenza A (H5N1) was detected in poultry and dairy herds in Michigan."