Health officials in Texas have reported a case of bird flu in a person who had been in contact with dairy cows infected with the virus. The patient is currently being treated with antiviral medication, with their only symptom being eye redness. Despite this development, officials have stated that the risk to the public remains low.
The recent discovery of bird flu in dairy cows in Texas, Kansas, and Michigan has raised concerns among experts. The virus has been known to infect a variety of animal species globally since 2020, but its spread to U.S. livestock is considered unexpected and problematic. Dr. Ali Khan, a former CDC outbreak investigator, has highlighted the potential dangers of the virus mutating to spread easily among humans.
Bird flu was first identified as a threat to humans during a 1997 outbreak in Hong Kong, and since then, over 460 people have died from infections worldwide. While the majority of cases have been linked to direct contact with birds, scientists are closely monitoring the possibility of human-to-human transmission. This latest case in Texas marks only the second time the Type A H5N1 virus has been detected in the United States, with the first case occurring in a prison inmate in Colorado in 2022.
Officials in Texas have not disclosed the identity of the newly infected person or provided details on how they came into contact with the cows. The situation is being closely monitored by health authorities to prevent further spread of the virus.