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Birds slaughtered in Denmark in January| Photo: EFE/EPA/MADS CLAUS RASMUSSEN
The United States on Thursday (28th) identified the first known human case of H5 avian influenza in the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the patient lives in Colorado and was involved in the slaughter of birds potentially contaminated with the H5N1 virus.
“This case does not change the human risk assessment to the general public, which the CDC believes is low,” the agency said in a statement, according to Reuters.
The only symptom of the person who tested positive was fatigue for a few days. According to the CDC, the patient, who was isolated and treated with the antiviral oseltamivir (Tamiflu), has now recovered.
The agency has been tracking people who have been exposed to H5N1 since late 2021. Since then, the virus has been found in farm and backyard birds in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states.
“CDC has been tracking the health of more than 2,500 people who were exposed to birds infected with the H5N1 virus and this is the only case found to date. Other people involved in the Colorado slaughter have tested negative for H5 virus infection, but are being retested very cautiously,” the CDC said.
According to the CDC, this is the second human case linked to the specific group of H5 viruses that are currently widespread. The first took place in the UK in December 2021.