As in the previous cases, the woman worked on a dairy farm and was exposed to cows that had been detected with the H5N1 virus, the CDC announced Wednesday. The first case of bird flu was reported in a dairy farm worker in Texas in April, and two more cases were reported in Michigan.
The Colorado patient showed only mild symptoms of bird flu in her eyes and was given an antiviral medication. She has since recovered, they said. However, the CDC reiterated its call for precautions for farmworkers who come into contact with infected cows. As for the Colorado case, “further genetic analysis” is being done to identify possible virus variants that could “change the agency’s risk assessment” for the general public.
The H5N1 bird flu virus has increasingly spread to mammals, including dairy cattle, in the U.S. in recent months. Numerous herds of cows have been infected in several U.S. states; the outbreak was first detected in March.
Several people have also been infected, raising fears of an impending pandemic. In light of the spread of H5N1 in the US, Berlin Charité chief virologist Christian Drosten described the bird flu virus as a possible trigger for an upcoming pandemic.