Health officials from the US state of Colorado on Thursday confirmed that an inmate who is below 40 years of age was infected with influenza A(H5), also known as H5 bird flu. “This is the second human case associated with this specific group of H5 viruses that are currently predominant, and the first case in the United States,” the US Centres For Disease Control (CDC) said.
A separate case was detected in China where a four-year-old infected child was the first human infection with the H3N8 strain of bird flu.
The inmate, like the child from China’s Henan province, was in close contact with birds from a poultry farm. The first case of H5 bird flu, however, was detected in the UK, when another man who was in close contact with birds from a poultry farm was infected.
“Because the person was in close contact with infected poultry, the virus may have been in the person’s nose without causing infection. Repeat testing on the person was negative for influenza,” Colorado health officials said.
The CDC, however, said that this H5-positive human case does not change the human health risk assessment. Colorado health officials said that the risk to the public is low, as person-to-person transmission of the H5N1 avian flu is rare.
The Colorado inmate was enrolled in a pre-release program at a commercial poultry farm in Montrose County before falling ill. The Colorado officials also said that the man has recovered after experiencing fatigue. He is being treated with the antiviral drug oseltamivir.
The CDC confirmed that there are no new strains of the virus in the US.
It also said that people in regular contact with poultry are at a higher risk of infection. It asked people in the animal husbandry or poultry-related industries to exercise caution while also saying that the Colorado case was a result of surface contamination. The CDC asked people to avoid contact with birds that are dead or appear sick as well as avoiding surfaces where bird faeces is present.
Meanwhile, the affected flock of chickens were euthanized, Colorado health officials told the New York Post.
(with inputs from CNN and New York Post)
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