The United States has confirmed a second human case of Avian Flu, better known as bird flu, which is rapidly spreading. According to Texas officials, one of the state's citizens got the flu after having close contact with cows that were contaminated. The announcement was made one week after the USDA identified cases of avian flu in mammals in Washington, Kentucky, and Montana.
The first human case of avian flu in Texas confirmed
The Texas Department of State Health Services declared on April 1st that a patient who had contact with dairy cows thought to be infected with the virus was diagnosed with avian influenza. Conjunctivitis, sometimes known as "pink eye," was the patient's main complaint. The possibility for the general public, which is still low, is unaffected by the current case, which entailed direct contact with probable infected livestock, according to TDSHS.
Second Avian Flu case in US
According to the Texas official, this is the second instance of the highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza in the United States and the first documented occurrence in the state of Texas. The first case occurred in Colorado, when a person contracted the virus after coming into close contact with sick birds.
Avian flu cases in mammals raise concern
On March 29, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a joint statement. They claimed that there is no need for concern about dairy products' safety in the US. The organizations clarified that pasteurization—which takes place before to these items being sold—is adequate to guarantee their safety. In the past, American officials had alerted the public about the possibility of a surge in the highly virulent avian influenza (H5N1) cases that are currently spreading among marine animals.
Can humans contract the Avian Flu?
Although there have been two confirmed instances of bird flu in people thus far, there is still little risk that the illness will spread widely. The Asian branch of the bird flu virus (H7N9) and the highly deadly avian influenza A(H5N1) virus are responsible for the majority of human infections caused by avian influenza viruses worldwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Symptoms of Avian Flu in humans
Human symptoms of the avian flu include headaches, sore throats, coughs, conjunctivitis, mild fevers, and, in rare instances, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting.
