China News Service, April 7. According to the official website of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on the 5th local time, the Center introduced the latest status of human cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus infection recently reported in the United States, including Epidemiological investigation, virus gene sequencing, prevention and control measures, etc.
According to reports, on April 1, local time, the CDC reported a case of human infection with the H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. It was confirmed that the infected person was a farm worker at a dairy farm in Texas who developed conjunctivitis at the end of March and was subsequently confirmed to have tested positive for the H5N1 virus. According to analysis, the person became infected after coming into contact with a cow suspected of being infected with the virus.
According to reports, the infected person has no other symptoms except conjunctivitis and has been isolated at home and receiving antiviral medication. To date, no other cases of H5N1 virus transmission from cows or poultry to humans have been found, and no human-to-human transmission of the virus has been found.
The CDC reported that they sequenced the H5N1 virus genome extracted from the infected person's sample and compared it with H5N1 virus sequences in poultry, such as birds, cattle, or other animals. It was found that the H5N1 virus sequence in this infected person was almost identical to the H5N1 virus sequence in cattle and birds. In addition, no markers related to antiviral drug resistance appear in the H5N1 virus sequences in infected individuals.
According to the CDC, the current risk to public health caused by the H5N1 virus is low, but if you come into contact with infected birds, cattle, or other animals due to work or other reasons, you will face a higher risk of infection.
According to reports, the H5N1 avian influenza virus is mainly spread among wild birds, and human infection with this type of avian influenza virus is uncommon. Since H5 avian influenza outbreaks were first detected in wild birds and poultry in the United States in late 2021, CDC has been monitoring illness in people exposed to infected poultry.
The first case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus in the United States occurred in Colorado in 2022. The infected person had direct contact with and culled poultry suspected of being infected with the virus. Symptoms of infection with this virus include mild symptoms such as eye infections and upper respiratory tract infections, as well as death due to pneumonia.