Two dairy workers in California have been confirmed to be infected with bird flu, marking the 15th and 16th human cases reported this year in an ongoing outbreak affecting the nation's dairy cows. The cases were detected in workers who had direct contact with infected cattle in California's Central Valley, where over 50 herds have been impacted since August. The affected workers exhibited symptoms such as conjunctivitis and experienced mild illness.
Health officials in California have stated that the infected workers were employed at different farms, with no apparent connection between the two cases. This suggests that the transmission likely occurred through animal contact rather than human-to-human spread. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the positive test results, marking the first cases of bird flu in California. CDC officials emphasized that new cases of bird flu in individuals exposed to infected animals are not unexpected and reassured that the risk to the general public remains low.
Since the confirmation of the H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in March, more than 250 dairy herds across 14 states in the U.S. have been affected. While avian influenza has been circulating among wild and domestic birds for some time, its recent detection in dairy cows is a concerning development. Prior to this year, only one case of bird flu in a person was reported, involving a poultry worker in Colorado in 2022.
Most cases this year have been linked to individuals who had contact with cattle or poultry in states such as Colorado, Michigan, and Texas. Additionally, a person in Missouri was infected, although no direct animal contact was reported, and the source of the illness remains unknown at this time.
It is crucial for health authorities to continue monitoring and investigating these cases to prevent further spread of bird flu and protect both animal and human populations from the potential risks associated with the virus.
