Two poultry workers in England have tested positive for bird flu. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says it has detected the Influenza A (H5) virus in both workers, who had recently been working on an infected poultry farm.
It follows the introduction of an asymptomatic testing programme for people who have been in contact with infected birds. Neither person experienced any symptoms of avian influenza, the UKHSA said.
Both workers have since tested negative. The UKHSA says there are currently no signs of human-to-human transmission of bird flu.
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It says that based on the timing of exposures and test results, one of the two workers is likely to have had contamination of the nose and/or throat from material inhaled on the farm. For the second person, the UKHSA says it is more difficult to determine which is the case.
Further investigation is underway, while precautionary contact tracing has been undertaken for this second individual. Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at UKHSA, said: “Current evidence suggests that the avian influenza viruses we’re seeing circulating in birds around the world do not spread easily to people.
“However, we know already that the virus can spread to people following close contact with infected birds and this is why, through screening programmes like this one, we are monitoring people who have been exposed to learn more about this risk. Globally, there is no evidence of spread of this strain from person to person, but we know that viruses evolve all the time and we remain vigilant for any evidence of changing risk to the population.
“It remains critical that people avoid touching sick or dead birds, and that they follow the Defra advice about reporting.” The UKHSA told the Manchester Evening News it was unable to specify where the cases were found due to the risk of identifying the workers.
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