The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first known human case of the H5 bird flu in the United States on Thursday.
The person who has become infected is living in the state of Colorado and is involved in the culling of poultry.
They tested positive for avian influenza A(H5) and the CDC said in a statement that the poultry presumably had and passed on H5N1 bird flu.
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"This case does not change the human risk assessment for the general public, which CDC considers to below," a spokesperson added.
The patient’s only symptom was increased fatigue over a number of days and they have since recovered.
The CDC also said that the person was being isolated and treated with the influenza antiviral drug oseltamivir.
H5N1 viruses have been found in U.S. commercial and backyard birds in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states since the CDC started monitoring for illness among people exposed to the viruses in late 2021.
"CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people with exposures to H5N1 virus-infected birds and this is the only case that has been found to date,” the statement read.
“Other people involved in the culling operation in Colorado have tested negative for H5 virus infection, but they are being retested out of an abundance of caution.”
This is only the second human case associated with this specific group of H5 viruses - which are currently predominant - to be confirmed by the CDC.
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