The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the first known case of avian influenza H5 in humans has been reported in Colorado.
The patient reported fatigue for several days as the only symptom and then resolved.
‘The person tested positive for avian influenza A (H5) and participated in the culling of poultry believed to have contracted H5N1 avian influenza.’
According to the CDC, the patient is being isolated and treated with the influenza antiviral drug oseltamivir.
“This case does not change the human risk assessment for the general public, which the CDC considers low,” the health agency said.
CDC has been monitoring the illness of people exposed to H5N1-infected poultry since these outbreaks were detected in wild birds and poultry in late 2021.
To date, the H5N1 virus has been found in commercial and domestic birds in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states, according to the CDC.
The agency has been monitoring the health of more than 2,500 people who have been in contact with poultry infected with the H5N1 virus and this is the only human case found to date.
This is the second human case worldwide related to the specific group of H5 viruses currently predominating.
The first case was reported in the UK in December 2021.
Source: IANS
