NEW YORK – A dairy employee in Nevada was contaminated with a brand new kind of bird flu that’s completely different from the model that has been spreading in U.S. herds since final yr, federal well being officers stated Monday.
The sickness was thought-about gentle. The individual’s foremost symptom was eye redness and irritation, much like most hen flu circumstances related to dairy cows. The individual wasn’t hospitalized and has recovered, in keeping with the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
The newer strain had been seen earlier than in additional than a dozen folks uncovered to poultry, however that is the primary time an an infection was traced to a cow. The Nevada dairy employee was uncovered at a farm in Churchill County, within the west central a part of the state, state well being officers stated.
CDC officers stated there isn’t any proof the virus has unfold from this individual to some other folks. The company continues to say the virus poses a low danger to most of the people.
The hen flu at the moment spreading by animals, and a few folks, is thought to scientists as Kind A H5N1 influenza. However there are completely different strains.
A model generally known as B3.13 was confirmed in March after spreading to cattle in late 2023, scientists stated. It has contaminated 962 cattle herds in 16 states, the overwhelming majority of them in California.
The newer model, generally known as D1.1, was confirmed in Nevada cattle on Jan. 31. It was present in milk collected as a part of a monitoring program began in December.
That discovery meant distinct types of the virus unfold from wild birds into cattle a minimum of twice. Consultants stated it raises questions on wider unfold and the problem of controlling infections in animals and the individuals who work with them.
A minimum of 68 folks within the U.S. have been reported contaminated with hen flu within the final yr, in keeping with CDC information. All however a small handful labored carefully with cows or poultry.
Most caught the B3.13 model. The CDC beforehand stated the D1.1 model had been seen solely in circumstances in Louisiana and Washington state. However on Monday, the company revealed that obtainable information signifies D1.1 final yr doubtless contaminated a complete of 15 folks in 5 states — Iowa, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington and Wisconsin — all associated to poultry.
The D1.1 model of the virus was linked to the primary U.S. demise tied to hen flu and to a extreme sickness in Canada. An individual in Louisiana died in January after creating extreme respiratory signs following contact with wild and yard birds. In British Columbia, a teen woman was hospitalized for months with a virus traced to poultry.
Whereas the danger to most of the people is low, the CDC says hen flu poses a better risk to folks with shut or extended contact with contaminated cows, birds or different animals. These individuals are inspired to put on protecting gear and take different precautions.
___
The Related Press Well being and Science Division receives assist from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Instructional Media Group and the Robert Wooden Johnson Basis. The AP is solely liable for all content material.
Copyright 2025 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials will not be printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed with out permission.
