H5N1 avian flu found in Texas individual who apparently was infected by dairy cows Helen Branswell By Helen Branswell April 1, 2024

https://www.statnews.com/2024/04/01/bird-flu-h5n1-spread-to-humans-dairy-cattle/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_LiMIaMFPBtwCYrh7bUy-SVz_qTEBsZxVh0YQTDPJ1_bMT0MnpJbtp7A0BaKVhNN92Sqn0yPTDteF_gzhVa_GfE0WZTA&_hsmi=300762397&utm_content=300762397&utm_source=hs_email Texas health officials reported yesterday that an individual who’d been in contact with cattle has contracted H5N1 avian flu, only the second case ever recorded in the U.S. Officials believe the cattle were infected with the bird flu, which until recently had spread from poultry to such mammals as big cats, bears, foxes, skunks, and seals. In the Texas case, symptoms are mild and limited to inflammation of the eye. Treatment consists of the influenza antiviral oseltamivir, sold as Tamiflu. “This infection does not change the H5N1 bird flu human health risk assessment for the U.S. general public, which CDC considers to be low,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a statement. Three states — Texas, Kansas, and Michigan — have recently reported they have had confirmed H5N1 outbreaks in cattle; New Mexico and Idaho have also reported outbreaks in cattle presumed to have been caused by H5N1. The virus doesn’t kill the cattle, but infection lowers milk production and the animals’ feeding. If milk from infected animals made its way into the food chain, pasteurization could kill the virus, the CDC said. STAT’s Helen Branswell has more.