US Reports First Case Of H5 Bird Flu In Humans

JAKARTA - The first known human case of H5 bird flu in the United States appeared in a person in Colorado, the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) said on Thursday local time.

The person tested positive for the avian influenza A(H5) virus and was involved in culling birds suspected of being infected with H5N1 avian influenza, the CDC said in a statement.

"This case does not change the human risk assessment for the general public, which the CDC considers low," the agency said.

The patient was said to have been tired for several days as the only symptom. He has since recovered, the CDC said, adding that the person is now isolated and given the influenza antiviral drug oseltamivir.

The H5N1 virus has been found in US commercial and domestic poultry in 29 states and in wild birds in 34 states, since the CDC began monitoring the disease among people exposed to the virus in late 2021.

"The CDC has tracked the health of more than 2,500 people who were exposed to the H5N1 bird flu virus and this is the only case found to date. Another person involved in the extermination operation in Colorado tested negative for H5 virus infection, but they were retested as a precautionary measure. ," said the CDC.

Globally this is the second human case associated with a specific group of H5 viruses that now dominates, he said.

Previously the first case was reported in the UK in December 2021.