LOUISIANA (US), Dec 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A person in Louisiana is hospitalized with what may be the state’s first case of bird flu, state health officials said.
The case involves “a resident of southwestern Louisiana,” the state Department of Health said on its website Friday. “The individual had exposure to sick and dead birds that are suspected to have been infected with H5N1,” the virus that causes bird flu.
Public health officials there said they’re coordinating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The patient is the second individual in the US who has been hospitalized with the virus.
Bird flu has been infecting dairy cows in the US since the spring. As of Friday, the outbreak had spread to 845 dairy herds in 16 states, according to the Agriculture Department. The vast majority of those herds are in California.
Last week, the USDA ordered the testing of milk for bird flu to help better identify infections among herds and prevent further spread.
At least 60 human bird flu cases have been diagnosed in the US this year. The majority of the cases have been in California and Washington and were in farmworkers who had been in contact with infected poultry or dairy cows.
There’s no evidence that the bird flu is spreading from person to person. Nearly all of the people who have gotten sick had direct contact with animals, except for a patient in Missouri who was hospitalized and a child in California.
The cases have largely been considered mild, and the main symptom reported has been conjunctivitis, or pinkeye. No deaths have been reported. A teen in Canada who was infected with bird flu last month got severely ill and needed to be hospitalized.
Studies so far on the nation’s pasteurized milk supply have been negative for infectious bird flu virus. The virus has been found in raw milk, however, which is unpasteurized.
Meanwhile, Health officials are investigating possible cases of H5 bird flu after two cats died from consuming recalled raw milk, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
The department issued a release saying the two cats that died consumed milk from Raw Farm, LLC after the company voluntarily recalled all raw milk and cream products earlier this month.
After consuming the raw milk, the cats reportedly showed onset symptoms of lack of appetite, fever and neurologic signs.
“The infected cats died after severe worsening of their illness, and subsequently tested positive for Influenza A, a rare result in cats,” said the department in a release.
As the department waits to obtain confirmatory testing, it notes that the nationwide H5 bird flu outbreak has seen other cats infected with the virus after drinking infected raw milk.
The cats’ owners and other people who had direct contact with them are monitoring for symptoms and have been offered antiviral prophylaxis, according to the release.
“There have been no human cases of bird flu associated with exposure to these cats yet identified,” said the department. “The investigation is ongoing.”
According to the department, cats can be exposed to H5 bird flu by consuming infected birds or other animals, consuming unpasteurized milk from infected cows, or just simply being in contaminated environments. — NNN-AGENCIES
