Two dairy staff in California have been contaminated with hen flu, the fifteenth and sixteenth human circumstances detected this 12 months in an ongoing outbreak affecting the nation’s dairy cows, well being officers mentioned Thursday.
The newest circumstances have been present in staff who had contact with contaminated cattle in California’s Central Valley, the place greater than 50 herds have been affected since August.
The employees developed eye redness generally known as conjunctivitis and had gentle signs.
California well being officers mentioned the employees have been employed at completely different farms and there’s no identified hyperlink between the 2 circumstances, suggesting that they have been contaminated by animal contact, not by folks.
The U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention on Thursday confirmed the optimistic check outcomes, the primary for California.
CDC officers mentioned new circumstances of hen flu in folks uncovered to contaminated animals is “not surprising.”
The danger to the general public stays low, they added.
Throughout the U.S., greater than 250 dairy herds have been contaminated in 14 states because the outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza was confirmed in March.
Avian influenza has been spreading in wild and home birds within the U.S. for a number of years however just lately was present in dairy cows.
Earlier than this 12 months, one case of hen flu was detected in an individual, a Colorado poultry employee who fell sick in 2022.
Most circumstances this 12 months have been detected in staff who had contact with cattle or poultry in Colorado, Michigan and Texas.
An individual in Missouri was additionally contaminated, however that particular person had no identified contact with animals and the supply of that sickness has not been decided.
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