Another farm worker in Michigan has been diagnosed with bird flu, health officials said Thursday, marking the third human case linked to an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows.
The dairy worker complained of a cough, stuffy nose, sore throat and watery eyes. The other two patients only had eye symptoms, health officials said. The dairy worker was given antiviral medication and is recovering from respiratory symptoms, health officials said.
U.S., European countries call for increased vaccine production to protect workers from bird flu
Health officials said the risk to farmworkers who have come into contact with infected animals is high, but the risk to the general public is low. The Michigan cases are on multiple farms and there is no indication of human spread, officials said.
“The risk depends on whether someone is infected, which in this case involves contact with an infected animal,” the CDC said in a statement.
The respiratory illness in humans was not unexpected — people infected with other types of avian flu from poultry have had flu-like symptoms in the past — but it does increase the chances of it spreading, said Dr. Nirav Shah of the CDC.
“Simply put, someone who is coughing may be more likely to transmit the virus than someone with an eye infection,” he said.
Dairy cows feed on a farm near Bud, New Mexico, March 31, 2017. A dairy farm worker in Michigan has been diagnosed with avian influenza. Health officials announced Thursday, May 30, 2024, the third case of avian influenza in U.S. dairy cows. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abdo)
A farm worker in Texas was diagnosed in late March and officials say it is the first case anywhere in the world of a human being being infected with this type of avian flu (H5N1A) from a mammal.
Michigan officials announced the second U.S. case last week. In a statement, Michigan health officials said the employee developed eye symptoms after “exposure to contaminated milk coming into direct contact with their eyes.”
Neither Michigan worker was wearing personal protective equipment such as a face shield, “which highlights the dangers that direct exposure to infected livestock poses to humans and that PPE is an important tool in preventing the spread of infection among dairy and poultry workers,” Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical officer for the Michigan Department of Health, said in a statement.
The United Farm Workers Union estimates that there are between 100,000 and 150,000 workers on U.S. dairy farms.
Many dairy workers are reluctant to wear masks and other protective gear while tending to cows in “the wettest environments imaginable,” said Elizabeth Strater, a spokeswoman for the UFW. The group is calling for better access to face shields and other protective gear and for more information from employers about the risk of infection on infected farms.
“Most dairy workers aren’t very aware of how to protect themselves,” Strater said.
At least 350 people in the United States have been tested for bird flu symptoms this year, including 220 in Michigan, health officials say.
More than 40 people have been tested for the virus in the US, according to the CDC, and numbers from Michigan health officials suggest most of those tested have been in the state.
Since 2020, the avian influenza virus has spread to many more animal species and in many countries, including dogs, cats, skunks, bears, and even seals and dolphins.
Click here to get the FOX News app
As of Thursday, 66 dairy farms in nine states had confirmed cases of the H5N1 virus, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The new case marks the fourth person diagnosed with the virus in the U.S. In 2022, an inmate at a Colorado prison became infected while participating in a work program and killing infected birds at a poultry farm. He only felt fatigue and later recovered. This was before the virus was found in cattle.
