The United States announced its fourth case of bird flu on Wednesday, a dairy worker in Colorado, as officials work to expand vaccines and commercial testing and begin providing financial assistance to affected farmers.
Dairy workers had been in close contact with cows infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 and reported only “eye symptoms.” according to To the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The person took antiviral medication and has since recovered, according to the CDC, which is sequencing samples of the virus to see if any mutations of concern have emerged.
More than 780 people have been monitored for symptoms and at least 53 have been tested for H5N1 this year, according to the CDC. ReportThe majority of these tests were conducted in Michigan.
Colorado has the largest number of infected cattle herds. according to Reported to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Colorado cats, too, Contact unknown He is engaged in poultry and dairy farming.
Prior to this year’s outbreak in dairy cows, the only confirmed case of human infection in the United States was in 2022 when an incarcerated person in Colorado contracted the virus while culling an infected poultry flock.
The new cases came a day after US authorities announced plans to boost supplies of H5N1 vaccines and expand the availability of testing.
The United States is partnering with vaccine maker Moderna Inc. to help develop and manufacture an mRNA avian flu vaccine “if appropriate,” said Dawn O’Connell, assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR). Human safety and efficacy trials would likely begin next year, she said.
$176 million contract McConnell said the budget would focus on an H5N1 vaccine, but could also be used to develop and procure vaccines targeting other influenza strains and emerging infectious diseases.
The US has also ordered 4.8 million doses of a different type of H5N1 vaccine, which are due to roll off production lines in mid-July, “sooner than we originally anticipated,” McConnell said.
These vaccines must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they can be administered to people.
Officials said the risk to humans from bird flu remains low and the H5N1 vaccine is not currently recommended for anyone.
Officials also suggested that if the H5N1 virus mutates and becomes more transmissible from person to person, anti-influenza drugs could be used to prevent human-to-human transmission.
“Vaccines tend to be more effective at preventing severe illness than at preventing infection,” CDC principal deputy director Nirav Shah said, adding that wider distribution of antiviral drugs could help prevent infection.
Expanded availability of testing could allow people at risk of H5N1 infection to go to commercial laboratories to be tested, making testing more accessible and rapid.
Currently, approximately 750,000 tests for H5N1 have been performed in the United States, with an additional 1.2 million scheduled for the next few months. All tests are performed in public health laboratories. CDC is working to share test designs with private companies, and on June 10, it launched a call for companies to propose new H5N1 test designs.
The USDA on Monday launched a financial assistance program for dairy farmers with cows infected with H5N1. Although infected cows usually survive, milk production often plummets and discarding the infected milk means lost income.
Under the new program, any dairy farmer with an H5N1-positive cow can apply for federal assistance. It’s similar to a program for chicken farmers who lose birds. Experts hope the program will encourage producers to test their cattle and help prevent the spread of avian flu.
Additionally, six states are enrolled in USDA’s voluntary dairy herd status testing program, and 24 herds are enrolled in the agency’s financial assistance program for increased on-farm biosecurity and testing.
A avian influenza vaccine for cattle is also being researched, but the process takes time, said Eric Deeble, USDA’s acting senior adviser for H5N1 response. “It will be some time before a vaccine is available. In the meantime, we will continue to emphasize biosecurity.” For example, limiting the number of people on farms and cleaning and disinfecting equipment and clothing. Previous studies have shown that the virus spreads between farms as people share workers, cattle, vehicles and equipment.
