Third person in the US tests positive for bird flu; worked with infected cattle

A third person has tested positive for the H1N5 (bird flu) virus and is the first to suffer from respiratory problems, according to Reuters.

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The dairy worker was exposed to infected cows, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, and was the second case of human infection in Michigan.

According to the CDC, the other two workers infected had only conjunctivitis – pink eye – not respiratory problems.

The person is isolating at home, the CDC said, and their symptoms are resolving. The person’s contacts are also being monitored.

Since March, the avian flu in dairy cattle has affected 67 herds in nine states. The worker was employed at a different farm than the previous case in Michigan that was reported on May 22, the state said.

The U.S. government is collecting samples of ground beef at retail stores in states with outbreaks of bird flu in dairy cows, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

In addition, remnants of the virus were found in milk from some of those cows that was on grocery store shelves.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that preliminary results of PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) tests showed pasteurization killed the bird flu virus in milk, though.

On April 16, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service microbiologists identified a shift in an H5N1 sample from a cow in Kansas that could indicate that the virus has an adaptation to mammals, according to a statement from the USDA.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted further tests of the specimen sequence and said the overall risk factor of the virus infecting the general public had not changed.

The shift has been seen previously in other mammalian infections and it did not impact viral transmission, the agency said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following are signs and symptoms of bird flu in humans:

• Conjunctivitis

• Mild flu-like upper respiratory symptoms

• Pneumonia

• Fever or feeling feverish

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nose

• Muscle or body aches

• Headaches

• Fatigue

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

• Diarrhea

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Seizures

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