Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd US case tied to dairy cows

1ST. SOME PROMISING NEWS AS THE CONCERNS ABOUT THE GROWING BIRD FLU OUTBREAK INTENSIFY, THERE HAS BEEN MORE TESTING OF RETAIL DAIRY PRODUCTS, AND IT SHOWS NO SIGNS OF THE LIVE VIRUS. HERE TO TALK? WHY THIS IS SIGNIFICANT, DOCTOR TODD ELLERIN OF SOUTH SHORE HEALTH ALWAYS LIKE TO HAVE YOU HERE. GOOD TO BE WITH YOU. YEAH, IT COMES TO CONSUMER SAFETY. THE MILK WE DRINK, IT MATTERS. SO THIS IS BIG BIG. IT REALLY IS. THIS IS HUGE BECAUSE THE BOTTOM LINE IS THE BIRD FLU IS IN OUR MILK SUPPLY. BUT THE PASTEURIZATION WHICH IS A FANCY WORD FOR HEATING THE MILK KILLS THE VIRUS. YOU CAN DETECT THE VIRUS, BUT IT’S THESE NON-VIABLE NOT ALIVE REMNANTS. AND IT’S NOT GOING TO HURT US. BUT HERE’S THE BUT MARIA. WE HAVE TO BE CAREFUL. FOR THOSE WHO DRINK RAW MILK. YOU REALLY RIGHT NOW ON A STAY AWAY FROM RAW MILK PRODUCTS. OKAY, SO AT LEAST THREE DOZEN HERDS OF DAIRY COWS, THEY HAVE BEEN FOUND TO BE INFECTED. AND WE’RE LEARNING THAT THE VIRUS MAY HAVE GONE UNDETECTED FOR MONTHS. THAT’S CONCERNING FOR SURE. WHY WASN’T THIS CAUGHT SOONER? IS THAT A CONCERN? ALL RIGHT. SO AGAIN, WE KNOW WHAT THE PANDEMIC DECEMBER 2019, WE KNOW THAT COVID WAS CIRCULATING FOR MONTHS BEFORE THE USDA, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. THEY’RE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOOD SAFETY AND ALSO THE COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE PRODUCTS. SO THERE’S YOU KNOW, THERE’S A LITTLE PROBLEM THERE. SO WHAT THEY NEED TO DO IS REALLY BE AGGRESSIVE, WHICH THEY ARE NOW ABOUT TESTING, MAKING SURE THE FARMERS ARE TESTING THE MILK PRODUCTS, NOT JUST WITH THE SICK ANIMALS, BUT ALSO WITH THE ANIMALS THAT ARE HEALTHY. SO WE KNOW HOW WIDESPREAD THIS IS. BUT IT’S NOT JUST THE COWS THAT THEY’RE WATCHING WITH THIS OUTBREAK. AND THAT’S THE CONCERN THERE ACTUALLY OTHER LIVESTOCK THAT COULD BE MORE CONCERNING. THIS IS THIS IS A ROLLING BALL OR IS IT NOT? I’M GLAD YOU SAID THAT BECAUSE PIGS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT PIGS CAN BE A MIXING VESSEL WHERE THEY CAN BE INFECTED WITH HUMAN INFLUENZA AS WELL AS AVIAN, THE BIRD FLU. AND IF THAT’S THAT’S AN ISSUE, BECAUSE WHEN THEY CAN RECOMBINE, THEN YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO GET INFECTED WITH HUMANS. BUT THE ONE THING I WANT TO SAY IS SO FAR WE’VE ONLY SEEN TWO HUMANS INFECTED WITH BIRD FLU IN THE UNITED STATES. THAT’S TWO TOO MANY, THOUGH. IT’S TWO TOO MANY. WE KNOW IT HASN’T ADAPTED YET, BUT WE WANT TO GET AHEAD OF THIS TO MAKE SURE THAT’S THE KEY. IT DOESN’T ADA

A Michigan farmworker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows.Related video above: Pasteurization kills bird flu in milk, doctor explainsThe patient had mild symptoms, Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The person had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low, officials said. The first case happened in late March, when a farmworker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal. That patient reported eye inflammation and was treated with an antiviral drug.Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species – including dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises – in scores of countries. The detection in U.S. livestock earlier this year was an unexpected twist that sparked questions about food safety and whether it would start spreading among humans.That hasn't happened, although there's been a steady increase of reported infections in cows. As of Wednesday, the virus had been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department. Fifteen of the herds were in Michigan. Health officials there have declined to say how many people exposed to infected cattle have been tested or monitored.The virus has been found in high levels in the raw milk of infected cows, but government officials say pasteurized products sold in grocery stores are safe because heat treatment has been confirmed to kill the virus.The new case marks the third time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what's known as Type A H5N1 virus. In 2022, a prison inmate in a work program picked it up while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered. That predated the virus's appearance in cows.

A Michigan farmworker has been diagnosed with bird flu — the second human case associated with an outbreak in U.S. dairy cows.

Related video above: Pasteurization kills bird flu in milk, doctor explains

The patient had mild symptoms, Michigan health officials said in announcing the case Wednesday. The person had been in contact with cows presumed to be infected, and the risk to the public remains low, officials said.

The first case happened in late March, when a farmworker in Texas was diagnosed in what officials called the first known instance globally of a person catching this version of bird flu from a mammal. That patient reported eye inflammation and was treated with an antiviral drug.

Since 2020, a bird flu virus has been spreading among more animal species – including dogs, cats, skunks, bears and even seals and porpoises – in scores of countries. The detection in U.S. livestock earlier this year was an unexpected twist that sparked questions about food safety and whether it would start spreading among humans.

That hasn't happened, although there's been a steady increase of reported infections in cows. As of Wednesday, the virus had been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine states, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Fifteen of the herds were in Michigan. Health officials there have declined to say how many people exposed to infected cattle have been tested or monitored.

The virus has been found in high levels in the raw milk of infected cows, but government officials say pasteurized products sold in grocery stores are safe because heat treatment has been confirmed to kill the virus.

The new case marks the third time a person in the United States has been diagnosed with what's known as Type A H5N1 virus. In 2022, a prison inmate in a work program picked it up while killing infected birds at a poultry farm in Montrose County, Colorado. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered. That predated the virus's appearance in cows.

Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu, becoming 2nd US case tied to dairy cows

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