U.S. CDC ISSUES HEALTH ALERT FOR BIRD FLU INFECTION

Sat 06 April 2024:

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health notice on Friday (April 5) in response to the country’s growing avian flu outbreak. In the caution, the CDC discussed a recent case in which a Texas agricultural worker tested positive for H5N1 avian flu. “The virus obtained from this person is nearly identical to what has been found in cows and birds in Texas,” the CDC said.

The CDC also stated that there was no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the virus at this time.

“At this time, CDC believes that the overall risk to the general public posed by this virus remains low,” it added.

The CDC also stated that the infected farm worker in Texas had contact with possibly affected animals. The patient’s only symptom was eye redness, often known as conjunctivitis, and they are already healing. “The patient was told to stay at home away from others and was treated with a flu antiviral drug,” said the government agency responsible for health care.

Recommendations to avoid getting infected

Highlighting that the current risk to the public remained low, people with close or long unprotected exposures to infected birds or other animals, or environments contaminated by infected birds or other animals, are at greater risk of infection.

The CDC issued a few precautions:

> People should avoid unprotected exposure to sick or dead animals, including wild birds, poultry, other domesticated birds, and other wild or domesticated animals including cows.

> People should avoid unprotected exposures to animal poop, bedding (litter), raw milk, or materials that have been touched by, or close to, birds or other animals with suspected or confirmed H5N1 bird flu.

> The CDC said that people should not prepare or consume uncooked or undercooked food or related uncooked food products, such as unpasteurized (raw) milk, or raw cheeses, from animals with suspected infection.

> Amid concerns about how safe drinking commercial milk is, the CDC said on Friday that it is safe to drink such milk as it is pasteurised before entering the market. Pasteurisation kills bacteria and viruses, like influenza viruses, in milk, it added.

> It is also safe to eat properly handled and cooked poultry.

The CDC also made guidelines for farmers and animal owners. It stated that such people should avoid unprotected direct physical contact or close proximity to sick or dead birds or other animals, carcasses, feces, milk, or litter from sick birds or other animals that may be contaminated or have been confirmed to be infected with the virus.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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