A person working on a dairy farm in Texas tested positive for avian flu, confirmed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The person, who has the H5N1 virus, is recovering and is being treated with oseltamivir, the generic version of Tamiflu. The risk for the general public remains low, and this is the first case of H5N1 flu in a person linked to dairy cattle and the second in a person in the US. A Colorado man who had direct exposure to poultry and bird culling had bird flu in 2022.
There is no risk to the commercial milk supply, as dairy companies are required to destroy or divert milk from sick cows and pasteurization kills avian flu viruses. Avian flu, a type A influenza virus, originated in birds and has been detected in over a hundred species in the US since 2022. The virus can spread through feces, saliva, and contact with contaminated surfaces. Human-to-human transmission of avian flu through close contact is “very rare.” Symptoms can range from no symptoms at all to mild, with flu-like illness or eye redness, to severe, with cases of pneumonia requiring hospitalization.
