Michigan farmworker diagnosed with bird flu

Michigan farmworker with bird flu.

The case is associated with an outbreak in cows.

There was another case in Texas.

Recently, it was announced that an agricultural worker in Michigan was diagnosed with bird flu.

This is the second human case associated with an outbreak in dairy cows in the United States, according to information from The Associated Press.

This individual had been in contact with cows that were presumed to be infected and later experienced mild eye symptoms and then recovered.

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Michigan farmworker with bird flu had mild symptoms

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It is noteworthy that a nasal swab from the farmworker with bird flu in Michigan tested negative for the virus, but an eye swab tested positive.

This indicates «an eye infection,» said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For now, the risk to the public remains low, but agricultural workers exposed to infected animals are at higher risk.

Health officials said these workers should be offered protective equipment, especially for their eyes.

What happened with the first case of bird flu in Texas?

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According to the AP, before the bird flu case in Michigan, there was another in March in Texas.

In that instance, the agricultural worker was diagnosed with what officials called the first case of a human contracting the disease from a mammal.

That patient also reported only eye inflammation and managed to recover.

Since 2020, an avian flu virus has spread among more animal species in dozens of countries around the world.

Should we be concerned about the bird flu?

Photo: X / The Associated Press

To date, the virus had been confirmed in 51 dairy herds in nine U.S. states, according to The Associated Press.

Fifteen of these herds were in Michigan, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Michigan health officials have declined to say how many people exposed to infected livestock have been tested or monitored.

They also said they had tested 40 people since the first cases in cows were discovered at the end of March.