Fourth case of bird flu detected in US farm worker

Los Angeles, July 3 (EFE). – US health authorities reported Wednesday that they have detected a case of bird flu in a person in the state of Colorado, the fourth infection recorded in the country this year.

The case was identified in a Colorado dairy farm worker who had regular contact with cattle infected with bird flu, the government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said.

The patient has already recovered after taking medication.

Last month, Colorado officials found that up to 10% of cows in the state were showing symptoms of bird flu, so protective protocols were put in place for farm workers, mostly migrants, to avoid potentially exposing people to the virus.

Another 12 states have introduced protective measures after several animals were found infected with the virus.

This is the fourth case of bird flu in humans linked to an outbreak of the H5N1 virus in dairy cows in the United States. None of the four cases are related, the CDC warned.

The first case was identified by Texas health officials, who confirmed last April that a man had tested positive for bird flu, followed by two cases in Michigan.

The virus, identified as H5N1, is a subtype of bird flu that is highly contagious among birds.

The CDC noted that there is no indication yet that the virus has evolved in a way that could spread quickly between people, as all four cases have occurred in people who had direct contact with sick cows.

In late March, dairy cows in Texas and Kansas were found to be infected with bird flu, and a few days later, U.S. Department of Agriculture officials confirmed cases in a Michigan dairy herd that had recently been exposed to samples from Texas.

Infections have also been studied in cattle in New Mexico and Illinois.